Exercise 952Algebra › Equations and radicalsHigh schoolAdded 3 Nov 2026
Two square roots
#radical equation#squaring twice#conditions
Statement
Solve in R the equation x+3+2x−1=4.
Hint
Isolate one root, square, isolate again, square.
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Solution
Conditions.x≥−3 and x≥1/2, so x≥1/2.
First squaring. Isolate: 2x−1=4−x+3. The RHS must be ≥0, so x+3≤4, i.e. x≤13. Square: 2x−1=16−8x+3+x+3, i.e. x−20=−8x+3. For the RHS to be ≥0, we need x≤20 (already have x≤13). Also x−20<0 and −8x+3≤0, so both sides are negative; squaring is valid.
Second squaring.(x−20)2=64(x+3), i.e. x2−40x+400=64x+192, i.e. x2−104x+208=0.
Roots. x=2104±10816−832=2104±9984. 9984=64⋅156=8156=1639. So x=52±839.
Check conditions.839≈49.96, so x1≈2.04 (valid, ≥1/2 and ≤13) and x2≈101.96 (invalid, >13).