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Roots And Exponents

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Question 4 -
SKIPPED (NO ANSWER RECORDED) *Unanswered questions are counted as incorrect.

−−−−− −−−−
If √ 2r − 1 − √ r − 4 = 2 , which of the following must be the value of r?

⬬ -5
1%

⬬ 5
28%

⬬ 13
17%

⬬ -13
1%

$ none of the above

50%

Hide Solution % &

Solution:

We can simplify the given equation:

−−−−− −−−−
√ 2r − 1 − √ r − 4 = 2
√− −−−− −−−−
2r − 1 = 2 + √ r − 4

Next, we need to eliminate the root on the left-hand side of the equation by squaring both sides of the equation:

−−−−− −−−−
(√ 2r − 1 )2 = (2 + √ r − 4 ) 2
−−−− −−−−
2r − 1 = (2 + √ r − 4 ) (2 + √ r − 4 )

Foiling the right hand side of the equation, we have:

−−−−
2r − 1 = 4 + 4√ r − 4 + r − 4
−−−−
2r − 1 = 4√ r − 4 + r
−−−−
r − 1 = 4√ r − 4

To eliminate the remaining root, we can once again square both sides of the equation:

−−−−
(r − 1) 2 = (4√ r − 4 )2

To simplify the right-hand side of the equation, we can follow the general rule: (ab)2 = (a2b2). Thus, we distribute the
−−−−
power of 2 to both 4 and √ r − 4 :

−−−−
(r − 1) 2 = [(4) 2 (√ r − 4 ) 2 ]
(r − 1) (r − 1) = 16 (r − 4)
r 2 − 2r + 1 = 16r − 64
r 2 − 18r + 65 = 0
(r − 13) (r − 5) = 0
r = 13, r = 5

−−−−
We might have introduced extraneous solutions when we squared (r – 1) and 4√ r − 4 , so we need to check the
solutions to make sure they satisfy the original equation:

r = 13 : r=5:
−−−−− −−−− −−−−− −−−−
√ 2r − 1 − √ r − 4 = 2 √ 2r − 1 − √ r − 4 = 2
−−−−−− −−−−− ? −−−−−− −−−− ?
√2(13) − 1 − √ 13 − 4 = 2 √2(5) − 1 − √ 5 − 4 = 2

√−−− −
−? √−− ?
25 − √ 9 = 2 9 − √1 = 2
? ?
5−3=2 3−1=2
2=2 2=2

Because either 13 or 5 could be the value of r, the answer to this question must be E.

Answer: E

RELATED TAGS: Solving equations with square roots

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