Finding Zeros

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SAT Math › Finding Zeros

Questions 1 - 10
1

Find all possible zeros for the following function.

or

or

Explanation

To find the zeros of the function, use factoring.

Set up the expression in factored form, leaving blanks for the numbers that are not yet known.

At this point, you need to find two numbers - one for each blank. By looking at the original expression, a few clues can be gathered that will help find the two numbers. The product of these two numbers will be equal to the last term of the original expression (-1, or c in the standard quadratic formula), and their sum will be equal to the coefficient of the second term of the original expression (0, or b in the standard quadratic formula). Because their product is negative (-1) and the sum is zero, that must mean that they have different signs but the same absolute value.

Now, at this point, test a few different possibilities using the clues gathered from the original expression. In the end, it's found that the only numbers that work are 1 and -1, as the product of 1 and -1 is -1, and sum of 1 and -1 is 0. So, this results in the expression's factored form looking like...

This is known as a difference of squares.

From here, set each binomial equal to zero and solve for .

and

To verify the zeros, graph the original function and identify where the graph touches or crosses the x-axis.

Q5

Therefore the zeros of the function are,

2

Find all possible zeros for the following function.

or

or

Explanation

To find the zeros of the function, use factoring.

Set up the expression in factored form, leaving blanks for the numbers that are not yet known.

At this point, you need to find two numbers - one for each blank. By looking at the original expression, a few clues can be gathered that will help find the two numbers. The product of these two numbers will be equal to the last term of the original expression (-1, or c in the standard quadratic formula), and their sum will be equal to the coefficient of the second term of the original expression (0, or b in the standard quadratic formula). Because their product is negative (-1) and the sum is zero, that must mean that they have different signs but the same absolute value.

Now, at this point, test a few different possibilities using the clues gathered from the original expression. In the end, it's found that the only numbers that work are 1 and -1, as the product of 1 and -1 is -1, and sum of 1 and -1 is 0. So, this results in the expression's factored form looking like...

This is known as a difference of squares.

From here, set each binomial equal to zero and solve for .

and

To verify the zeros, graph the original function and identify where the graph touches or crosses the x-axis.

Q5

Therefore the zeros of the function are,

3

Find all possible zeros for the following function.

or

or

Explanation

To find the zeros of the function, use factoring.

Set up the expression in factored form, leaving blanks for the numbers that are not yet known.

At this point, you need to find two numbers - one for each blank. By looking at the original expression, a few clues can be gathered that will help find the two numbers. The product of these two numbers will be equal to the last term of the original expression (-1, or c in the standard quadratic formula), and their sum will be equal to the coefficient of the second term of the original expression (0, or b in the standard quadratic formula). Because their product is negative (-1) and the sum is zero, that must mean that they have different signs but the same absolute value.

Now, at this point, test a few different possibilities using the clues gathered from the original expression. In the end, it's found that the only numbers that work are 1 and -1, as the product of 1 and -1 is -1, and sum of 1 and -1 is 0. So, this results in the expression's factored form looking like...

This is known as a difference of squares.

From here, set each binomial equal to zero and solve for .

and

To verify the zeros, graph the original function and identify where the graph touches or crosses the x-axis.

Q5

Therefore the zeros of the function are,

4

What is the sum of all unique zeros to the function ?

-2

-1

1

2

Explanation

The zeros of a function are the x-values at which the function is equal to zero. So to solve for the zeros, set the function equal to zero. That would give you here:

Then you can factor the common to get:

And then factor like you would a quadratic:

Or, more succinctly formatted:

This means that the zeros are at and . Now, importantly, look at what the question asks for. It wants the sum (add the zeros) of all UNIQUE zeros, meaning you should not count twice. The sum then is .

5

Find all possible zeros for the following function.

or

or

Explanation

To find the zeros of the function, use factoring.

Set up the expression in factored form, leaving blanks for the numbers that are not yet known.

At this point, you need to find two numbers - one for each blank. By looking at the original expression, a few clues can be gathered that will help find the two numbers. The product of these two numbers will be equal to the last term of the original expression (-1, or c in the standard quadratic formula), and their sum will be equal to the coefficient of the second term of the original expression (0, or b in the standard quadratic formula). Because their product is negative (-1) and the sum is zero, that must mean that they have different signs but the same absolute value.

Now, at this point, test a few different possibilities using the clues gathered from the original expression. In the end, it's found that the only numbers that work are 1 and -1, as the product of 1 and -1 is -1, and sum of 1 and -1 is 0. So, this results in the expression's factored form looking like...

This is known as a difference of squares.

From here, set each binomial equal to zero and solve for .

and

To verify the zeros, graph the original function and identify where the graph touches or crosses the x-axis.

Q5

Therefore the zeros of the function are,

6

Find all possible zeros for the following function.

or

or

Explanation

To find the zeros of the function, use factoring.

Set up the expression in factored form, leaving blanks for the numbers that are not yet known.

At this point, you need to find two numbers - one for each blank. By looking at the original expression, a few clues can be gathered that will help find the two numbers. The product of these two numbers will be equal to the last term of the original expression (-1, or c in the standard quadratic formula), and their sum will be equal to the coefficient of the second term of the original expression (0, or b in the standard quadratic formula). Because their product is negative (-1) and the sum is zero, that must mean that they have different signs but the same absolute value.

Now, at this point, test a few different possibilities using the clues gathered from the original expression. In the end, it's found that the only numbers that work are 1 and -1, as the product of 1 and -1 is -1, and sum of 1 and -1 is 0. So, this results in the expression's factored form looking like...

This is known as a difference of squares.

From here, set each binomial equal to zero and solve for .

and

To verify the zeros, graph the original function and identify where the graph touches or crosses the x-axis.

Q5

Therefore the zeros of the function are,

7

Find the zeros of the following function.

Explanation

To find the zeros of the function use factoring.

Set up the expression in factored form, leaving blanks for the numbers that are not yet known.

At this point, you need to find two numbers - one for each blank. By looking at the original expression, a few clues can be gathered that will help find the two numbers. The product of these two numbers will be equal to the last term of the original expression (2, or c in the standard quadratic formula), and their sum will be equal to the coefficient of the second term of the original expression (-3, or b in the standard quadratic formula). Because their product is positive (2) and the sum is negative, that must mean that they both have negative signs.

Now, at this point, test a few different possibilities using the clues gathered from the original expression. In the end, it's found that the only numbers that work are 1 and 2, as the product of 1 and 2 is 2, and sum of 1 and 2 is 3. So, this results in the expression's factored form looking like...

From here, set each binomial equal to zero and solve for .

and

To verify the zeros, graph the original function and identify where the graph touches or crosses the x-axis.

Q2

Therefore the zeros of the function are,

8

Find the zeros of the following function.

Explanation

To find the zeros of the function use factoring.

Set up the expression in factored form, leaving blanks for the numbers that are not yet known.

At this point, you need to find two numbers - one for each blank. By looking at the original expression, a few clues can be gathered that will help find the two numbers. The product of these two numbers will be equal to the last term of the original expression (2, or c in the standard quadratic formula), and their sum will be equal to the coefficient of the second term of the original expression (-3, or b in the standard quadratic formula). Because their product is positive (2) and the sum is negative, that must mean that they both have negative signs.

Now, at this point, test a few different possibilities using the clues gathered from the original expression. In the end, it's found that the only numbers that work are 1 and 2, as the product of 1 and 2 is 2, and sum of 1 and 2 is 3. So, this results in the expression's factored form looking like...

From here, set each binomial equal to zero and solve for .

and

To verify the zeros, graph the original function and identify where the graph touches or crosses the x-axis.

Q2

Therefore the zeros of the function are,

9

Find the zeros of the following function.

Explanation

To find the zeros of the function use factoring.

Set up the expression in factored form, leaving blanks for the numbers that are not yet known.

At this point, you need to find two numbers - one for each blank. By looking at the original expression, a few clues can be gathered that will help find the two numbers. The product of these two numbers will be equal to the last term of the original expression (2, or c in the standard quadratic formula), and their sum will be equal to the coefficient of the second term of the original expression (-3, or b in the standard quadratic formula). Because their product is positive (2) and the sum is negative, that must mean that they both have negative signs.

Now, at this point, test a few different possibilities using the clues gathered from the original expression. In the end, it's found that the only numbers that work are 1 and 2, as the product of 1 and 2 is 2, and sum of 1 and 2 is 3. So, this results in the expression's factored form looking like...

From here, set each binomial equal to zero and solve for .

and

To verify the zeros, graph the original function and identify where the graph touches or crosses the x-axis.

Q2

Therefore the zeros of the function are,

10

How many distinct zeros does the function have?

0

1

2

3

Explanation

The zeros of a function are essentially points (or at least the x-values of the points) at which the function is equal to zero. So to solve for the zeros of a function, first set that function itself equal to zero. Here that would mean:

Then factor like you would a quadratic; since you have it set to zero, if any multiplicative term equals zero then the "equals zero" will hold for the whole equation. First you can factor the common term:

And then you can factor the quadratic within:

This then means that the zeros for this function are at and , meaning that this function has three distinct zeros.

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