Extraneous solutions of radical equations (article) | Khan Academy (2024)

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  • Isabella

    8 years agoPosted 8 years ago. Direct link to Isabella's post “is 0 an extraneous soluti...”

    is 0 an extraneous solution

    (20 votes)

    • Allen Yang

      8 years agoPosted 8 years ago. Direct link to Allen Yang's post “It doesn't have to be. Fo...”

      Extraneous solutions of radical equations (article) | Khan Academy (4)

      It doesn't have to be. For example, x^2+4x=0 has solutions 0 and -4 (try them)

      (23 votes)

  • Abd Hamid Mat Sain

    8 years agoPosted 8 years ago. Direct link to Abd Hamid Mat Sain's post “square root 9 should be e...”

    square root 9 should be either 3 or -3.......why should -3 be extraneous then?

    (10 votes)

    • Kim Seidel

      8 years agoPosted 8 years ago. Direct link to Kim Seidel's post “You are correct that squa...”

      Extraneous solutions of radical equations (article) | Khan Academy (8)

      Extraneous solutions of radical equations (article) | Khan Academy (9)

      You are correct that square root (9) can be 3 or -3. But, there is a rule that we always use the principle root (the positive value) unless the square root has a minus in front of it.
      sqrt(9) is asking for the principle root = 3
      - sqrt(9) is asking for the negative root = -3.

      See this video: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra-basics/basic-alg-foundations/alg-basics-roots/v/introduction-to-square-roots

      (25 votes)

  • Carla Cristina Almeida

    8 years agoPosted 8 years ago. Direct link to Carla Cristina Almeida's post “In the last situation, wh...”

    In the last situation, why did they plug -1 in the equation? was it a random number?

    (12 votes)

    • weidner.mary62

      8 years agoPosted 8 years ago. Direct link to weidner.mary62's post “This got me at first too....”

      Extraneous solutions of radical equations (article) | Khan Academy (13)

      This got me at first too. In the original question, it specifically asks you to use x=-1

      (13 votes)

  • Robert Roller

    7 years agoPosted 7 years ago. Direct link to Robert Roller's post “So take the following as ...”

    So take the following as an example.

    sqrt(4x + 41) = x+5

    Originally, x must be greater than -41/4 to be valid. When we solve this equation algebraically, we get the following two solutions: X = -8 and X = 2.

    When you plug X = -8 back into the equation, you end up with sqrt(9) = -3.
    This is extraneous because we are supposed to use the principle root.

    I have three questions.
    #1: Why do we have to use the principle root? It seems logical that the sqrt(9) should be equal to both +3 and -3.
    #2: Why is this extraneous solution still within the original domain of the function, as it is > -41/4.
    #3: What happened mathematically to produce this extraneous solution. If you graph the two equations separately, they only intersect at x = 2, therefore x = 8 is not a solution. But why is this? What happened to produce this extra answer?

    (8 votes)

    • Himalaya

      7 years agoPosted 7 years ago. Direct link to Himalaya's post “1. In your example, we us...”

      Extraneous solutions of radical equations (article) | Khan Academy (17)

      1. In your example, we use the principal square root because the original problem statement says so. It says √(4x + 41), and not -√(4x + 41). By definition, the radical notation without a minus or ± sign in front of it means “the principal root”, which is always positive. The solutions to Power Equations and the solutions to Radical Equations are different things. For example, x^2 = 4 has two solutions: x = ±2, while x = √4 has only one solution: x = 2, and x = -√4 also has one solution: x = -2. We define the square root as a function, so it must have only one output for each input. If we define the function y = √x as having two solutions, then it is no longer a function.

      2. The solution x = -8 is extraneous to the original equation √(4x + 41) = x + 5. However, it is the solution to the equation -√(4x + 41) = x + 5. The expression under the radical is same in both equations, so in terms of keeping the radicand non-negative, the value -8 is OK. If we take the function y = √(4x + 41), then -8 would be a valid input value for x. However, for the equation √(4x + 41) = x + 5, the value x = -8 is not a solution, because it leads to an invalid statement 3 = -3, which is not true.

      3. As mentioned above, x = -8 is the solution to the equation -√(4x + 41) = x + 5. So, if we graph -√(4x + 41) instead of √(4x + 41), it will intersect with x + 5 at x = -8.

      (12 votes)

  • 1earth4ever

    6 years agoPosted 6 years ago. Direct link to 1earth4ever's post “I am having a really hard...”

    I am having a really hard time with this unit. I have watched all the videos several times and I am still very confused. I would really appreciate some help.

    (7 votes)

    • Ian Pulizzotto

      6 years agoPosted 6 years ago. Direct link to Ian Pulizzotto's post “The key idea for solving ...”

      Extraneous solutions of radical equations (article) | Khan Academy (21)

      The key idea for solving square root equations is to isolate a radical on one side and square both sides. If there's still a radical in the equation, then this process would need to be performed a second time. (By the way, don't forget to include the middle term when squaring a binomial. Many students forget to do this.)

      After you have solved the resulting linear or quadratic equation for x, remember that you're not finished yet! Because every positive number has a positive and a negative square root, but the radical symbol denotes only the positive (principal) square root, the act of squaring both sides can create invalid (extraneous) solutions! So plug in your solutions to the original equation to determine which solutions work and which solutions must be discarded.

      Have a blessed, wonderful day!

      (10 votes)

  • Tetsuya

    7 years agoPosted 7 years ago. Direct link to Tetsuya's post “I still don't understand ...”

    I still don't understand why I should care about extraneous solution. It's outside the domain, not a solution, a wrong answer. Or is there any use of finding it?

    (6 votes)

    • kubleeka

      7 years agoPosted 7 years ago. Direct link to kubleeka's post “Extraneous solutions are ...”

      Extraneous solutions of radical equations (article) | Khan Academy (25)

      Extraneous solutions are not necessarily outside the domain. But they can appear as extra solutions when we square both sides of an equation, because when we square an equation, we would get the same result whether the original equation was positive or negative. So one solution corresponds to the positive equation, and the other to the negative equation. But both of them will fall out of the algebra. We need to be able to tell which solution is extraneous and which works.

      (10 votes)

  • Sally

    4 years agoPosted 4 years ago. Direct link to Sally's post “Hi I don't understand why...”

    Hi I don't understand why √9 would not equal -3 when it equals 3. In practice question 3, why wouldn't x=-1 be a correct solution??

    (5 votes)

    • Esther Hernandez

      4 years agoPosted 4 years ago. Direct link to Esther Hernandez's post “I think they're looking f...”

      I think they're looking for the principal sqrt of 9.

      (5 votes)

  • Joslynkim75

    5 years agoPosted 5 years ago. Direct link to Joslynkim75's post “In the video titled, "Equ...”

    In the video titled, "Equation that has a specific extraneous solution." The person who did the video squared the right side of the equation wrong. (d+2x)^2 should be d^2 + 4dx + 4x^2. This is an error.

    (4 votes)

    • Kim Seidel

      5 years agoPosted 5 years ago. Direct link to Kim Seidel's post “This is a known error. A...”

      This is a known error. A correction box does pop up on the video at about

      Extraneous solutions of radical equations (article) | Khan Academy (32) 1:05

      and tells you there is an error. However, these are only visible if you aren't watching in full screen mode. So, if you find something like this, you should always check to see if there is an error message.

      (5 votes)

  • Courtney Ellwein

    a year agoPosted a year ago. Direct link to Courtney Ellwein's post “In question 4 why can't t...”

    In question 4 why can't the square root of 9 = -3 ?

    (3 votes)

    • Kim Seidel

      a year agoPosted a year ago. Direct link to Kim Seidel's post “The problem tells you tha...”

      The problem tells you that it wants the principal root (the positive root). If the problem wanted the negative root, it would have a "-" in front.
      sqrt(9) = +3, the principal root
      -sqrt(9) = -3, the negative root

      See: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/x2f8bb11595b61c86:rational-exponents-radicals/x2f8bb11595b61c86:radicals/v/introduction-to-square-roots

      (6 votes)

  • Bryden Callendar

    7 months agoPosted 7 months ago. Direct link to Bryden Callendar's post “why is algebra so importa...”

    why is algebra so important

    (2 votes)

    • 𝓗𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓪𝓱

      5 months agoPosted 5 months ago. Direct link to 𝓗𝓪𝓷𝓷𝓪𝓱's post “it is very fundamental in...”

      it is very fundamental in life

      (4 votes)

Extraneous solutions of radical equations (article) | Khan Academy (2024)

FAQs

How to check for extraneous solutions in a radical equation? ›

To find the extraneous answer of any equation, just find the solutions and then re-substitute the solutions into the original equation. The answer that results in an illogical equation is the extraneous answer.

Is it necessary for Dimitri to check his answers for extraneous solutions? ›

Check for extraneous solutions: Now, we need to answer the "Is it necessary for Dimitri to check his answers for extraneous solutions?" Since Dimitri has performed operations that are valid for all real numbers (adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing by a non-zero number, and taking even roots of positive numbers), ...

What is an extraneous solution in algebra? ›

Extraneous solutions are values that we get when solving equations that aren't really solutions to the equation. In this video, we explain how and why we get extraneous solutions, by understanding the logic behind the process of solving equations.

Which equation leads to an extraneous solution? ›

In general, extraneous solutions arise when we perform non-invertible operations on both sides of an equation. (That is, they sometimes arise, but not always.) Squaring (or raising to any other even power) is a non-invertible operation.

How to know if it's an extraneous solution? ›

The only way to check for an extraneous solution is to put back the solution in the original problem and check whether it satisfies or not.

Is it necessary for Charlotte to check her answers for extraneous solutions? ›

Final answer:

Charlotte does not need to check for extraneous solutions after solving (x+3)²-10=2 for x and arriving at x+3=\u00b1 \u221a(12), because squaring both sides and directly solving does not typically introduce extraneous solutions.

Should you always check for extraneous solutions? ›

Expert-Verified Answer

An extraneous solution is a solution that in obtained after completely solving an equation but it does not work in the original given equation. You should must check for an extraneous solution when the variable appears both inside and outside the absolute value expression (Option D).

Is an extraneous solution wrong? ›

Extraneous solutions appear to be valid solutions, but when checked back into the original equation they give a false result. You must exclude extraneous solutions from your answer. No solution means there is no value that can make the statement true.

How to know if a radical equation has no solution? ›

When we use a radical sign, it indicates the principal or positive root. If an equation has a radical with an even index equal to a negative number, that equation will have no solution. Solve: To isolate the radical, subtract 1 to both sides.

Why is it important to check all solutions to radical equations? ›

Make sure to check all possible answers to radical equations because you may have found some false solutions: When squaring two sides of an equation, the resulting equation is not always equivalent to the original. Solve: Check answers to ensure that results are real numbers.

How to check for extraneous solutions in absolute value equations? ›

To check if any of your roots are extraneous, plug each of the roots back in to the original equation. If the root does not solve the original problem, then it is extraneous and is not a one of the solutions.

What is an example of a radical equations that has an extraneous solution? ›

The solution x = -8 is extraneous to the original equation √(4x + 41) = x + 5. However, it is the solution to the equation -√(4x + 41) = x + 5. The expression under the radical is same in both equations, so in terms of keeping the radicand non-negative, the value -8 is OK.

What are the two types of equations that can have extraneous solutions? ›

This can happen when solving equations that involve radicals , logarithms , or rational expressions . It is important to check for extraneous solutions in these types of equations to ensure that the final solution is accurate and satisfies all given conditions .

When to check for extraneous solutions in trig equations? ›

In trig problems, extraneous solutions usually occur when |sin x| > 1 or |cos x| > 1. . For example, sin^2 x + 3sin x + 2 = 0 has solutions sin x = -2 and sin x = -1.

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