ou notice that the following problem cannot be factored so you solve it by completing the square. What value of x would make the left - hand side of this equation a perfect square trinomial? x^2 - 8x + c = 13
a. 16
b. 4
c. 64
d.-8 f. -4
To solve by completing the square, we want the left-hand side of the equation to be a perfect square trinomial in the form (x - a)^2.
So, we want to find the value of c that would make x^2 - 8x + c a perfect square trinomial.
First, we compare x^2 - 8x + c to the general form of a perfect square trinomial (x - a)^2, which is x^2 - 2ax + a^2.
From this comparison, we can see that:
-2a = -8, so a = 4
c = a^2 = 4^2 = 16
Therefore, the value of c that would make x^2 - 8x + c a perfect square trinomial is c = 16.
So, the answer is:
a. 16