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Select the correct answer.

Caroline rewrote a quadratic equation in vertex form by completing the square, but her work has errors.

[tex]\[
\begin{aligned}
f(x)= & -2 x^2+12 x-15 \\
= & -2\left(x^2-6 x\right)-15 \\
= & -2\left(x^2-6 x+9\right)-9-15 \\
= & -2(x-3)^2-9-15 \\
= & -2(x-3)^2-24
\end{aligned}
\][/tex]

Identify the first error in her work.

A. She incorrectly combined the constant terms.

B. She incorrectly factored out the value of [tex]\( a \)[/tex].

C. She subtracted the wrong value to maintain balance after completing the square.

D. She squared the wrong value when completing the square.


Sagot :

To identify the first error in Caroline's work, we need to carefully go through the steps she took in completing the square.

Let's rewrite and analyze the quadratic function step-by-step:

1. Original function:
[tex]\[ f(x) = -2x^2 + 12x - 15 \][/tex]

2. Factoring out the leading coefficient (not the error yet):
[tex]\[ f(x) = -2(x^2 - 6x) - 15 \][/tex]

3. Completing the square:
[tex]\[ -2(x^2 - 6x + 9) - 9 - 15 \][/tex]
Here, Caroline added and subtracted 9 inside the parenthesis to complete the square. The completed square is [tex]\((x - 3)^2\)[/tex], but we must also account for the impact of the factor [tex]\(-2\)[/tex] when maintaining balance:

Correct step should involve [tex]\(-2 \cdot 9\)[/tex]:
[tex]\[ -2(x^2 - 6x + 9) - 18 - 15 \][/tex]

4. Simplifying, we correctly get:
[tex]\[ -2(x - 3)^2 - 33 \][/tex]

Returning to Caroline's work, she incorrectly wrote:
[tex]\[ -2(x^2 - 6x + 9) - 9 - 15 \][/tex]
Instead of:
[tex]\[ -2(x^2 - 6x + 9) - 18 - 15 \][/tex]

So the first error in her work occurs in the third step. She subtracted the wrong value when maintaining balance after completing the square. Therefore, the correct answer is:

C. She subtracted the wrong value to maintain balance after completing the square.
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