Question

The difference of the square of a number and 10 is equal to 3 times that number. Find the negative solution.

Answer 1

-2

Explanation:

Let's call the number x. The statement tells us that

x^2 - 10 = 3x, or

x^2-3x-10 = 0

Factoring:

(x-5)(x+2) = 0. Here, we see that there are two solutions: x = 5 and x = -2. So, the negative solution is x = -2.