Answer: To solve the inequality x^2 + 3x - 4 > 0, we can use the method of factoring.
First, we can factor the quadratic expression:
x^2 + 3x - 4 = (x + 4)(x - 1)
Now we can find the values of x that make the expression greater than zero by looking at the sign of the expression for each factor and applying the sign rules of multiplication:
- If both factors are positive, the expression is positive.
- If both factors are negative, the expression is positive.
- If one factor is positive and one factor is negative, the expression is negative.
Using this method, we can create a sign chart:
x x + 4 x - 1 x^2 + 3x - 4
-4 0 -5 +6
-1 + - -
1 + + +
0 + - -
2 + + +
From the sign chart, we can see that the expression is greater than zero for x < -4 or x > 1. Therefore, the solutions to the inequality are all real numbers x such that x < -4 or x > 1. We can write this as:
x < -4 or x > 1