Solve for x: x5 + x4 − 7x3 − 7x2 − 144x − 144 = 0

{ -1, -3i,3i,4,-4}

Step-by-step explanation:

I'm going to try to get the Rational Root Theorem to work for us.

Since the coefficient of leading term is 1 we just need to look at the factors of the constant.

Possible rational zeros are going to be the factors of -144.

So here are some possible rational zeros: 1,2,3,4,6,8,9,12,16,18,24,36,48,72 and also the negative version of these numbers are numbers we must consider.

I'm going to see if -1 works.  

(-1)^5+(-1)^4-7(-1)^3-7(-1)^2-144(-1)-144

-1   +   1     +7      -7       +144  -144=0

So -1 is a zero so x+1 is a factor. I'm going to use synthetic division to see what multiplies to x+1 that will me the initial polynomial expression we had.

-1   |    1       1      -7        -7      -144    -144

     |           -1      0          7        0       144

     | ________ __________________

          1      0     -7         0       -144      0

So the (x+1)(x^4-7x^2-144)=0

The cool thing is that other factor is a sort of quadratic in disguise. That is it becomes a quadratic if you let u=x^2. So let's do that.

u^2-7u-144=0

(u+9)(u-16)=0

u=-9 or u=16

So x^2=-9 or x^2=16.

Square rooting both sides gives us:

So the solution set is { -1, -3i,3i,4,-4}

question: how many people can she serve?

answer: she can serve 16.66666667 people. so she can only give 16 people a complete serving.

question: does she have enough ice cream for her guests?

answer: no. explanation: she only has enough for 16 people to have a full serving. however, she can give a 17th person a partial serving.