2x^3 = x

Understand the Problem

The question is asking us to solve the equation 2x^3 = x for the variable x. This implies isolating x and understanding its possible values.

Answer

The solutions to the equation are $x = 0$, $x = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}$, and $x = -\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}$.
Answer for screen readers

The solutions to the equation $2x^3 = x$ are:

$$ x = 0, \quad x = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}, \quad x = -\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2} $$

Steps to Solve

  1. Rearranging the equation

We start with the equation given, which is $2x^3 = x$. To solve for $x$, we need to move all terms to one side of the equation.

We can rewrite this as:

$$ 2x^3 - x = 0 $$

  1. Factoring the equation

Next, we can factor out the common term, which is $x$:

$$ x(2x^2 - 1) = 0 $$

  1. Setting each factor to zero

Now, we set each factor equal to zero to find the possible values for $x$.

First, we have:

$$ x = 0 $$

Next, we solve the second factor:

$$ 2x^2 - 1 = 0 $$

  1. Solving the quadratic equation

To solve for $x$ in the second factor, we can isolate $x^2$:

$$ 2x^2 = 1 $$

Dividing both sides by 2, we get:

$$ x^2 = \frac{1}{2} $$

Now, we take the square root of both sides:

$$ x = \pm \sqrt{\frac{1}{2}} $$

This simplifies to:

$$ x = \pm \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2} $$

  1. Summarizing the solutions

Putting all our solutions together, we find:

$$ x = 0, \quad x = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}, \quad x = -\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2} $$

The solutions to the equation $2x^3 = x$ are:

$$ x = 0, \quad x = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}, \quad x = -\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2} $$

More Information

The solutions found include one zero solution and two irrational solutions. The value $ \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2} $ is a common approximate value used in trigonometry as well.

Tips

  • Not factoring the equation correctly; it's important to always look for common factors.
  • Forgetting to include both positive and negative roots when taking square roots.
  • Misplacing or omitting terms when rearranging the equation.

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