Solving Polynomial Equations by factoring

Solve: 2x^2-10x=0

x = 0 or x=5

Step-by-step explanation:

2x2-10x=0

Step 1: Factor left side of equation.

2x (x-5) = 0

Step 2: Set factors equal to 0.

2x=0 or x-5=0

x=0 or x=5

I would start this problem by factoring

out the greatest common factor.

Notice that the two terms on the left side of the

equation have a greatest common factor of x.

So we can factor out an x to gives us x (2x - 10) = 0.

So either x = 0 or 2x - 10 = 0.

Solving from here, you should be able to easily find that x = 0 or x = 5.

Notice that there are 2 solutions to this problem because

the greatest power in our original equation is 2.