High School

Solve algebraically for all values of [tex]x[/tex]:

[tex]12x^6 + 10x^5 + 48x^4 + 40x^3 = 0[/tex]

Answer :

To solve the equation [tex]\( 12x^6 + 10x^5 + 48x^4 + 40x^3 = 0 \)[/tex] algebraically and find all values of [tex]\( x \)[/tex], follow these steps:

1. Factor out the greatest common factor:

Notice that each term on the left side has a common factor of [tex]\( 2x^3 \)[/tex].

[tex]\[
12x^6 + 10x^5 + 48x^4 + 40x^3 = 2x^3(6x^3 + 5x^2 + 24x + 20) = 0
\][/tex]

2. Set the factors equal to zero:

For a product to be zero, at least one of the factors must be zero. Therefore, set each factor to zero:

[tex]\[
2x^3 = 0 \quad \text{or} \quad 6x^3 + 5x^2 + 24x + 20 = 0
\][/tex]

The first factor [tex]\( 2x^3 = 0 \)[/tex]:

[tex]\[
x^3 = 0 \implies x = 0
\][/tex]

3. Solve the remaining polynomial:

Now we need to solve the cubic polynomial [tex]\( 6x^3 + 5x^2 + 24x + 20 = 0 \)[/tex].

By attempting to solve this equation, we find that it can have both real and complex roots.

4. Details of the roots:

The solutions to the polynomial equation [tex]\( 6x^3 + 5x^2 + 24x + 20 = 0 \)[/tex] are:

[tex]\[
x = -\frac{5}{6}, \quad x = -2i, \quad x = 2i
\][/tex]

Therefore, the complete solutions to the equation [tex]\( 12x^6 + 10x^5 + 48x^4 + 40x^3 = 0 \)[/tex] are:

[tex]\[
\boxed{0, -\frac{5}{6}, -2i, 2i}
\][/tex]