Use a graphing calculator to approximate real solution of the equation. (See Example 1.)
x5 − 6x + 6 = 0
Example 1
Use a graphical root finder to solve x3 − 5x + 1 = 0.
Solution
First, graph y = x3 − 5x + 1. The x-intercepts of this graph are the solutions of the equation. To find these intercepts, look for “root” or “zero” in the appropriate menu.* Check your instruction manual for the proper syntax. A typical root finder (see Figure 1) shows that two of the solutions (x-intercepts) are x ≈ .2016 and x ≈ 2.1284. For the third solution, see the problem at the side.
FIGURE 1
*CALC or TI-84+, GRAPH MATH on TI-86, G-SOLV on Casio.
We need at least 10 more requests to produce the solution.
0 / 10 have requested this problem solution
The more requests, the faster the answer.