If -16 - 6x + x2 = x2 - abx - 8b, where a and b are constants, what is the value of a?
Correct Answer: C
Your Answer:
Explanation
(C) The different terms on the two sides of the equation equal each other. So -16 = -8b, -6x = - abx, and x2 = x2. Why? This occurs because the constants must equal each other, the terms with an x must equal each other, and the terms with an x2 must equal one another. Since -16 = -8b, b = 2.
Plug in 2 for b in the second equation and cancel out the -x to solve for a:
-6x = -abx → 6 = a · 2 → a = 3