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Value of X

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Source: — Problem Solving |

by Ian Stewart » Sat Sep 11, 2010 5:47 am
JeetGulia wrote:IF X<0, then sq root of -X*lXl is

A) -X
B) -1
C) 1
D) X
E) Sq Root X.

Ans is -X, How can square root of number be -ve?
The square root of a number can never be negative. That is not what is happening here, though - if x is negative, as we're told at the beginning of the question, then -x is positive.
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by klmehta03 » Sat Sep 11, 2010 9:05 am
so i guess the answer is D ????
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by [email protected] » Sun Sep 12, 2010 3:20 am
The way i understand it:

X<0
let's consider X to be -5.

therefore, the solution for the equation: -X*(X) is:
-(-5) * (-5)= 5*5=25. so, sqaure root of this is either -5 or 5.

since it is given that X is less than 0, it ought to be -5.
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