NCERT Exemplar Solutions - Class 10 - Mathematics - Unit 4: Quadatric Equation
Exercise 4.2

Reasoning and justification questions on quadratic equations: discriminant test, true/false, irrational roots, and conceptual proofs.

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Question. 1

1. State whether the following quadratic equations have two distinct real roots. Justify your answer.

(i) \(x^2 - 3x + 4 = 0\)

(ii) \(2x^2 + x - 1 = 0\)

(iii) \(2x^2 - 6x + \dfrac{9}{2} = 0\)

(iv) \(3x^2 - 4x + 1 = 0\)

(v) \((x+4)^2 - 8x = 0\)

(vi) \((x - \sqrt{2})^2 - 2(x+1) = 0\)

(vii) \(\sqrt{2}x^2 - \dfrac{3}{\sqrt{2}}x + \dfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}} = 0\)

(viii) \(x(1-x) - 2 = 0\)

(ix) \((x-1)(x+2)+2=0\)

(x) \((x+1)(x-2)+x=0\)

Answer

(i) No (D = -7)

(ii) Yes (D = 9)

(iii) No (D = 0)

(iv) Yes (D = 4)

(v) No (D = 0)

(vi) Yes (D = 4)

(vii) Yes (D = 2)

(viii) Yes (D = 9)

(ix) Yes (D = 1)

(x) Yes (D = 5)

Step by Step Solution

Key idea: For a quadratic equation \(ax^2 + bx + c = 0\), we calculate the discriminant:

\(D = b^2 - 4ac\)

  • If \(D > 0\), there are two distinct real roots.
  • If \(D = 0\), there are two equal real roots (not distinct).
  • If \(D < 0\), there are no real roots.

(i) \(x^2 - 3x + 4 = 0\)

a = 1, b = -3, c = 4

D = (-3)^2 - 4(1)(4) = 9 - 16 = -7

Since D < 0, there are no real roots.

(ii) \(2x^2 + x - 1 = 0\)

a = 2, b = 1, c = -1

D = (1)^2 - 4(2)(-1) = 1 + 8 = 9

D > 0, so there are two distinct real roots.

(iii) \(2x^2 - 6x + 9/2 = 0\)

a = 2, b = -6, c = 9/2

D = (-6)^2 - 4(2)(9/2) = 36 - 36 = 0

D = 0, so there are real roots but they are equal, not distinct.

(iv) \(3x^2 - 4x + 1 = 0\)

a = 3, b = -4, c = 1

D = (-4)^2 - 4(3)(1) = 16 - 12 = 4

D > 0, so there are two distinct real roots.

(v) \((x+4)^2 - 8x = 0\)

Expand: (x+4)^2 = x^2 + 8x + 16

Equation: x^2 + 8x + 16 - 8x = x^2 + 16 = 0

a = 1, b = 0, c = 16

D = 0^2 - 4(1)(16) = -64

D < 0, so there are no real roots.

(vi) \((x - √2)^2 - 2(x+1) = 0\)

Expand: (x - √2)^2 = x^2 - 2√2x + 2

Equation: x^2 - 2√2x + 2 - 2x - 2 = x^2 - (2√2 + 2)x

a = 1, b = -(2√2 + 2), c = 0

D = b^2 - 4ac = (-(2√2+2))^2 = (2√2+2)^2

This is positive, so there are two distinct real roots.

(vii) \(√2x^2 - (3/√2)x + (1/√2) = 0\)

Multiply whole equation by √2 to remove fractions:

2x^2 - 3x + 1 = 0

a = 2, b = -3, c = 1

D = (-3)^2 - 4(2)(1) = 9 - 8 = 1

D > 0, so two distinct real roots.

(viii) \(x(1-x) - 2 = 0\)

Expand: x - x^2 - 2 = 0

Rearrange: -x^2 + x - 2 = 0 → x^2 - x + 2 = 0

a = 1, b = -1, c = 2

D = (-1)^2 - 4(1)(2) = 1 - 8 = -7

D < 0, so no real roots.

(ix) \((x-1)(x+2)+2=0\)

Expand: (x-1)(x+2) = x^2 + x - 2

Add +2: x^2 + x - 2 + 2 = x^2 + x = 0

a = 1, b = 1, c = 0

D = (1)^2 - 4(1)(0) = 1

D > 0, so two distinct real roots.

(x) \((x+1)(x-2)+x=0\)

Expand: (x+1)(x-2) = x^2 - x - 2

Add +x: x^2 - x - 2 + x = x^2 - 2

a = 1, b = 0, c = -2

D = (0)^2 - 4(1)(-2) = 0 + 8 = 8

D > 0, so two distinct real roots.

Question. 2

2. Write whether the following statements are true or false. Justify.

(i) Every quadratic has exactly one root.

(ii) Every quadratic has at least one real root.

(iii) Every quadratic has at least two roots.

(iv) Every quadratic has at most two roots.

(v) If coefficient of \(x^2\) and constant term have opposite signs, the quadratic has real roots.

(vi) If coefficient of \(x^2\) and constant have same sign and coefficient of x term is 0, then quadratic has no real roots.

Answer

(i) False

(ii) False

(iii) True (but not necessarily distinct real)

(iv) True

(v) True

(vi) True

Step by Step Solution

(i) A quadratic equation can have 0, 1, or 2 real roots. Example: \(x^2+1=0\) has 0 real roots, \((x-2)^2=0\) has 1 real root, and \(x^2-1=0\) has 2 real roots. So, it is not true that every quadratic has exactly one root.

(ii) Some quadratics do not have any real root. Example: \(x^2+1=0\). Here, no real number squared gives \(-1\). So, not every quadratic has at least one real root. This is false.

(iii) By the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, a quadratic always has 2 roots (they may be real or complex). Example: \(x^2+1=0\) has two roots: \(i\) and \(-i\), which are complex. So the statement “every quadratic has at least two roots” is true if we count complex roots as well.

(iv) Since the highest power of \(x\) is 2, a quadratic can never have more than 2 roots. So, “at most 2 roots” is true.

(v) If the coefficient of \(x^2\) (say \(a\)) and the constant term (say \(c\)) have opposite signs, then their product \(a \times c < 0\). This means the parabola will cut the x-axis at two points, giving two real roots. Example: \(x^2 - 4 = 0\). Here \(a=1\), \(c=-4\), opposite signs → real roots \(x=\pm 2\). So this is true.

(vi) If \(a\) and \(c\) have the same sign, and coefficient of \(x\) (that is \(b\)) is 0, then the quadratic looks like \(ax^2 + c = 0\). Example: \(x^2 + 4 = 0\). Here both \(a\) and \(c\) are positive. This has no real solution because \(x^2 = -4\) is impossible for real numbers. So this statement is true.

Question. 3

3. A quadratic equation with integral coefficients has integral roots. Justify.

Answer

False.

Step by Step Solution

Let us check step by step:

  1. A quadratic equation is of the form \(ax^2 + bx + c = 0\), where \(a, b, c\) are numbers and \(a \neq 0\).
  2. "Integral coefficients" means that \(a, b, c\) are whole numbers (positive, negative, or zero).
  3. The statement says: "If the coefficients are integers, then the roots must also be integers."
  4. To check this, we try an example: \(x^2 - 2 = 0\).
  5. Here, \(a = 1, b = 0, c = -2\). All are integers, so coefficients are integral.
  6. Now solve it: \(x^2 - 2 = 0 \implies x^2 = 2 \implies x = \pm \sqrt{2}\).
  7. But \(\sqrt{2}\) is not an integer (it is an irrational number).
  8. This shows that even if the coefficients are integers, the roots may not be integers.

Therefore, the statement is false.

Question. 4

4. Does there exist a quadratic equation with rational coefficients but irrational roots? Justify.

Answer

Yes.

Step by Step Solution

Let us check step by step:

  1. A quadratic equation is of the form \(ax^2 + bx + c = 0\), where \(a, b, c\) are numbers called coefficients.
  2. Rational coefficients means \(a, b, c\) are either integers or fractions (numbers that can be written as \(\frac{p}{q}\)).
  3. Irrational roots means the solutions (values of \(x\)) cannot be written as a simple fraction, like \(\sqrt{2}, \sqrt{3}, \pi\), etc.
  4. Consider the equation: \(x^2 - 2 = 0\).
  5. Here, the coefficients are:
    • \(a = 1\)
    • \(b = 0\)
    • \(c = -2\)
    All of these are rational numbers.
  6. Now solve: \(x^2 - 2 = 0 \implies x^2 = 2\).
  7. Taking square root: \(x = \pm \sqrt{2}\).
  8. But \(\sqrt{2}\) is an irrational number.

So this quadratic equation has rational coefficients but irrational roots. Hence, the answer is Yes.

Question. 5

5. Does there exist a quadratic equation with irrational coefficients but rational roots? Why?

Answer

Yes.

Step by Step Solution

Let's understand step by step:

  1. A quadratic equation is in the form: \(ax^2 + bx + c = 0\), where \(a, b, c\) are called coefficients.
  2. Coefficients can be any real numbers: they may be rational (like \(2, -3, \frac{1}{2}\)) or irrational (like \(\sqrt{2}, \pi\)).
  3. We want to check: is it possible that the coefficients are irrational but the solutions (roots) are rational numbers?

Example:

  • Take the equation: \(\sqrt{2}x^2 - \sqrt{2} = 0\).
  • Here, the coefficient of \(x^2\) is \(\sqrt{2}\) (irrational) and the constant term is \(-\sqrt{2}\) (irrational).

Now solve it:

  1. \(\sqrt{2}x^2 - \sqrt{2} = 0\)
  2. Take out \(\sqrt{2}\) as common: \(\sqrt{2}(x^2 - 1) = 0\)
  3. So, \(x^2 - 1 = 0\)
  4. Which gives: \(x^2 = 1\)
  5. Therefore, \(x = \pm 1\)

Thus, the roots are \(1\) and \(-1\), both rational numbers.

Conclusion: Yes, it is possible. The equation \(\sqrt{2}x^2 - \sqrt{2} = 0\) has irrational coefficients but rational roots.

Question. 6

6. Is 0.2 a root of \(x^2-0.4=0\)? Justify.

Answer

No.

Step by Step Solution

To check if 0.2 is a root, we must put \(x = 0.2\) in the equation \(x^2 - 0.4 = 0\).

Step 1: Write the equation with \(x = 0.2\):

\((0.2)^2 - 0.4\)

Step 2: Find \((0.2)^2\):

\(0.2 \times 0.2 = 0.04\)

Step 3: Subtract 0.4 from 0.04:

\(0.04 - 0.4 = -0.36\)

Step 4: The result is \(-0.36\). For a number to be a root, the result must be exactly 0.

Since \(-0.36 \neq 0\), 0.2 is not a root of the equation.

Question. 7

7. If b=0 and c<0, are the roots of \(x^2+bx+c=0\) numerically equal and opposite in sign? Justify.

Answer

Yes.

Step by Step Solution

Step 1: Start with the quadratic equation:

\(x^2 + bx + c = 0\)

Here, \(b = 0\). So the equation becomes:

\(x^2 + c = 0\)


Step 2: Rearrange the equation:

\(x^2 = -c\)


Step 3: We are told \(c < 0\) (c is negative). That means \(-c\) is positive.

So, \(-c = |c|\) (the absolute value of c).

Thus, \(x^2 = |c|\).


Step 4: Take the square root on both sides:

\(x = +\sqrt{|c|}\) or \(x = -\sqrt{|c|}\)


Step 5: These two roots have the same size (same numerical value) but one is positive and the other is negative.

That means they are equal in magnitude and opposite in sign.

Disclaimer:The questions are taken from NCERT Exemplar, which is the copyright of NCERT. The solutions provided here are prepared independently for educational purposes only. This material is not an official NCERT publication.