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Q: 1=-1 ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   2 Comments )
Question  
Subject: 1=-1
Category: Reference, Education and News
Asked by: dr_jones-ga
List Price: $3.00
Posted: 18 Sep 2005 04:47 PDT
Expires: 18 Oct 2005 04:47 PDT
Question ID: 569342
-1=(-1)=(-1)^1=(-1)^2/2=((-1)^2)^1/2=(1)1/2=1
-1=1 
where am i make Mistake ?
wright it in a paper to understand better.
Answer  
Subject: Re: 1=-1
Answered By: livioflores-ga on 18 Sep 2005 08:15 PDT
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
HI!!


The mistake camoes from the direct use of the PRINCIPAL SQUARE ROOT,
not that by definition for x >= 0, the square root is the number y
that satisfies y^2=x
For example 4^1/2 = 2 AND -2 because (-2)^2 = 4 and 2^2 = 4, depending
on the context of the problem you must select one of the results or
use both of them (for example when factoring a polinomial).

See for reference:
"Square root - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_root#Common_errors_involving_equations_with_the_principal_square_root_function


Hope this helps you. Feel free to request for a clarification if you need it.

Regards,
livioflores-ga
dr_jones-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars and gave an additional tip of: $1.00
:)

Comments  
Subject: Re: 1=-1
From: politicalguru-ga on 18 Sep 2005 05:27 PDT
 
Are you sure regarding ((-1)^2)^1/2?
Subject: Re: 1=-1
From: dimndskier-ga on 12 Oct 2005 13:37 PDT
 
Actually, the square root of a positive real number is going to be
associated with the absolute value.

For instance,

If X^2 = 9, for instance, then

X = |3| which means X= +3 AND X= -3

The same actually applies for all numbers but it is easiest to explain
and understand under the pretenses of whole real numbers.

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