Solve by Factoring x^4-144=0

$x^{4} - 144 = 0$

Step 1

Rewrite $x^{4}$ as ${(x^{2})}^{2}$ .

${(x^{2})}^{2} - 144 = 0$

Step 2

Rewrite $144$ as $12^{2}$ .

${(x^{2})}^{2} - 12^{2} = 0$

Step 3

Since both terms are perfect squares, factor using the difference of squares formula, $a^{2} - b^{2} = (a + b) (a - b)$ where $a = x^{2}$ and $b = 12$ .

$(x^{2} + 12) (x^{2} - 12) = 0$

Step 4

If any individual factor on the left side of the equation is equal to $0$ , the entire expression will be equal to $0$ .

$x^{2} + 12 = 0$

$x^{2} - 12 = 0$

Step 5

Set $x^{2} + 12$ equal to $0$ and solve for $x$ .

Set $x^{2} + 12$ equal to $0$ .

$x^{2} + 12 = 0$

Solve $x^{2} + 12 = 0$ for $x$ .

Subtract $12$ from both sides of the equation.

$x^{2} = - 12$

Take the specified root of both sides of the equation to eliminate the exponent on the left side.

$x = \pm \sqrt{- 12}$

Simplify $\pm \sqrt{- 12}$ .

Rewrite $- 12$ as $- 1 (12)$ .

$x = \pm \sqrt{- 1 (12)}$

Rewrite $\sqrt{- 1 (12)}$ as $\sqrt{- 1} \cdot \sqrt{12}$ .

$x = \pm \sqrt{- 1} \cdot \sqrt{12}$

Rewrite $\sqrt{- 1}$ as $i$ .

$x = \pm i \cdot \sqrt{12}$

Rewrite $12$ as $2^{2} \cdot 3$ .

Factor $4$ out of $12$ .

$x = \pm i \cdot \sqrt{4 (3)}$

Rewrite $4$ as $2^{2}$ .

$x = \pm i \cdot \sqrt{2^{2} \cdot 3}$

Pull terms out from under the radical.

$x = \pm i \cdot (2 \sqrt{3})$

Move $2$ to the left of $i$ .

$x = \pm 2 i \sqrt{3}$

The complete solution is the result of both the positive and negative portions of the solution.

First, use the positive value of the $\pm$ to find the first solution.

$x = 2 i \sqrt{3}$

Next, use the negative value of the $\pm$ to find the second solution.

$x = - 2 i \sqrt{3}$

The complete solution is the result of both the positive and negative portions of the solution.

$x = 2 i \sqrt{3}, - 2 i \sqrt{3}$

Step 6

Set $x^{2} - 12$ equal to $0$ and solve for $x$ .

Set $x^{2} - 12$ equal to $0$ .

$x^{2} - 12 = 0$

Solve $x^{2} - 12 = 0$ for $x$ .

Add $12$ to both sides of the equation.

$x^{2} = 12$

Take the specified root of both sides of the equation to eliminate the exponent on the left side.

$x = \pm \sqrt{12}$

Simplify $\pm \sqrt{12}$ .

Rewrite $12$ as $2^{2} \cdot 3$ .

Factor $4$ out of $12$ .

$x = \pm \sqrt{4 (3)}$

Rewrite $4$ as $2^{2}$ .

$x = \pm \sqrt{2^{2} \cdot 3}$

Pull terms out from under the radical.

$x = \pm 2 \sqrt{3}$

The complete solution is the result of both the positive and negative portions of the solution.

First, use the positive value of the $\pm$ to find the first solution.

$x = 2 \sqrt{3}$

Next, use the negative value of the $\pm$ to find the second solution.

$x = - 2 \sqrt{3}$

The complete solution is the result of both the positive and negative portions of the solution.

$x = 2 \sqrt{3}, - 2 \sqrt{3}$

Step 7

The final solution is all the values that make $(x^{2} + 12) (x^{2} - 12) = 0$ true.

$x = 2 i \sqrt{3}, - 2 i \sqrt{3}, 2 \sqrt{3}, - 2 \sqrt{3}$

Solve by Factoring x^4-144=0

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