Solve for x x^2=-12

$x^{2} = - 12$

Step 1

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

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

Step 2

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 $i$ .

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

Step 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.

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