Extraneous Root Lab

Skill: radical-equations

Extraneous Root Lab

Graph y = √(ax+b) and y = c together: the intersection is the true solution — and squaring-only candidates that miss the curve are exposed as extraneous.

See the extraneous root miss

Set a, b for y = √(ax + b) (blue) and c for the line y = c (gold). Intersections are real solutions; the lab also shows what squaring alone would claim.

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