Use completing the square to find the minimum of y = x^2 - 4x + 8

Remember completing the square gives a result of the form (x+q)2 + p where q and p are numbers
Also q is always half of the x term, which in this case is -4, as such q = -2
Substituting this in, we get (x-2)2 which expands to x2 - 4x + 4. To make this equal to our original equation, we need to add 4, getting us y = (x-2)2 + 4.
As a rule, the minimum point is always x = -q, y = p. Therefore our answer is (2,4)

SD

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Factorise x^2+5x+6


Show that y=3x-2 and 3y-9x+5=0 are parallel.


Simultaneous questions: 2x+y=7, 3x-y=8


y = p x q^(x - 1), When x = 1, y = 10, and when x = 6, y = 0.3125. Find the value of 'y' when x = 3