Use the Intermidiate Value Theorem to prove that there is a positive number c such that c^2 = 2.

This exercise is asking to prove the existance of the square root of 2. So let's consider the function f(x) = x^2. Since f(x) is a polynomial, then it is continuous on the interval (- infinity, + infinity). Using the Intermidiate Value Theorem, it would be enough to show that at some point a f(x) is less than 2 and at some point b f(x) is greater than 2. For example, let a = 0 and b = 3. Therefore, 

f(0) = 0, which is less than 2, and f(3) = 9, which is greater than 2. Applying IVT to f(x) = x^2 on the interval [0,3] and taking N=2, we can therefore guarantee the existance of a number c such that 0<c<2 and c^2 = 2. 

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Answered by Dilyana K. Maths tutor

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