If \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) are the roots of \(x^{2} + x - 2 = 0\), find the value of \(\frac{1}{\alpha^{2}} + \frac{1}{\beta^{2}}\).

Assessment: WAEC SSCE - Further Mathematics - 2015 (Objective) Subject: Further Mathematics

Question 1 Report

If \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) are the roots of \(x^{2} + x - 2 = 0\), find the value of \(\frac{1}{\alpha^{2}} + \frac{1}{\beta^{2}}\).

Answer Details
To find the value of \(\frac{1}{\alpha^{2}} + \frac{1}{\beta^{2}}\), we first need to find the values of \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\). Given that \(x^{2} + x - 2 = 0\), we can factorize the quadratic equation as \((x-1)(x+2)=0\). Thus, the roots are \(\alpha = 1\) and \(\beta = -2\). Now, we can substitute these values into the expression to get: \[\frac{1}{\alpha^{2}} + \frac{1}{\beta^{2}} = \frac{1}{1^{2}} + \frac{1}{(-2)^{2}} = 1 + \frac{1}{4} = \frac{5}{4}\] Therefore, the answer is \(\frac{5}{4}\).

Download The App On Google Playstore

Everything you need to excel in your exams

Green Bridge CBT Mobile App
Personalized AI Learning Chat Assistant
200,000+ Exam Questions Across IGCSE, JAMB, WAEC & NECO
Over 3,900 Lesson Notes
Offline Support - Learn Anytime, Anywhere
Green Bridge Timetable
Literature Summaries & Potential Questions
Track Your Performance & Progress
In-depth Explanations for Comprehensive Learning