Concept:
A quadratic equation with factor α and β can be written as:
x2 – (α + β) x + (αβ) = 0
Application:
Given the quadratic equation:
x2 – 11x + 22 = 0 ---(1)
Also, the solutions to the given quadratic equation are 3 and 6.
∴ We can write the quadratic equation as:
x2 – (6 + 3) x + (6 × 3) = 0 ---(2)
Comparing the two-equations, we can write:
(6)b + (3)b = (11)b i.e. for some base ‘b’, this equation must hold true.
Converting both the RHS and LHS to their respective decimal equivalent, we can write:
(6 × b0) + (3 × b0) = (1 × b1 + 1 × b0)
6 + 3 = b + 1
b = 8
∴ The base of the number is 8 that satisfies the above quadratic equation.