 |
Lenval pose la question :
Why do quadratic equations arising from practical problems often give physically impossible solutions such as negative distances, negative times or, say, a polygon with a negative number of sides? For example: "A river in flood carries a tree t-squared - 23t metres downstream in t seconds. How long does it take for the tree to be carried 50 metres downstream?" This gives t=25 and t=-2. Please explain the second 'solution', which is not physically possible.
Chris Fisher and Victoria West lui répond. |
