Q. f(x)=(5x+1)(4x−8)(x+6) has zeros at x=−6,x=−51, and x=2.What is the sign of f on the interval −51<x<2 ?Choose 1 answer:(A) f is always positive on the interval.(B) f is always negative on the interval.(C) f is sometimes positive and sometimes negative on the interval.
Identify Zeros: Since f(x) has zeros at x=−6, x=−51, and x=2, we can test the sign of f(x) by picking a test point from the interval -\frac{1}{5} < x < 2.
Select Test Point: Let's pick x=0 as our test point since it's easy to work with and it's within the interval.
Evaluate f(x): Plug x=0 into f(x) to see the sign: f(0)=(5⋅0+1)(4⋅0−8)(0+6)=(1)(−8)(6).
Calculate Sign: Calculate the sign of f(0): (1)(−8)(6)=−48, which is negative.
Final Conclusion: Since f(0) is negative and there are no zeros between −51 and 2, f(x) must be negative for all x in the interval -\frac{1}{5} < x < 2.