- #1
roam
- 1,271
- 12
Homework Statement
I'm having some difficulty understanding the last step of the following solved problem from my textbook:
We will compute the equilibrium points of [itex]kP \left( 1- \frac{P}{N} \right) - C[/itex].
[itex]kP \left( 1- \frac{P}{N} \right) - C =0[/itex]
[itex]-kP^2+kNP - CN =0[/itex]
The quadratic equations has solutions
[itex]P= \frac{N}{2} \pm \sqrt{\frac{N^2}{4}-\frac{CN}{k}}[/itex]
The Attempt at a Solution
So if we start off by
[itex]-kP^2+kNP - CN =0[/itex]
and using the quadratic equation:
[itex]x=\frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}[/itex]
I get:
[itex]P= \frac{-kN \pm \sqrt{(kN)^2-4kC}}{2k}[/itex]
[itex]= \frac{N}{2} \pm \frac{\sqrt{k^2N^2-4kC}}{2k}[/itex]
So, why is my answer different from the one in the textbook? And how can I end up with the solution in the book (that I've posted above)?