The easiest and most time-effective way to approach this problem is to use the quadratic formula:
[tex]x=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{ b^2-4ac}}{2a}[/tex],
where a = 2, b = -1, and c = 4. (We get this from the general quadratic: ax² + bx + c.)
When we plug in our numbers, we get [tex]x=\frac{1\pm\sqrt{1-32}}{4}[/tex] which also equals [tex]\frac{1\pm i\sqrt{31}}{4}[/tex], or the first choice!
:)
