Interactive Mathematics by Kunio Mitsuma, Ph.D.

Question: How do we compute the zeros of f(x) = (1/2)x³ – x?

Yours Truly answers: In seeking the zeros of a function, we always start by setting the RHS (right-hand side) to zero. That is,

A common mistake at this point is to cancel the x. We should not, or we would lose one of the zeros. Solving the last equation gives us the zeros: