<s>[INST] Solve for $ x$, $-\frac{1}{2}x^2 + 2x + 5 = 0$ I'm having trouble solving this equation for $x$:
$$-\frac{1}{2}x^2 + 2x + 5 = 0$$
What's the steps to take to solve it?
Thanks.
 [/INST] If you multiply 
$$-\frac{1}{2}x^2 + 2x + 5 = 0\tag{1}$$
by $-2$ you get $$x^2-4x-10=0$$ Using the quadratic formula: $$ax^2 + bx + c = 0 \iff x = \frac{1}{2a}\left(-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}\right),$$ where in this case, $a = 1,\;b= -4,\; c = -10$ we have $$x=\frac 12 (4 \pm \sqrt {16+40})=2 \pm \sqrt {14}\tag{2}$$
Walking through the simplification of $(2)$
$$x = \frac12 (4 \pm \sqrt{16 + 40}) \;=\; \frac12(4 \pm \sqrt{56})\; = \;\frac12 (4 \pm \sqrt{4\cdot 14}) \;=\; \frac12 (4 \pm \sqrt{4}\sqrt{14})\;$$ $$ = \;\frac12 (4 \pm 2\sqrt{14})\;=\; \frac 12 \cdot 4 \pm \frac12 \cdot 2\sqrt{14}\;\; = \;\;2 \pm \sqrt{14}$$
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