If x^2 + 2ax + 10 - 3a > 0 for all real numbers x, then find all possible values of a.
If x2+2ax+10−3a>0 for all real numbers x, then this means the graph of f(x)=x2+2ax+10−3a never touches the x-axis. Because if it touches the x-axis, at that point, the function would be zero. However, the questions says that f(x) > 0, so it is never zero, implying it never touches the x-axis.
For quadratic functions that doesn't touch the x-axis, we always have Δ<0, where Δ is the discriminant.
We calculate Δ.
Δ=(2a)2−4(1)(10−3a)=4a2+12a−40=4(a2+3a−10)
If we solve the inequality Δ<0, we get −5<a<2 as our answer. (how?)