What is the maximum vertical distance between the line y = x + 20 and the parabola y = x2 for −4 ≤ x ≤ 5?

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graphically?   well, you graph them both, the solutions is where they both intersect each other, since there are two solutions, meaning they will meet twice, or namely the linear will run into the quadratic curve twice, and where they meet, those x,y coordinates are the solutions to the system.