Воспользуемся формулой разности квадратов:
\({a^2}-{b^2} = \left( {a-b} \right)\left( {a + b} \right).\)
\({x^2}-49 = 0\,\,\,\,\,\, \Leftrightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\,{x^2}-{7^2} = 0\,\,\,\,\,\, \Leftrightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\,\left( {x-7} \right)\left( {x + 7} \right) = 0\,\,\,\,\,\, \Leftrightarrow \)
\( \Leftrightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\,\left[ \begin{array}{l}x-7 = 0,\\x + 7 = 0\end{array} \right.\,\,\,\,\,\, \Leftrightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\,\left[ \begin{array}{l}x = 7,\\x = -7.\end{array} \right.\)
Меньший корень уравнения \(x = -7.\)
Ответ: \(-7.\)