The Formula
A quadratic equation is an equation that can be written in the form ax2 + bx + c = 0, where a, b and c are numbers. As we saw in the previous activity, some quadratic equations can be solved by factoring and using the fact that if the product of two numbers is 0, then one of the numbers must be 0.
Not all quadratic trinomials can be factored, and you might be uncomfortable with factoring anyway. A sure method for finding the solutions (also called "roots") of a quadratic equation is to use the quadratic formula:
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Date last modified: January 5, 2009.
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