A quadratic equation is an equation of the second degree. This means, there are two degrees in x and two solutions.
The solutions will be put inside of two curly brackets { }, instead of ( ) like ordered pairs.
Polynomials are written so that their exponents are decreasing in value from left to right of the expression.
Example:
Increasing order means that the degrees or exponents are increasing in value from left to right of the expression.
Example:
Some Helpful Tools
This section will cover the fundamentals and rules of solving quadratic equations.
Math: Quadratic Equations - Tutorial
Let's take a look at the standard quadratic equation form. This form can be used for equations that are simple to factor.
Quadratic Equation Form
Factoring Quadratic Equations
What makes the following examples quadratic equations?
The variable x contains 2 degrees.
The variable y contains 2 degrees.
This example can be factored.
You can use the standard quadratic equation form to factor the following equation.
Quadratic Equation Formula
Use the quadratic equation formula for equations that are difficult to factor.
The standard form for writing a quadratic equation is:
where a = 1, b = 2, and c = -8.
Plug the numbers into the two formulas. Below is a separate look at both formulas.
The solution set is {2, -4}.
(positive formula)
(negative formula)
(positive and negative formula)
This example shows both formulas together.
The negative and the positive solutions are
shown separately.
