1 How to Factorize the Quadratic Equation Effi-

ciently
You might remember how you had to solve problems involving the quadratic equation
having the following form:
ax2 + bx + c = 0,
and you had to remember several techniques (perfect square, sum and product, com-
pleting the square). In here we show how to use one technique to efficiently factorize
the quadratic equation.

1. Have your problem in the ax2 + bx + c = 0 form, using algebra.

2. Compute the two roots by using the formula

√
−b − b2 − 4ac
x1 =
2a
√
−b + b2 − 4ac
x2 =
2a
3. The factorized form of the quadratic is

ax2 + bx + c = a(x − x1 )(x − x2 ) = 0

and the solutions are x1 and x2 .

Example: Factor, then solve 4x2 + 5x = 2.

Solution: First, we move every term to the right hand side by subtracting 2 on both
sides to get our desired form.
4x2 + 5x − 2 = 0
Then we find the two roots using the formula

√
p
−5 − (−5)2 − 4 · 4 · (−2) 1
x1 = = − (5 + 57)
2·4 8
√
p
−5 + (−5)2 − 4 · 4 · (−2) 1
x2 = = − (5 − 57)
2·4 8
So the factorized form of the quadratic is
√ √
  
2 1 1
4x + 5x − 2 = 4(x − x1 )(x − x2 ) = 4 x + (5 + 57) x + (5 − 57) = 0
8 8

and the solutions are x = x1, x2.

1
2 Derivation of the Quadratic Formula
Note that to derive the formula, we actually need the completion of the square method.

ax2 + bx + c = 0 Divide by a
b c
x2 + x + = 0 Bring the constant to the right
a a
b c
x2 + x = − Complete the square
a a
2 2
b b c b
x2 + x + 2 = − + 2
a 4a a 4a
b 2 c b2
(x + ) = − + 2 Take the square root
2a r a 4a
b c b2 b
x+ =± − + 2 Bring to the right
2a r a 4a 2a
b c b2
x=− ± − + 2 Common denominator
q 2a a 4a
b2
−b ± − ac (2a)2 + 4a2
(2a)2
x= Simplify
2a√
−b ± −4ac + b2
x= .
2a