November 16, 2021 2nd Quara

Mathematics

Quadratic Equations
The word “quadratic” comes from “quadratum”, the Latin
word for square. Hence, we define a quadratic equation as
an equation where the variable is of the second degree.
Therefore, a quadratic equation is also called an
“Equation of degree 2”

A quadratic equation in one variable is a mathematical

sentence of degree 2 that can be written in the following
standard form.

𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 = 0
Where a, b and c are real numbers and 𝑎 ≠ 0

Example:

5𝑥 2 + 3𝑥 − 2 = 0
5𝑥 2 is the quadratic term, a = 4
3𝑥 is the linear term, b = 3
−2 is the constant term, c = -2

Example:
3(𝑥 2 + 7) = 4

Apply the Distributive Property of Multiplication

→ 3𝑥 2 + 21 = 4

→ 3𝑥 2 + 21 − 4 = 0

→ 3𝑥 2 + 17 = 0
Quadratic Equations by

Extracting Square Root

This is only used when the quadratic equation has no linear

term.

Square Root Property

𝐼𝑓 𝑐 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 2 = 𝑐, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑥 = √𝑐

𝐼𝑓 𝑐 > 0, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑥 2 = 𝑐 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑠 ∶ 𝑥 = ±√𝑐

𝐼𝑓 𝑐 = 0, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑥 2 = 𝑐 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑡 ∶ 𝑥 = 0

𝐼𝑓 𝑐 < 0, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑥 2 = 𝑐 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑠

Example

𝑥 2 − 25 = 0
→ 𝑥 2 = 25
√𝑥 2 = √25
𝑥 = ±5
Quadratic Equations by Factoring

Solving a quadratic equation by factoring is based upon

the Zero Product Rule which states:

𝑖𝑓 𝑎𝑏 = 0, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑒𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎 = 0 𝑜𝑟 𝑏 = 0

To apply this rule to solving a quadratic equation:

We first must ensure that the equation is in Standard

form:

𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐 = 0

Then determine the whether the expression on the left

side of the equation can be factored.

Example:
𝑥 2 + 9𝑥 + 8 = 0
→ (𝑥 + 8)(𝑥 + 1) = 0
→ 𝑥 + 8 = 0 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 + 1 = 0
→ 𝑥 = −8 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 = −1