MAT 150

Unit 2-2: Solving Quadratic

Equations
 Objectives

 Solve quadratic equations using factoring

 Solve quadratic equations graphically using the
x-intercept method and the intersection method
 Solve quadratic equations by combining graphical and
factoring methods
 Solve quadratic equations using the square root
method
 Solve quadratic equations by completing the square
 Solve quadratic equations using the quadratic formula
 Solve quadratic equations having complex solutions
Factoring Methods

An equation that can be written in the form

ax2 + bx + c = 0, with a ≠ 0, is called a quadratic
equation.
Zero Product Property
If the product of two real numbers is 0, then at least one
of them must be 0. That is, for real numbers a and b, if
the product ab = 0, then either a = 0 or b = 0 or
both a and b are equal to 0.
Solve with Factoring
 
A.
 Example

The height above ground of a ball thrown upward at 64 feet

per second from the top of an 80-foot-high building is modeled
by S(t) = 80 + 64t – 16t2 feet, where t is the
number of seconds after the ball is thrown. How long will the
ball be in the air?
Solution
 Example

Consider the daily profit from the production and sale of x units of
a product, given by P(x) = –0.01x2 + 20x – 500 dollars.

a. Use a graph to find the levels of production and sales that give
a daily profit of $1400.

b. Is it possible for the profit to be greater than $1400?

 Example

Consider the daily profit from the production and sale of x units of
a product, given by P(x) = –0.01x2 + 20x – 500 dollars.

a. Use a graph to find the levels of production and sales that give
a daily profit of $1400.
Solution
 Example (cont)

Consider the daily profit from the production and sale of x units of
a product, given by P(x) = –0.01x2 + 20x – 500 dollars.

b. Is it possible for the profit to be greater than $1400?

Solution
Combining Graphs and Factoring

Factor Theorem
The polynomial function f has a factor (x – a) if and only
if f(a) = 0. Thus, (x – a) is a factor of f(x) if and only if
x = a is a solution to f (x) = 0.
The Square Root Method

Square Root Method

The solutions of the quadratic equation x2 = C are
x =  C . Note that, when we take the square root of both
sides, we use a ± symbol because there are both a positive
and a negative value that, when squared, give C.
 Example

Solve the following equations using the square root

method.
a. 3x2 – 6 = 0 b. (x – 2)2 = 7

Solution
Quadratic Formula
The solutions of the quadratic equation ax2 + bx + c = 0 are
given by the formula
b  b  4ac
2
x
2a
Note that a is the coefficient of x2, b is the coefficient of x, and
c is the constant term.
 Example

Solve 5x2 – 8x = 3 using the quadratic formula.

Solution
The Discriminant
We can also determine the type of solutions a quadratic
equation has by looking at the expression b2  4ac,
which is called the discriminant of the quadratic
equation ax2 + bx + c = 0. The discriminant is the
expression inside the radical in the quadratic formula, so
it determines if the quantity inside the radical is positive,
zero, or negative.
• If b2  4ac > 0, there are two different real solutions.
• If b2  4ac = 0, there is one real solution.
• If b2  4ac < 0, there is no real solution.
Aids for Solving Quadratic Equations
 Example

Solve the equations.

a. x2 = – 36 b. 3x2 + 36 = 0

Solution
 Example

Solve the equations.

a. x2 – 3x + 5 = 0 b. 3x2 + 4x = –3

Solution
a.
 Example (cont)

Solve the equations.

a. x2 – 3x + 5 = 0 b. 3x2 + 4x = –3

Solution
b.
 Market Equilibrium
Suppose
  that the demand for artificial Christmas trees is given by the
function and that the supply of these trees is given by where p is the
price of a tree in dollars and q is the quantity of trees that are
demanded/supplied in hundreds. Find the price that gives the market
equilibrium price and the number of trees that will be sold/bought at this
price.