Roots of a Quadratic Equation

The roots of a quadratic equation are what it makes the y value equal to 0, one way to find the roots is by factorising the equation (in the form ax^2 + bx + c), into a form (x -k)(x-j) where k and j add up to make b, and multiply together to make c. The other way is using the quadratic formula.

Use the quadratic formula to get answer by direct substitution

Ax2+Bx+c=0 x1+x2=-(B/A),, X1.X2=C/A

There are 4 different ways of finding the roots of the quadratic equation.

The first is using a factoring method

This method involves expressing the quadratic equation in a factored form as the product of two binomials. For x2−3x−4=0x2−3x−4=0, you look for two numbers that multiply to give the constant term (-4) and add to give the coefficient of xx (-3). The numbers -4 and 1 satisfy this condition, so you can write:

x2−3x−4=(x−4)(x+1)=0

x2−3x−4=(x−4)(x+1)=0

Setting each factor equal to zero gives the roots:

x−4=0⇒x=4

x−4=0⇒x=4

x+1=0⇒x=−1

x+1=0⇒x=−1

The second method is completing the square

This method involves manipulating the equation to form a perfect square trinomial, which can then be solved by taking the square root of both sides. For the given equation:

1. Move the constant term to the other side: x2−3x=4x2−3x=4.
2. Divide the coefficient of xx by 2, square it, and add it to both sides: x2−3x+(−32)2=4+(−32)2x2−3x+(2−3​)2=4+(2−3​)2.
3. This gives x2−3x+94=4+94x2−3x+49​=4+49​, or x2−3x+94=254x2−3x+49​=425​.
4. Now, you have (x−32)2=254(x−23​)2=425​.
5. Taking the square root of both sides gives x−32=±52x−23​=±25​.
6. Solving for xx gives x=32±52x=23​±25​, resulting in x=4x=4 or x=−1x=−1.

The third method is using the quadratic formula

The quadratic formula is a universal method that can solve any quadratic equation. The roots of the equation ax2+bx+c=0ax2+bx+c=0 can be found using:

x=−b±b2−4ac2a

x=2a−b±b2−4ac

​​

For x2−3x−4=0x2−3x−4=0, a=1a=1, b=−3b=−3, and c=−4c=−4, so:

x=−(−3)±(−3)2−4(1)(−4)2(1)=3±9+162=3±252=3±52

x=2(1)−(−3)±(−3)2−4(1)(−4)

​​=23±9+16​​=23±25

​​=23±5​

Thus, x=4x=4 or x=−1x=−1.

The last method is using a graphical method

The roots of the quadratic equation are the x-coordinates of the points where the graph of the equation intersects the x-axis. You can graph the quadratic function y=x2−3x−4y=x2−3x−4 and find the points where y=0y=0. This method visually represents the solutions but requires graphing tools or software.

Very good Robert, I agree with your statement.

To solve a quadratic equation, two methods are commonly used:

1. Factorising
2. Using the Quadratic Formula

Factorising is a quick method to use where the roots are whole numbers and the factors of c in the general equation for a quadratic formula (ax^2 + bx + c = 0) are easily identified.

Otherwise, the quadratic formula is another alternative method and necessary when the roots are not whole numbers!

x = (-b +/- square root(b2 - 4ac)) /2a

There are 3 methods to solve a quadratic equation, these are

Completing square method

Factorisation

Using the quadratic formula

Here let's use the factorisation method,

The equation is x2-3x-4 = 0

So you have to find two numbers their sum is -3( the coefficient of X) and their product is -4( That is the power of the leading coefficient, in this case the 1 multiplied by the constant, in this case -4, therefore 1*-4= -4)

The two numbers are -4 and 1, because -4*1= -4 and -4+1= -3

Therefore, the equation becomes (x-4 ) (x+1)=0

so, x-4 =0 and x+1=0

x= 4 and x=-1

therefore the solution is x= 4 and x=-1

At x

=

−

1

x=−1:

(

−

1

)

2

−

3

(

−

1

)

−

4

=

1

+

3

−

4

=

0

(−1)2

−3(−1)−4=1+3−4=0

At x

=

4

x=4:

(

4

)

2

−

3

(

4

)

−

4

=

16

−

12

−

4

=

0

(4)2

−3(4)−4=16−12−4=

The quadratic formula is:

x = [-b (+/-) sqrt(b2 - 4ac)] / 2a

Original form of a quadratic equation is:

ax2 +bx + c = 0

Therefore:

a = 1, b = -3 and c = -4

x = {-(-3) + sqrt[(-3)2 - 4(1)(-4)]} / 2(1) = [3 + sqrt(25)] / 2 = 4

and

x = {-(-3) - sqrt[(-3)2 - 4(1)(-4)]} / 2(1) = [3 - sqrt(25)] / 2 = -1

There's a few ways you can approach this Richard. Here are some for you to help find the roots of a quadratic equation:

Using the quadratic formula (as you mentioned):

x = (-b +- sqrt(b^2 - 4ac) ) / 2a

Where a, b and c are coefficients of the quadratic equation ax^2 + bx + c = 0.

So you can sub in the coefficients into the above formula and get two roots for x.

Using a graph:

You could plot the equation using a graphical calculator or software etc and see where it intersects the x-axis, those points of intersection would be the roots for the x coordinate.

You could complete the square of the equation:

If you rearrange to put the quadratic equation in vertex form to complete the squar - (a(x-i)^2 + j) then you can find the roots by making the expression in square brackets equal to zero and solving for x.

You could factor the quadratic equation if it is factorable:

If you can factor the quadratic equation into the form (x+-a)(x+-b) = 0 for example then you solve for x by set each expression in those brackets to zero and rearranging.

I hope this helps solve your problem Richard. If you have any questions about the above methods please do let me know and I will elaborate.

The derivative of a quadratic equation (not the quadratic formula) results in a linear equation. For instance, for the quadratic equation ��2+��+�=0

ax2

+bx+c=0, its derivative is 2��+�

2ax+b.

The roots of a quadratic equation are the values of �

x that make the equation equal to zero. In your example, for the quadratic equation �2−3�−4=0

x2

−3x−4=0, the roots are �=−1

x=−1 and �=4

x=4

The quadratic formula x=2a

−b±b2

−4ac

If you have further questions or specific points you'd like clarification on, feel free to ask!

What's the question

A quadratic equation is an equation with an x^2. For example x^2 + 7x + 12 = 0

The root of a quadratic equation is the solution of the equation - what values of x in the equation above make the answer 0? In this case, we can factorise the equation to get (x+3)(x+4) = 0, so roots would be x = -3 and x = -4. Substituting these values back into the equation would give 0.

The standard method utilised to solve a quadratic equation is by considering the coefficients of the equation in this way:

ax^2 + bx + c = 0. "a" is the coefficient of the squared term, b of the non-squared x term and c of the term without the variable x. The formula is: x1,2 = (-b (+/-) sqrt(b^2-4ac))/2a

For instance: x^2-6x+5 = 0 can be solved in this way:

x1,2 (roots!) = (6 (+/-) sqrt(36-20))/2 = (6 (+/-) 4)/2 = 3 (+/-) 2 --> x1 = 5, x2 = 1

The second method can only be applied for equations of the form: x^2 +sx+ p = 0. This method consists in factorising the initial equation into two factors. To do that we have to consider the coefficient s as the sum of the two factors and p as their product. The two factors are called f1 and f2: x^2+sx+p = (x+f1) * (x+f2)

The values that cancel out one or the other parenthesis are the roots of the initial quadratic equation.

Same example: x^2-6x+5 = 0

Apply second method: choose f1 = -5 and f2 = -1.

-5 + (-1) = -6 = s, OK

-5 * (-1) = 5 = p OK

Rewrite the initial equation: x^2-6x+5 = (x-5) * (x-1) = 0. Hence, the solutions are: x1 = 5, x2 = 1, as before.