In algebra, a quadratic equation (from the Latin quadratus for "square") is any equation having the

form

where x represents an unknown, and a, b, and c represent known numbers, with a ≠ 0. If a = 0,

then the equation is linear, not quadratic, as there is no term. The numbers a, b, and c are
the coefficients of the equation and may be distinguished by calling them, respectively,
the quadratic coefficient, the linear coefficient and the constant or free term.[1]
The values of x that satisfy the equation are called solutions of the equation,
and roots or zeros of its left-hand side. A quadratic equation has at most two solutions. If there is
no real solution, there are two complex solutions. If there is only one solution, one says that it is
a double root. So a quadratic equation has always two roots, if complex roots are considered,
and if a double root is counted for two. If the two solutions are denoted r and s (possibly equal),
one has

Thus, the process of solving a quadratic equation is also

called factorizing or factoring. Completing the square is the standard method for that, which
results in the quadratic formula, which express the solutions in terms of a, b,
and c. Graphing may also be used for getting an approximate value of the solutions.
Solutions to problems that may be expressed in terms of quadratic equations were known as
early as 2000 BC.
Because the quadratic equation involves only one unknown, it is called "univariate". The
quadratic equation only contains powers of x that are non-negative integers, and therefore it
is a polynomial equation. In particular, it is a second-degree polynomial equation, since the
greatest power is two.

Contents

 1Solving the quadratic equation

o 1.1Factoring by inspection
o 1.2Completing the square
o 1.3Quadratic formula and its derivation
o 1.4Reduced quadratic equation
o 1.5Discriminant
o 1.6Geometric interpretation
o 1.7Quadratic factorization
o 1.8Graphical solution
o 1.9Avoiding loss of significance
 2Examples and applications
 3History
 4Advanced topics
o 4.1Alternative methods of root calculation
 4.1.1Vieta's formulas
  4.1.2Trigonometric solution
 4.1.3Solution for complex roots in polar coordinates
 4.1.4Geometric solution
o 4.2Generalization of quadratic equation
 4.2.1Characteristic 2
 5See also
 6References
 7External links

Solving the quadratic equation[edit]

Figure 1. Plots of quadratic function y = ax2 + bx + c, varying each coefficient separately while the
other coefficients are fixed (at values a = 1, b = 0, c = 0)

A quadratic equation with real or complex coefficients has two solutions, called roots. These
two solutions may or may not be distinct, and they may or may not be real.

Factoring by inspection[edit]
It may be possible to express a quadratic equation ax2 + bx + c = 0 as a
product (px + q)(rx + s) = 0. In some cases, it is possible, by simple inspection, to
determine values of p, q, r, and s that make the two forms equivalent to one another. If the
quadratic equation is written in the second form, then the "Zero Factor Property" states that
the quadratic equation is satisfied if px + q = 0 or rx + s = 0. Solving these two linear
equations provides the roots of the quadratic.
For most students, factoring by inspection is the first method of solving quadratic equations
to which they are exposed.[2]:202–207If one is given a quadratic equation in the
form x2 + bx + c = 0, the sought factorization has the form (x + q)(x + s), and one has to
find two numbers q and s that add up to b and whose product is c (this is sometimes called
"Vieta's rule"[3] and is related to Vieta's formulas). As an example, x2 + 5x + 6 factors as (x +
3)(x + 2). The more general case where a does not equal 1can require a considerable
effort in trial and error guess-and-check, assuming that it can be factored at all by
inspection.
Except for special cases such as where b = 0 or c = 0, factoring by inspection only works
for quadratic equations that have rational roots. This means that the great majority of
quadratic equations that arise in practical applications cannot be solved by factoring by
inspection.[2]:207
Completing the square[edit]
Main article: Completing the square

Figure 2. For the quadratic functiony = x2 − x − 2, the points where the graph crosses the x-
axis, x = −1 and x = 2, are the solutions of the quadratic equation x2 − x − 2 = 0.

The process of completing the square makes use of the algebraic identity

which represents a well-defined algorithm that can be used to solve any quadratic
equation.[2]:207 Starting with a quadratic equation in standard form, ax2 + bx + c = 0

1. Divide each side by a, the coefficient of the squared term.

2. Subtract the constant term c/a from both sides.
3. Add the square of one-half of b/a, the coefficient of x, to both sides. This
"completes the square", converting the left side into a perfect square.
4. Write the left side as a square and simplify the right side if necessary.
5. Produce two linear equations by equating the square root of the left side with
the positive and negative square roots of the right side.
6. Solve the two linear equations.
We illustrate use of this algorithm by solving 2x2 + 4x − 4 = 0
The plus-minus symbol "±" indicates that both x = −1
+ √3 and x = −1 − √3 are solutions of the quadratic
equation.[4]

Quadratic formula and its derivation[edit]

Main article: Quadratic formula
Completing the square can be used to derive a general
formula for solving quadratic equations, called the quadratic
formula.[5] The mathematical proof will now be briefly
summarized.[6] It can easily be seen, by polynomial expansion,
that the following equation is equivalent to the quadratic
equation:

Taking the square root of both sides, and isolating x, gives:

Some sources, particularly older ones, use alternative

parameterizations of the quadratic equation such
as ax2 + 2bx + c = 0 or ax2 − 2bx + c =
0 ,[7] where b has a magnitude one half of the more
common one, possibly with opposite sign. These result
in slightly different forms for the solution, but are
otherwise equivalent.
A number of alternative derivations can be found in the
literature. These proofs are simpler than the standard
completing the square method, represent interesting
applications of other frequently used techniques in
algebra, or offer insight into other areas of
mathematics.
A lesser known quadratic formula, as used in Muller's
method provides the same roots via the equation

This can be deduced from the standard quadratic

formula by Vieta's formulas, which assert that the
product of the roots is c/a.
One property of this form is that it yields one valid
root when a = 0, while the other root contains
division by zero, because when a = 0, the
quadratic equation becomes a linear equation,
which has one root. By contrast, in this case, the
more common formula has a division by zero for
one root and an indeterminate form 0/0 for the
other root. On the other hand, when c = 0, the
more common formula yields two correct roots
whereas this form yields the zero root and an
indeterminate form 0/0.

Reduced quadratic equation[edit]

It is sometimes convenient to reduce a quadratic
equation so that its leading coefficient is one. This
is done by dividing both sides by a, which is
always possible since a is non-zero. This produces
the reduced quadratic equation:[8]

where p = b/a and q = c/a. This monic

equation has the same solutions as the
original.
The quadratic formula for the solutions of the
reduced quadratic equation, written in terms of
its coefficients, is:

or equivalently:

Discriminant[edit]

Figure 3. Discriminant signs

In the quadratic formula, the

expression underneath the square
root sign is called the discriminant of
the quadratic equation, and is often
represented using an upper case D or
an upper case Greek delta:[9]
 A quadratic equation
with real coefficients can have
either one or two distinct real
roots, or two distinct complex
roots. In this case the discriminant
determines the number and
nature of the roots. There are
three cases:

 If the discriminant is positive,

then there are two distinct
roots

both of which are real numbers. For quadratic equations with rational coefficients, if the
discriminant is a square number, then the roots are rational—in other cases they may
be quadratic irrationals.

 If the discriminant is
zero, then there is
exactly one real root

sometimes called a repeated or double root.

 If the
discriminant
is negative,
then there
are no real
roots. Rather,
there are two
distinct (non-
real) complex
roots[10]

which are complex conjugates of each other. In these expressions i is the imaginary unit.
Thus the
roots are
distinct if
and only
if the
discrimin
ant is
non-zero,
and the
roots are
real if
and only
if the
discrimin
ant is
non-
negative.

Geom
etric
interp
retatio
n[edit]

Graph
of y =
ax2 +
bx + c
,
where
aand
the
discri
minant
b2 −
4ac ar
e
positiv
e, with

 R
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Visuali
sation
of the
compl
ex
roots
of y =
ax2 +
bx + c
: the
 parab
ola is
rotate
d 180°
about
its
vertex
(orang
e).
Its x-
interce
pts
are
rotate
d 90°
aroun
d their
mid-
point,
and
the
Cartes
ian
plane
is
interpr
eted
as the
compl
ex
plane
(green
).[11]

The
function f
(x)
= ax2 + b
x + c is
the quadr
atic
function.[1
2]
The
graph of
any
quadratic
function
has the
same
general
shape,
which is
called
a parabol
a. The
location
and size
of the
parabola,
and how
it opens,
depend
on the
values
of a, b,
and c. As
shown in
Figure 1,
if a > 0,
the
parabola
has a
minimum
point and
opens
upward.
If a < 0,
the
parabola
has a
maximum
point and
opens
downwar
d. The
extreme
point of
the
parabola,
whether
minimum
or
maximum
,
correspo
nds to
its vertex.
The x-
coordinat
e of the
vertex
will be
located

at ,
and
the y-
coordinat
e of the
vertex
may be
found by
substituti
ng this x-
value into
the
function.
The y-
intercept i
s located
at the
point (0,
c).
The
solutions
of the
quadratic
equation
ax2 + bx
+c=
0 corresp
ond to
the roots
of the
function f
(x)
= ax2 + b
x + c,
since
they are
the
values
of x for
which f(x
) = 0. As
shown in
Figure 2,
if a, b,
and c are
real
numbers
and
the doma
in of f is
the set of
real
numbers,
then the
roots
of f are
exactly
the x-
coordinat
es of the
points
where
the graph
touches
the x-
axis. As
shown in
Figure 3,
if the
discrimin
ant is
positive,
the graph
touches
the x-
axis at
two
points; if
zero, the
graph
touches
at one
point;
and if
negative,
the graph
does not
touch
the x-
axis.

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