Quadratic Equations · 3 min read

Introduction

Introduction to Quadratic Equations

A quadratic equation is a special kind of math sentence where the highest power of the unknown letter is 2.

Quadratic equation refers to a polynomial equation that has a general form of ax² + bx + c = 0.

This means we always see a letter squared, like x², as the biggest power in the problem.

The letters a, b, and c stand for fixed numbers in the equation.

Where a, b and c are co-efficient. a ≠ 0 otherwise it would be a linear equation and c is constant.

The number 'a' must not be zero because if it is, the x² part will disappear and it will no longer be a quadratic.

1. 2x² - 5x - 3 = 0. (a = 2, b = -5 and c = -3).

2. n² + 50 = 27n.

If we move the numbers to one side to make it look like the general form, we get:

n² - 27n + 50 = 0. (a = 1, b = -27 and c = 50).

3. 49k = k².

Rearranging the equation to put everything on one side gives:

-k² + 49k = 0. (a = -1, b = 49 and c = 0).

•A quadratic equation is a polynomial equation of the form ax² + bx + c = 0.
•In a quadratic equation, 'a', 'b', and 'c' are coefficients, with 'c' being the constant term.
•The coefficient 'a' must not be equal to zero (a ≠ 0); otherwise, the equation becomes a linear equation.
•Quadratic equations can be rearranged to fit the standard form ax² + bx + c = 0 to identify the coefficients a, b, and c.