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In mathematics, a quadratic equation (from Latin quadratus 'square') is an equation that can be rearranged in standard form as [1] + + =, where the variable x represents an unknown number, and a, b, and c represent known numbers, where a ≠ 0. (If a = 0 and b ≠ 0 then the equation is linear, not quadratic.)
In elementary algebra, the quadratic formula is a closed-form expression describing the solutions of a quadratic equation. Other ways of solving quadratic equations, such as completing the square , yield the same solutions.
If a quadratic function is equated with zero, then the result is a quadratic equation. The solutions of a quadratic equation are the zeros (or roots) of the corresponding quadratic function, of which there can be two, one, or zero. The solutions are described by the quadratic formula.
A solution of an equation is often called a root of the equation, particularly but not only for polynomial equations. The set of all solutions of an equation is its solution set. An equation may be solved either numerically or symbolically. Solving an equation numerically means that only numbers are admitted as solutions.
In mathematics, a quartic equation is one which can be expressed as a quartic function equaling zero. The general form of a quartic equation is Graph of a polynomial function of degree 4, with its 4 roots and 3 critical points.
A solution in radicals or algebraic solution is an expression of a solution of a polynomial equation that is algebraic, that is, relies only on addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, raising to integer powers, and extraction of n th roots (square roots, cube roots, etc.). A well-known example is the quadratic formula
All quadratic equations have exactly two solutions in complex numbers (but they may be equal to each other), a category that includes real numbers, imaginary numbers, and sums of real and imaginary numbers. Complex numbers first arise in the teaching of quadratic equations and the quadratic formula. For example, the quadratic equation
The quadratic equation on a number can be solved using the well-known quadratic formula, which can be derived by completing the square. That formula always gives the roots of the quadratic equation, but the solutions are expressed in a form that often involves a quadratic irrational number, which is an algebraic fraction that can be evaluated ...