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A similar but more complicated method works for cubic equations, which have three resolvents and a quadratic equation (the "resolving polynomial") relating and , which one can solve by the quadratic equation, and similarly for a quartic equation (degree 4), whose resolving polynomial is a cubic, which can in turn be solved. [14]
Geometrically, the discriminant of a quadratic form in three variables is the equation of a quadratic projective curve. The discriminant is zero if and only if the curve is decomposed in lines (possibly over an algebraically closed extension of the field). A quadratic form in four variables is the equation of a projective surface.
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 − b 2 a , {\displaystyle -{\frac {b}{2a}},} sometimes called a repeated or double root or two equal roots.
The discriminant of a quadratic form, concretely the class of the determinant of a representing matrix in K / (K ×) 2 (up to non-zero squares) can also be defined, and for a real quadratic form is a cruder invariant than signature, taking values of only "positive, zero, or negative".
The discriminant B 2 – 4AC of the conic section's quadratic equation (or equivalently the determinant AC – B 2 /4 of the 2 × 2 matrix) and the quantity A + C (the trace of the 2 × 2 matrix) are invariant under arbitrary rotations and translations of the coordinate axes, [14] [15] [16] as is the determinant of the 3 × 3 matrix above.
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 quadratic polynomial or quadratic function can involve ...
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which is a simple quadratic equation, whose solutions are easily found using the quadratic formula: ... This can be done by letting the discriminant of the quadratic ...