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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.)
To convert the standard form to factored form, one needs only the quadratic formula to determine the two roots r 1 and r 2. To convert the standard form to vertex form, one needs a process called completing the square. To convert the factored form (or vertex form) to standard form, one needs to multiply, expand and/or distribute the factors.
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]
In the theory of quadratic forms, the parabola is the graph of the quadratic form x 2 (or other scalings), while the elliptic paraboloid is the graph of the positive-definite quadratic form x 2 + y 2 (or scalings), and the hyperbolic paraboloid is the graph of the indefinite quadratic form x 2 − y 2. Generalizations to more variables yield ...
For linear and quadratic functions, the graph of any function can be obtained from the graph of the parent function by simple translations and stretches parallel to the axes. For example, the graph of y = x 2 − 4x + 7 can be obtained from the graph of y = x 2 by translating +2 units along the X axis and +3 units along Y axis. This is because ...
By definition, a quadric X of dimension n over a field k is the subspace of + defined by q = 0, where q is a nonzero homogeneous polynomial of degree 2 over k in variables , …, +. (A homogeneous polynomial is also called a form, and so q may be called a quadratic form.)
Given a quadratic polynomial of the form + the numbers h and k may be interpreted as the Cartesian coordinates of the vertex (or stationary point) of the parabola. That is, h is the x -coordinate of the axis of symmetry (i.e. the axis of symmetry has equation x = h ), and k is the minimum value (or maximum value, if a < 0) of the quadratic ...
In mathematics, a definite quadratic form is a quadratic form over some real vector space V that has the same sign (always positive or always negative) for every non-zero vector of V. According to that sign, the quadratic form is called positive-definite or negative-definite .