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MATHEMATICS » ALGEBRA

How to Derive the Quadratic

Formula
Co-authored by David Jia
Last Updated: December 2, 2022 References

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One of the most important skills an algebra

student learns is the quadratic formula, or

With the quadratic

formula, solving any quadratic equation of the form
becomes a simple matter of
substituting the coefficients into the
formula. While simply knowing the formula is often
enough for many, understanding how it's derived
(in other words, where it comes from) is another
thing entirely. The formula is derived via
"completing the square" that has other
applications in math as well, so it is recommended
that you be familiar with it.

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Steps

Start with the standard form of a general

1 quadratic equation. While any equation
with an term in it qualifies as quadratic, the
standard form sets everything to 0. Remember
that are coefficients that can be any real
number, so don't substitute any numbers in for
them - we want to work with the general form.[1]

The only condition is that because

otherwise, the equation reduces to a linear
equation. See if you can find general
solutions for the special cases where
and where

Subtract from both sides. Our goal is to

2 isolate To start, we move one of the
coefficients to the other side, so that the left side
only consists of terms with in it.[2]

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Divide both sides by .[3] Note that we

3 could've switched this and the previous step,
and still arrived at the same place. Remember
that dividing a polynomial by something means
that you divide each of the individual terms.
Doing so makes it easier for us to complete the
square.

Complete the square. Recall that the goal

4 is to rewrite an expression
as where is any coefficient. It may
not immediately be obvious to you that we can

do this. To see it more clearly, rewrite as

by multiplying the term by We can do

this because multiplying by 1 does not change

anything. Now we can clearly see that in our

case, so we are only missing the

term. Therefore, in order to complete the square,

we add that to both sides - namely,

Then, of course, we factor.[4]

Here, it is clear why since is in the

denominator, and you cannot divide by 0.
If you need to, you can expand the left side
to confirm that completing the square works.

Write the right side under a common

5 denominator. Here, we want both

denominators to be so multiply the

term by [5]

Take the square root of each side.

6 However, it is essential that you recognize
that in doing so, you are actually doing two steps.
When you take the square root of you do not
get You actually get its absolute value,
This absolute value is critical in getting both
roots - simply putting square roots over both
sides will only get you one of the roots.[6]

Now, we can get rid of the absolute value

bars by putting a on the right side. We can
do this because the absolute value does not
distinguish between positive and negative,
so they are both valid. This tidbit is why the
quadratic equation allows us to get two
roots.

Let's simplify this expression a bit further.

Since the square root of a quotient is the
quotient of the square roots, we can write the

right side as Then we can

take the square root of the denominator.

7 Isolate by subtracting from both

sides.[7]

Write the right side under a common

8 denominator. This nets the quadratic
formula, the formula that solves any quadratic
equation in standard form. This works for any
and outputs an that can be real or
complex. To confirm that this process works,
simply follow the steps of this article in reverse
order to recover standard form.[8]

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Community Q&A

Question

What is the quadratic formula?

Donagan
Top Answerer

Shown in the introduction above, it's a tool used

to solve a quadratic equation that is not easily
solved by factoring.
Helpful 8 Not Helpful 5

Question

What is the cubic formula?

Donagan
Top Answerer

It's a formula for solving cubic equations. Take

a look at
math.vanderbilt.edu/schectex/courses/cubic/.
Helpful 4 Not Helpful 2

Question

Why is there a plus or minus in the quadratic

formula?

Linnie
Top Answerer

When you take the square root of both sides of

the equation, you need a plus or minus sign
before the right side to show that the positive
value squared equals (x+b/2a)² and that the
negative value squared equals (x+b/2a)².The
square root of x², for example, does not equal x
but rather equals the absolute value of x, so the
right side may be positive or negative.
Helpful 2 Not Helpful 3

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Video

Tips

It is interesting to note that the quadratic

formula holds for complex coefficients as well,
though you may have to do a little more
simplifying for the final answer, and the roots
will no longer come in conjugate pairs.
Problems with quadratic expressions are
nevertheless almost always given with real
coefficients.
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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References

1. ↑ https://www.chilimath.com/lessons/intermedia
te-algebra/derive-quadratic-formula/
2. ↑ https://www.chilimath.com/lessons/intermedia
te-algebra/derive-quadratic-formula/
3. ↑ https://www.purplemath.com/modules/sqrqua
d2.htm
4. ↑ https://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/quadrati
c-equation-derivation.html
5. ↑ https://www.purplemath.com/modules/sqrqua
d2.htm
6. ↑ https://virtualnerd.com/algebra-1/quadratic-
equations-functions/discriminant-quadratic-
formula/quadratic-formula/quadratic-formula-
derivation
7. ↑ https://mathbitsnotebook.com/Algebra1/Quad
ratics/QDderive.html
8. ↑ https://virtualnerd.com/algebra-1/quadratic-
equations-functions/discriminant-quadratic-
formula/quadratic-formula/quadratic-formula-
derivation

About This Article

Co-authored by:
David Jia
Math Tutor

This article was co-authored by David Jia. David Jia is

an Academic Tutor and the Founder of LA Math
Tutoring, a private tutoring company based in Los
Angeles, California. With over 10 years of teaching
experience, David works with students of all ages and
grades in various subjects, as well as college
admissions counseling and test preparation for the SAT,
ACT, ISEE, and more. After attaining a perfect 800 math
score and a 690 English score on the SAT, David was
awarded the Dickinson Scholarship from the University
of Miami, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree
in Business Administration. Additionally, David has
worked as an instructor for online videos for textbook
companies such as Larson Texts, Big Ideas Learning,
and Big Ideas Math. This article has been viewed
200,975 times.

Co-authors: 14
14 votes - 71% Updated: December 2,
2022
Views: 200,975

Categories: Algebra

Article Summary

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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that

has been read 200,975 times.

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