Week 6- Discriminants/Quadratic Equations

The discriminant is a number that shows if the value of x is rational/irrational/how many roots it has.

The formula we use to find the discriminant of a quadratic equation is b²-4ac

ex: 2x²-10x+3=0

The first step is to identify the values of a,b and c:

a=2

b=-10

c=3

We will then plug these numbers into the formula:

-10²-4(2)(3)

100-24

=76

The discriminant for 2x²-10x+3=0 is 76. This means that this quadratic equation has 2 irrational roots. This is because the equation is positive yet not a perfect square.

 

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