SOLUTION: What is the discriminate for a Quadratic Equation and how is it used.

Question 570256: What is the discriminate for a Quadratic Equation and how is it used.
Answer by anomis(18) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!

The discriminant is a number that can be calculated from any quadratic equation.
A quadratic equation is an equation that can be written as:
ax^2 + bx + c where a ≠ 0
The discriminant = b^2 − 4ac
Ex:
Quadratic equation: y = 2x^2 + 4x + 1
The discriminant: 4^2 − 4 * 2 * 1
The discriminant is used to find out the nature and number of solutions.
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