Question 14442: In school i lerned how to slove the quadratic equations by spliting it into seperate fractions . I never learned to slove the way they slove it on www.algebra.com . My question is there a section in this site to pratice questions my way or can you teach me to learn the way they slove it on this site
thank you,
Answer by Earlsdon(6294)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! From your story, it appears that you have learned to solve quadratic equations by factoring. This is only one of a few ways to solve these type of equations. The difficulty arises when the equation is not readily factorable.
A quadratic equation can always be solved by use of the "quadratic formula". While it may look a little formidable, its derivation is not difficult, and it is quite easy to apply if you remember to put you quadratic equation into the "standard form: 
The quadratic formula is: 
Let's solve an example quadratic equation using this formula:
 This already in the standard form, so: a = 1, b = 2, and c = -8 Substitute these values into their corresponding places in the formula.
 Now perform the indicated arithmetic to solve for x.
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As a check, we can also solve this equation by factoring:
Factor.
 Apply the zero products principle.
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If  , then
If  , then
So, and/or
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