Question 27724: Can someone help?
Thanks
When using the quadratic formula to solve a quadratic equation ax2 + bx + c = 0, the discriminant is b2 - 4ac. This discriminant can be positive, zero, or negative. (When the discriminate is negative, then we have the square root of a negative number. This is called an imaginary number, sqrt(-1) = i. )
•Explain what the value of the discriminant means to the graph of y = ax2 + bx + c. Hint: Chose values of a, b and c to create a particular discriminant. Then, graph the corresponding equation.
Answer by stanbon(57203)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!Let a=1,b=1,c=1
| Solved by pluggable solver: SOLVE quadratic equation with variable |
Quadratic equation  (in our case  ) has the following solutons:
For these solutions to exist, the discriminant  should not be a negative number.
First, we need to compute the discriminant :  .
The discriminant -3 is less than zero. That means that there are no solutions among real numbers.
If you are a student of advanced school algebra and are aware about imaginary numbers, read on.
In the field of imaginary numbers, the square root of -3 is + or -  .
The solution is 
Here's your graph:
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b^2-4ac=1-4=-3
This means the roots (zero's) will be imaginary.
Notice that the graph does not intersect the "x-axis".
Cheers,
Stan H.
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