Learning Resources

Outcomes

In this lesson you will

• Solve problems that give rise to quadratic equations, some of which require the quadratic formula to solve.
• Learn that there are solutions to the quadratic equation that may not have meaning in the real-world problem from which they were derived.
• See the importance of the context of the problem in deciding which roots are inadmissible.

By the end of this section you should be able to:

• Derive and apply the quadratic formula.
• Solve quadratic equations.
• Relate the nature of the roots of quadratic equations and the x-intercepts of the graphs of the corresponding functions.
• Represent non-real roots of quadratic equations as complex numbers.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the role of irrational numbers in applications.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of the roots of quadratic equations.

Prerequisites

To be successful in this lesson, it would be helpful to know the following:

• How to use solve equations using various methods (graphing, factoring, completing the square, and the quadratic formula).
• How to translate between words and mathematical expressions.