Solving Systems of Linear and Quadratic Equations

Graphically

A Linear Equation is an equation of a line.

A Quadratic Equation is the equation of a parabola

and has at least one variable squared (such as x2)

And together they form a System

of a Linear and a Quadratic Equation

A System of those two equations can be solved (find where they intersect), either:

Using Algebra

Or Graphically, as we will find out!

How to Solve Graphically

Easy! Plot both equations and see where they cross!

Plotting the Equations

To plot them manually:

make sure both equations are in "y=" form

choose some x-values that will hopefully be near where the two equations cross over

calculate y-values for those x-values

plot the points and see!

Choosing Where to Plot

But what values should we plot? Knowing the center will help!
Taking the quadratic formula and ignoring everything after the gets us a central x-value:

Then choose some x-values either side and calculate y-values, like this:

Example: Solve these two equations graphically to 1 decimal place:

y = x2 4x + 5

y=x+2

Find a Central X Value:

The quadratic equation is y = x2 4x + 5, so a = 1, b = 4 and c = 5

central x =

b
(4)
4
=
=
= 2
2a
21
2

Now Calculate Values Around x=2

Quadratic

Linear

x2 4x + 5

x+2

10

(We only calculate first and last of the linear equation as that is all we need for the plot.)

Now Plot Them:

We can see they cross at about x = 0.7 and about x = 4.3

Let us do the calculations for those values:

Quadratic
2

Linear

x 4x + 5

x+2

0.7

2.69

2.8

4.3

6.29

6.2

Yes they are close.

To 1 decimal place the two points are (0.7, 2.8) and (4.3, 6.2)

There Might Not Be 2 Solutions!

There are three possible cases:

No real solution (happens when they never intersect)

One real solution (when the straight line just touches the quadratic)

Two real solutions (like the example above)

Time for another example:

Example: Solve these two equations graphically:

4y 8x = 40

y x2 = 9x + 21

How do we plot these? They are not in "y=" format!

First make both equations into "y=" format:

Linear equation is: 4y 8x = 40

Add 8x to both sides: 4y = 8x 40

Divide all by 4: y = 2x 10
Quadratic equation is: y x2 = 9x + 21

Add x2 to both sides: y = x2 9x + 21

Now Find a Central X Value:

The quadratic equation is y = x2 9x + 21, so a = 1, b = 9 and c = 21

central x =

b
(9)
9
=
=
= 4.5
2a
21
2

Now Calculate Values Around x=4.5

Now Plot Them:

Quadratic
x2 9x + 21

Linear
2x 10

-4

4.5

0.75

They never cross! There is no solution.

Real World Example

2

The cannon ball flies through the air, following a parabola: y = 2 + 0.12x - 0.002x
The land slopes upward: y = 0.15x
Where does the cannon ball land?

By zooming in far enough we can find they cross at (25, 3.75)

Circle and Line

Example: Find the points of intersection to 1 decimal place of

The circle x2 + y2 = 25

And the straight line 3y - 2x = 6

The Circle
2

The "Standard Form" for the equation of a circle is (x-a)

Where (a,

+ (y-b)2 = r2

b) is the center of the circle and r is the radius.

For x2 + y2 = 25 we can see that

a=0 and b=0 so the center is at (0, 0),

and for the radius r2 = 25 , so r = 25 = 5

We don't need to make the circle equation in "y=" form, as we have enough information to
plot the circle now.

The Line
First put the line in "y=" format:

Move 2x to right hand side: 3y = 2x + 6

Divide by 3: y = 2x/3 + 2
To plot the line, let's choose two points either side of the circle:

at x = 6, y = (2/3)(6) + 2 = 2

at x = 6, y = (2/3)(6) + 2 = 6

Now plot them!

We can now see that they cross at about (-4.8, -1.2) and (3.0, 4.0)