Derivation of Quadratic

Formula
A Quadratic Equation looks like this:

And it can be solved using the Quadratic Formula:

That formula looks like magic, but you can follow the steps to see how it
comes about.

1. Complete the Square

ax2 + bx + c has "x" in it twice, which is hard to solve.

But there is a way to rearrange it so that "x" only appears once. It is

called Completing the Square (please read that first!).

Our aim is to get something like x2 + 2dx + d2, which can then be
simplified to (x+d)2
So, let's go:

Start with

Divide the equation by a

Put c/a on other side

Add (b/2a)2 to both sides

 The left hand side is now in the x2 + 2dx + d2 format, where "d" is "b/2a"
So we can re-write it this way:

"Complete the Square"

Now x only appears once and we are making progress.

2. Now Solve For "x"

Now we just need to rearrange the equation to leave "x" on the left

Start with

Square root

Move b/2a to right

That is actually solved! But let's simplify it a bit:

Multiply right by 2a/2a

Simplify:

Which is the Quadratic formula we all know and love: