Higher Mathematics

Quadratic Theory – The Discriminant .

The discriminant of , is

This comes from the quadratic formula: .

“We” can prove the quadratic formula using Completing the Square, another part
of the Quadratic Theory section of the course.

We use the discriminant to:

(1) See if a quadratic can be factorised.

i.e. (if is a perfect square then it can be factorised)

(2) Determine the nature of the roots of a quadratic equation.

Conditions

If , the roots are real and equal.

If , the roots are not real.

If , the roots are real and distinct.(irrational)

If is a perfect square, the roots are real and rational.

Note If , then obviously it will be negative.

BUT remember this would never happen as you can’t get the square root of a
negative number, hence there are no real roots.

©T Keith
Basic examples of using .

(1) Determine the nature of the roots of the equation:

= 52 – (4 x 2 x -1)
= 25 – (-8)
= 25 + 8
= 33

Since , the roots are real and distinct.

(2) For what values of ‘k’ does have equal roots.

a = k, b = -3(k+1), c = 12

=
=
=
=
=
For equal roots =0

=0

=0
=0

©T Keith