The Quadratic Formula

The quadratic formula is $\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}.$ This is used to find the roots of a quadratic, $ax^2+bx+c=0.$ The part inside the square root, or $b^2-4ac$ is called the discriminant$.$ When the discriminant is equal to $0,$ the quadratic only has one root$,$ which is called a double root. If the discriminant is negative, the quadratic has two non$-$real roots$,$ so the roots are complex$.$ If the discriminant is positive$,$ then the quadratic has two real roots.