Factoring Quadratic Equations

Date: 5/27/96 at 10:9:38
From: Anonymous
Subject: Quadratic Equation Factoring

I am totally lost on quadratic equations and I was wondering if you 
could show me the fastest way to solve any type of quadratic equation. 
The part that really confuses me is the (yx + w)(yx + w), the y part, 
and the w. How do I know what to put there? I heard you had to take 
the factors of the a in (ax^2 + bx + c = 0) and the factors of c and 
somehow make them add up to b. I don't really know. Can you help?

Date: 5/27/96 at 21:25:32
From: Doctor Ken
Subject: Re: Quadratic Equation Factoring

Hello!

One thing that may clear something up is that when you said          
(yx + w)(yx + w), it would be more accurate to say (yx + w)(jx + k), 
because the numbers in the first factor and the second factor don't 
have to be the same.

There are some problems in our archives that deal with factoring 
quadratic equations. Take a look at those, and if you're still 
confused, feel free to write back with more questions. If you do write 
back, it would help if you can give us an example of the kinds of 
problems you're working on and where you get stuck.

   Quadratic Trinomials
   http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/52902.html 

   Factoring Polynomials
   http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/58523.html

   Solve by Factoring
   http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/58536.html   

By the way, my personal favorite method to solve quadratics is to use 
the quadratic formula all the time, regardless of whether you could 
have factored it or not. But some people don't like that, so you can 
use whatever method you like.

-Doctor Ken,  The Math Forum
 Check out our web site!  http://mathforum.org/dr.math/