In the context of quadratic equations, which of the following statements best describes the nature of the roots when the discriminant is positive?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
In the context of quadratic equations, which of the following statements best describes the nature of the roots when the discriminant is positive?
The roots are real and equal.
The roots are complex and conjugate.
The roots are real and distinct.
The roots are imaginary.
When the discriminant (b² - 4ac) is positive, it indicates that the quadratic equation has two distinct real roots.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: In the context of quadratic equations, which of the following statements best describes the nature of the roots when the discriminant is positive?
Solution: When the discriminant (b² - 4ac) is positive, it indicates that the quadratic equation has two distinct real roots.
Steps: 4
Step 1: Understand what a quadratic equation is. It is an equation of the form ax² + bx + c = 0, where a, b, and c are constants.
Step 2: Learn about the discriminant. The discriminant is calculated using the formula b² - 4ac.
Step 3: Determine the meaning of the discriminant's value. If the discriminant is positive (greater than 0), it tells us about the roots of the equation.
Step 4: Know that when the discriminant is positive, it means there are two distinct real roots. This means the graph of the quadratic equation will cross the x-axis at two different points.
