Completing the square: Difference between revisions
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imported>Michael Hardy (very brief stub. This doesn't say much yet. I'll be back.) |
imported>Michael Hardy No edit summary |
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In [[algebra]], '''completing the square''' is a way of rewriting a quadratic [[polynomial]] as the sum of a constant and the square of a first-degree polynomial. Thus one has | In [[algebra]], '''completing the square''' is a way of rewriting a quadratic [[polynomial]] as the sum of a constant and the square of a first-degree polynomial. Thus one has | ||
:<math> ax^2 + bx + c = (\cdots\cdots)^2 + \text{constant} </math> | :<math> ax^2 + bx + c = a(\cdots\cdots)^2 + \text{constant} </math> | ||
and completing the square is the way of finding out what appears between the brackets. | and completing the square is the way of finding out what appears between the brackets. | ||
[[Category:Mathematics Workgroup]] | [[Category:Mathematics Workgroup]] | ||
Revision as of 17:05, 24 August 2007
In algebra, completing the square is a way of rewriting a quadratic polynomial as the sum of a constant and the square of a first-degree polynomial. Thus one has
and completing the square is the way of finding out what appears between the brackets.