4. Solve quadratic equations in one variable.

Students should know how to solve equations involving terms with one variable to the second degree. These equations may be written in any form, the most common being the standard form of a quadratic equation, ax² + bx + c = 0. Students should know and apply the three main ways to solve a quadratic equation: stop, drop, and roll.

Oh, wait. Scratch that. We meant factor, complete the square, and the quadratic formula.

Your students should already know what factoring is, and that it's possible with simple quadratic equations like x² + x – 12 = 0. When factoring, students should look for two numbers that add to the coefficient b (in this case, 1) and multiply to get the constant c (in this case, -12). Easier said than done, unless you've got a mouthful of peanut butter.

For the equation x² + x – 12, the two numbers that work are -3 and 4. They add to get 1 and multiply to get -12, so we can factor x² + x – 12 into (x – 3)(x + 4). Now it's way easier to solve when we set the equation to equal 0. Since x – 3 = 0 and x + 4 = 0, our answers are x = 3 and x = -4. Note that this method only works when a is 1.

Standard Components

• A-REI.4a
• A-REI.4b