Question

Use the discriminant to determine the number and type of solutions the equation has.

x2 + 8x + 12 = 0

Question 8 options:

no real solution


one real solution


two rational solutions


two irrational solutions

Answer 1

The discriminant is the (b^2-4ac) part of the quadratic formula...in this case:

64-48=16

So there will be two real rational solutions.

The rule:

If discriminant<0, there are no real solutions (although there are two imaginary solutions)

If discriminant=0, there is only one real solution.

If discriminant>0, there are two real solutions.