Final answer:
The quadratic formula is used to find solutions to a quadratic equation of the form ax² + bx + c = 0 by substituting the coefficients into -b ± √(b² - 4ac) over 2a. This will yield two potential solutions for x.
Step-by-step explanation:
To solve a quadratic equation using the quadratic formula, you first identify the coefficients of the equation, which is generally written in the form ax² + bx + c = 0. Once you have the coefficients a, b, and c, you can insert them into the quadratic formula, given by -b ± √(b² - 4ac) over 2a. The quadratic formula provides two possible solutions for x, which arise from the plus and minus operations in the formula.
For example, if we have a quadratic equation with coefficients a = 3, b = 13, and c = -10, we would substitute these values into the quadratic formula to get -13 ± √((13)² - 4 × 3 × (-10)) over 2 × 3. By evaluating the expression under the square root and then carrying out the operations, we will obtain the two possible values for x.