1. Quadratic Functions(2)
Solving quadratic equations through factorising.
Checking to see if a quadratic equation will factorise.

2. Solving through factorisation
Solving a quadratic equation through factorisation is usually the first choice method as it is the easiest.
However, not all quadratic equations factorise and if they don’t, you need to use a different method.

3. Trick
If you substitute the values of a, b and c into the expression b2 – 4ac and you get a square number then the equation definitely factorises, otherwise, it doesn’t.

4. Trick – an example a=5 b=14 c=-3 b2 – 4ac (14)2 – 4 x (5) x (-3)
Discriminant
(14)2 – 4 x (5) x (-3)
196 – (-60) = 256
This is a square number, so quadratic does factorise

5. Solving Quadratic Equations
We will now look at solving quadratic equations using factorisation