C1 - Discriminant to determine the number of real solutions.

x^2 - 2bx + b^2

I know the equation b^2-4 x ac

but I don't know how to use it in this equation...

a=1
b=?
c=?

Thanks

Reply 1

2^1/2

The general form is ax^2 + bx + c

so in this equation:

a=1
b= -2b
c = b^2

then can you see where to go?

Reply 2

roosel4

2^1/2

The general form is ax^2 + bx + c

so in this equation:

a=1
b= -2b
c = b^2

then can you see where to go?

Not really :confused:

Reply 3

The Muon

is it the letters that are confusing you? how about if we said the discriminant was

B^2-4AC

and

A=1
B=-2b
C=b^2

Reply 4

roosel4

The Muon

is it the letters that are confusing you? how about if we said the discriminant was

B^2-4AC

and

A=1
B=-2b
C=b^2

would it =0 then?
4b^2-4b^2
(roots are real and equal)
:confused:

Reply 5

JChoudhry

Quadratic equations are generalised in the form ax^2+bx+c=0. The quadratic formula is

The discriminant is b^2-4ac. As you can see from the formula, it is not possible to get a real solution if b^2-4ac is negative because you have to square root it and you cant square root negative numbers (yet). So now, you just take the values of a, b and c and subsitute into the discriminant and if it is negative, then the equation has no real roots. did that help?