a quadratic equation question?
How do I make this concerning a company’s revenue. My assignment is to plot a company’s revenue on a graph using a quadratic equation.
Also, how can all these numbers equal a zero?? I understand some of them have to be negative. How can a company have negative revenue???
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I found this out looking the equation up on: http://www.jamesbrennan.org/algebra/quadratics/quadratic_definitions.htm
ax2 + bx + c = 0
a, b, c are constants (generally integers)
Roots
Synonyms: Solutions or Zeros
Can have 0, 1, or 2 real roots
Consider the graph of quadratic equations. The quadratic equation looks like ax2 + bx + c = 0, but if we take the quadratic expression on the left and set it equal to y, we will have a function:
y = ax2 + bx + c
When we graph y vs. x, we find that we get a curve called a parabola. The specific values of a, b, and c control where the curve is relative to the origin (left, right, up, or down), and how rapidly it spreads out. Also, if a is negative then the parabola will be upside-down. What does this have to do with finding the solutions to our original quadratic equation? Well, whenever y = 0 then the equation y = ax2 + bx + c is the same as our original equation.
Graphically, y is zero whenever the curve crosses the x-axis. Thus, the solutions to the original quadratic equation (ax2 + bx + c = 0) are the values of x where the function (y = ax2 + bx + c) crosses the x-axis. From the figures below, you can see that it can cross the x-axis once, twice, or not at all.
Actually, if you have a graphing calculator this technique can be used to find solutions to any equation, not just quadratics. All you need to do is
Move all the terms to one side, so that it is equal to zero
Set the resulting expression equal to y (in place of zero)
Enter the function into your calculator and graph it
Look for places where the graph crosses the x-axis
Your graphing calculator most likely has a function that will automatically find these intercepts and give you the x-values with great precision. Of course, no matter how many decimal places you have it is still just an approximation of the exact solution. In real life, though, a close approximation is often good enough. Here’s another website to do the actual graphing: http://math.hws.edu/javamath/basic_applets/SliderGraph.html. I hope this helped!
Sincerely,
the c is where your curve cuts the y axis. If you can factor, factor and the roots are where it cuts the x-axis. You will have a lowest or highest points at x = -b/2a, y = (4ac-b^2)/4a
negative would mean loss of revenue.