Main Concept Completing the squareis the name of a process used to convert quadratic polynomials in the general form to the vertex form: +k 1. Factor the leading coefficient out of the first two terms ax2+bx+c= abax+c 2. Complete the square by adding and su...
I'll move the constant term (the loose number) over to the right-hand side: ax2 + bx = −c The leading term is multiplied by a, so I'll have to divide through by this "value": x2+bax=−cax2+abx=−ac Now I'll need to start my side-calculations with the coefficient of...
Now that we have gone through the steps of completing the square in the above section, let us learn how to apply the completing the square method using an example. Example:Complete the square in the expression -4x2- 8x - 12. Solution: First, we should make sure that the coefficient of ...
When you complete the square, make sure that you are careful with the sign on the numerical coefficient of thex-term when you multiply that coefficient by one-half. If you lose the sign from that term, you can get the wrong answer in the end because you'll forget which sign goes insid...
1. Factor the leading coefficient out of the first two terms ax2+bx+c= abax+c 2. Complete the square by adding and subtracting the "magic number" (the square of half the coefficient ofx) = ax+ ...
Completing the Square Main Concept Completing the square is the name of a process used to convert quadratic polynomials in the general form to the vertex form: where , Steps: 1. Factor the leading coefficient out of the first two terms 2. Complete the..