Calculator User Manual

Activities 743
Deriving the Quadratic Formula
Deriving the Quadratic FormulaDeriving the Quadratic Formula
Deriving the Quadratic Formula
This activity shows you how to derive the quadratic formula:
x =
4. Use the
zeros( ) function to compute the
zeros of the first derivative of
c(w) to find
the minimum value of
c(w).
Note: The maximum length of the pole is
the minimum value of
c(w).
5. Compute the exact maximum length of
the pole.
Enter:
c (2 ±)
6. Compute the approximate maximum
length of the pole.
Result: Approximately 20.8097 feet.
Note: Use the auto-paste feature to copy
the result from step 4 to the entry line
inside the parentheses of c( ) and press
8 ¸.
b– b
2
4ac–±
2a
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