quadratic equation
noun1
Algebra, Mathematics, Sciences A polynomial equation of the second degree; an equation that can be rearranged in standard form as ax²+bx+c=0, where x is an unknown value, a, b, and c are known numbers, and where a does not equal zero.
- When I was seven years old at a new school, I cried all day, every day. When I was 14 years old, I cried in maths lessons. An improvement, I guess. It wasn’t that I was bad at maths; I knew my way around a quadratic equation, let me tell you.2015 September 8, Katie Everson, “Why I've written a book for teenagers about taking drugs”, in The Guardian:
- The arid argot of the estate agent’s schedule becomes obsolete when the task is to sell a pub-restaurant at the edge of a Highland wilderness. It’s like trying to describe the glory of the Lake District with a quadratic equation.2018 November 25, Kevin McKenna, “Remote island pub for sale ... just don’t expect a quiet life”, in The Guardian:
2 more examples
- The quadratic equation has frustrated math students for millenniums. […] If, while watching the Super Bowl, you had wanted to estimate how far a pass thrown by Patrick Mahomes traveled through the air, you would have been solving a quadratic equation.2020 February 5, Kenneth Chang, Jonathan Corum, “This Professor’s ‘Amazing’ Trick Makes Quadratic Equations Easier”, in The New York Times:
- If there’s one skill we absolutely should have been taught in school, it's how to craft the perfect dating app profile. I mean, if I can still remember the quadratic equation, surely I should have been schooled in the art of snagging a date. But alas, our education system seems to think finding our soulmates isn't as essential as algebra.2024 April 8, Lydia Wang, Morgan Sullivan, Rachel Varina, “24 Best Hinge Prompts to Actually Help Your Matches Get to Know You”, in Cosmopolitan: