The Product of the Roots of a Quadratic
To find the product of the roots of a quadratic in the form
ax 2 + bx + c = 0, use the formula
product of roots
If the ax 2 term is on the opposite side of the
constant term, use a negative ( - c/a ).
Example:
Find the product of the roots of 4x 2 - 3x - 12 =
0. Using the formula, a = 4 and c = - 12, so the product is .
Proof:
Let the quadratic be ax 2 + bx + c = 0 with roots r
and s . Then from the quadratic formula,
So,
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