Why Solve Quadratics? Practical Examples of Their Use

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thetexan
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I'm going back and relearning algebra, geometry, and trig so I can learn calculus. Right now I'm on quadratic equations.

It sometimes helps to know why we learn something. Can someone give me an example when you would need to actually solve a quadratic equation in practical use?

tex
 
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thetexan said:
I'm going back and relearning algebra, geometry, and trig so I can learn calculus. Right now I'm on quadratic equations.

It sometimes helps to know why we learn something. Can someone give me an example when you would need to actually solve a quadratic equation in practical use?

tex
Too many throughout Physics and Engineering. Buffer and other weak acid-base situations for Chemistry.
 
I taught myself how to solve quadratics a few years before we learned about it at school, so I could solve ray-sphere and ray-cylinder intersections, as I wanted to write a ray tracer.
 
Differential equations that involve the second derivative can be solved using a characteristic polynomial of second degree ... If you don't know what are differential equations now it is sufficient to you know that they are models for different Natural phenomena ...
 
Of all the material I learned in grade 11 math, solving quadratics and finding roots of other polynomials has probably been the most useful.
 
Nice to know, thanks.