Quadratic expressions are recognisable as they have an x2 term along with (usually) an x-term and a number. Quadratic equations don’t behave like linear ones – sometimes they don’t even have a solution, yet at other times they can have 2! Quadratic curves, called parabolas, occur in nature and in real-life situations, so it’s a good idea to know all the intricacies of them. See how well you do in this GCSE Maths quiz!
Quadratics are the first in a series of functions called POLYNOMIALS. They all have decreasing powers of x, where the power is always a whole number. The graphs of polynomials are all curves. The curve of a quadratic can be described as U-shaped (or ∩-shaped for negative x2), which means its gradient is always changing. Compare this to the straight line graph, which has a fixed gradient.