What does it mean to "complete the square"?
Completing the square is a useful method of rearranging a quadratic equation so the unknown ("x") only appears in it once. The theory of completing the square tells us that we can take a quadratic equation: x2 + bx + c = 0 and rearrange it to give (x + b/2)2 + c - (b/2)2 =0. Sometimes this can help us solve the equation and sometimes it's just a useful result to have. We can explain why this rearranging works using geometry.
CG
Related Maths GCSE answers
All answers ▸Given a graph of y = f(x) how do you sketch a graph of y = f(x)+4, y = f(x-5), y = -f(x+4) or any other similar transformations
Expand and simplify (m + 3)(m + 10)
What's Pythagoras Theorem and how can I use it?
y is inversely proportion to the square of x. y=10 when x=5. Express y in terms of x.