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So, the easiest way to start thinking about this is by looking at straight lines. The gradient of a straight line is just its slope, which is the difference in the y values between any two points...

gradient =7 y intercept = 7

The root of an equation is a point where, when the equation is plotted on a graph, it crosses the x axis. The x axis is the line y = 0, so the roots can be found by setting 0 = ax² + bx + c whe...

For the x² term we add one to the power, and then divide by 3 to get x³/3 For the next term we add one to the power and divide by the new power to get 3x²/2 We do the same...

Using the quadratic formula (-b +- sqrt(b^2 -4ac))/2a we can sub substitute a = 1, b=2 and c = -4 to solve. The answer is x = -1 +/- sqrt(5)