Algebra/Completing the Square

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Algebra
Algebra
 ← Factoring Polynomials Completing the Square Quadratic Equation → 

Derivation[edit | edit source]

The purpose of "completing the square" is to either factor a prime quadratic equation or to more easily graph a parabola. The procedure to follow is as follows for a quadratic equation :

1. Divide everything by a, so that the number in front of is a perfect square (1):

2. Now we want to focus on the term in front of the x. Add the quantity to both sides:

3. Now notice that on the right, the first three terms factor into a perfect square:

Multiply this back out to convince yourself that this works.

4. Therefore the completed square form of the quadratic is:

or, multiplying through by a,

Explanation of Derivation[edit | edit source]

Completing The Square
Completing The Square

1. Divide everything by a, so that the number in front of is a perfect square (1):

Think of this as expressing your final result in terms of 1 square x. If your initial equation is


2. Now we want to focus on the term in front of the x. Add the quantity to both sides:


3. Now notice that on the right, the first three terms factor into a perfect square:

Multiply this back out to convince yourself that this works.

4. Therefore the completed square form of the quadratic is:

or, multiplying through by a,

Example[edit | edit source]

The best way to learn to complete a square is through an example. Suppose you want to solve the following equation for x.

2x2 + 24x + 23 = 0 Does not factor easily, so we complete the square.
x2 + 12x + 23/2 = 0 Make coefficient of x2 a 1, by dividing all terms by 2.
x2 + 12x = - 23/2 Add – 23/2 to both sides.
x2 + 12x + 36 = - 23/2 + 36 Take half of 12 (coefficient of x), and square it. Add to both sides.
(x + 6)2 = 49/2 Factor. Now we can take square roots to easily solve this form of the equation.
√(x + 6)2 = √49/√2 Take the square root.
x + 6 = 7/√2 Simplify.
x = -6 + (7√2)/2 Rationalize the denominator.