IB 数学复习经典教程2 Quadratic Equations Fuctions and Inequalitiespdf.pdfVIP

2 Quadratic Equations, Functions and Inequalities The first reference to quadratic equations appears to be made by the Babylonians in 400 BC, even though they did not actually have the notion of an equation. However, they succeeded in developing an algorithmic approach to solving problems that could be turned into quadratic equations. Most of the problems that the Babylonians worked on involved length, hence they had no concept of a negative answer. The Hindu mathematician, Brahmagupta, undertook more work in the seventh century and he realised that negative quantities were possible and he worked on the idea of letters for unknowns. In the ninth century, in his book Hisab al-jabr w’al-muqabala,Al-khwarizmi solved quadratic equations entirely in words. The word algebra is derived from the title of his book. It was not until the twelfth century that Abraham bar Hiyya ha-Nasi finally developed a full solution to a quadratic equation. USSR stamp featuring Al-khwarizmi 2.1 Introduction to quadratic functions Consider the curve 2 What does it look like? y x . To draw the graph a table of values can be set up on a calculator or drawn on paper. x 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 x2 9 4 1 0 1 4 9 y 9 4 1 0 1 4 9 35 2 Quadratic Equations, Functions