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The Discriminant

Explore the role of the discriminant in describing the roots of quadratic equations.

Publisher: Texas Instruments UK

Editor: Barrie Galpin

Author: Andy Kemp

Topic:  Mathematics

Tags  Quadratic

This activity encourages students to explore graphically the effect of the discriminant upon a quadratic function.  They do this by manipulating a quadratic curve while observing the changing value of the discriminant. They are then asked various questions to help them identify the effect.

There is a 13-page TI-Nspire document that can be used either by students working on individual handhelds or by the teacher using TI-Nspire software projected on a screen  to explore the topic with the whole class. There is also a 2-page student worksheet that introduces the task and provides technical help in manipulating graphs on the screen.

Publisher specific license