So if you’re given a quadratic equation, and you need to solve it, follow the following steps:

·         Arrange it in the standard quadratic equation form.

·         Check whether it can be simplified by dividing through by a number.

·         Try and solve it by factorising it – but don’t spend too long – not all quadratic equations can be solved this way.

·         If necessary, apply the quadratic formula to solve it.

·         Check which solutions make sense, and ignore the ones that don’t – be careful, negative solutions can make sense such as in a question about temperature.

If you can get good enough at using the quadratic formula to solve quadratic equations, it is better to just use it straight away – don’t bother trying to factorise the equation, unless you’re specifically asked to.