if there are n teams in a league and each team plays each other twice in a season, the total number of games is given by the polynomial n^2-n=N. A women's basketball league plays a total of 56 games. How many teams are in the league?

Question

anonymous · Answer

So let's say t is the number of teams
$$t^2-t=56$$
Can you solve that?

anonymous · Answer

56^2?

ybarrap · Answer

Use the quadratic formula

ybarrap · Answer

$t^2-t-56=0$
$t=\cfrac{-(-1)\pm\sqrt{-1^2-4\times(-56)}}{2}$

ybarrap · Answer

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=t^2-t-56%3D0

ybarrap · Answer

Make sense?