Mark is solving an equation where one side is a quadratic expression and the other side is a linear expression. He graphs the expressions. What is the greatest possible number of intersections for these graphs?

Question

mathmale · Answer

Remember:  the graph of a quadratic function is parabolic.  The graph of a linear function is a straight line.  Graph a parabola and determine visually what is the greatest possible number of intersections for these graphs.

zzr0ck3r · Answer

Also, if you subtract the linear function from both sides, you still have a quadratic but now it is set equal to zero. So this question is the same thing as asking how many possible zeros is there for a quadratic.