What is the difference between quadratic function and quadratic formula?

A quadratic function is a function where a variable is raised to the second degree (2). Examples would be x2, or for more complexity, 2x2+4x+16.

The quadratic formula is a way of finding the roots of a quadratic function, or where the parabola crosses the x-axis. There are many ways of finding roots, but the quadratic formula will always work for any quadratic function.

In the form ax2+bx+c, the Quadratic Formula looks like this:

x=-b±√b2-4ac

_________

2a

The plus-minus means that there can 2 solutions.