How can I solve the problems on quadratic equations?

When you're solving quadratics in your homework, you can often get a hint as to the best method to use, based on the topic and title of the section. For instance, if you're working on the homework in the Solving by Factoring section, then you know that you're supposed to solve by factoring. But, in the chapter review and on the test, you don't know which section the quadratic came from. Which method should you use? You could use the quadratic formula for everything, but the formula can be overkill. For example: Solve (x + 1)(x 3) = 0. This is a quadratic, and I'm supposed to solve it. I could multiply the left-hand side, simplify to find the coefficients, plug them into the quadratic formula, and chug away to the answer. But why would I? I mean, for heaven's sake, this is factorable, and they've already factored it and set it equal to zero for me. While the quadratic formula would give me the correct answer, why bother with it? Instead, I'll just solve the factors: (x + 1)(x 3) = 0 x + 1 = 0 or x 3 = 0 x = 1 or x = 3 The solution is x = 1, 3

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