Curriculum placement
Algebra 1. This describes the skill, not a learner estimate.
Completing the square
Rewrite quadratics by completing the square
Problem types
- Solve by completing the square
- Find the term that completes a square
- Complete the square with leading coefficient one
- Complete the square with any leading coefficient
- Choose the completed-square equation with the same solutions
Builds on
- Solving quadratic equations
- Structure of an expression · Useful idea
Seeing x squared + 2ax as part of a squared binomial is the structure used to complete the square.
Leads to
- The quadratic formula
- Equations of circles
- Conic sections and their equations
- The minimum of an upward-opening quadratic · See it applied
Completing the square writes a quadratic in vertex form, which shows its minimum or maximum value.
Related skills
- Quadratic, rational, and exponential constraints · Shared foundations
- Solving a linear and a nonlinear equation together · Shared foundations
- Graphs of quadratic functions · Shared foundations
- Solving radical equations · Shared foundations
Open the interactive map to explore lessons and skill connections.