Second-order equation

A second-order equation has the form Ax2 + Bx + C = 0. Graphically, it is represented by second-order curves (parabola, hyperbola, ellipse, etc.), they were studied in ancient Greece by the student of Eudoxus, Menaechmus. When calculated by the online calculator, two roots will be found X1 and X2.

The solution of second-order equations is in demand in various fields of human activity. In astronomy, it was found that planets orbit stars along elliptical trajectories. Our Earth moves around the Sun in such a trajectory. In military affairs, it was useful to know that shells fly along a parabolic curve. Many physical and engineering processes are described by second-order equations.

Specialists launching satellites into Earth's orbit provide them with the 1st cosmic velocity. As a result, the satellite moves in a circle. If the speed is increased, the orbit will become elliptical; at the 2nd cosmic velocity, the ship will move along a parabola, and with further speed increase, the trajectory will turn into a hyperbola.