Probably the most important thing to remember when using the Quadratic Formula (other than the Formula itself, which you should memorize) is that you must do each step clearly and completely, so you don't lose your denominators or plus-minuses or square roots. Don't skip stuff, and you should do fine.

Warning: If you get in the habit of "forgetting" the square root sign until the end when the back of the book "reminds" you that you "meant" to put it in, I'll bet good money that you'll mess up on your test. If you get in the habit of "forgetting" the plus/minus sign until the answer in the back "reminds" you that it belongs in there, then you will almost certainly miss every single problem where the answer doesn't have a square root symbol in it to "remind" you to put the plus/minus sign back in. That is, any time your answer is supposed to be something like "x = 5 ± 10", you will put down "x = 5 + 10 = 15", and will have no idea how the book (or test) got the second answer of "x = –5". If you get sloppy with the denominator "2a", either by forgetting the "a" or by not dividing the entire numerator by this value, you will consistenly get the wrong answers.

I've been grading homework and tests for too many years to be kidding about this. Really, truly; you want to do your work neatly and completely every single time!

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