Solving Equations using

Quadratic Graphs
Amanda Austin
www.drfrost.org
@DrFrostMaths

Contact the resource team:

[email protected]
@DrFrostResource

Dr Frost Learning is a registered charity

Last modified: 12th March 2024 in England and Wales (no 1194954)
How to use these slides
Though many slides in this resource will have titles specific to the topic, the slide titles in the table below
are used consistently within DFL resources for specific pedagogical purposes.
Any atypical use of a slide type, including any change of animation* or intended use, will be outlined in the
Teacher Notes for the slide.
Slide Title Explanation Default Animations*
To be used as a prior knowledge check or to review prerequisite
Recap Green click-to-reveal boxes.
knowledge. Can be used as a starter or as part of the main lesson.
To be used to highlight key concepts or theorems. This could include
the ‘why’ of the topic - including “real-life” contextual scenarios, or Usually in sequence with some
The Big Idea
putting into context of other mathematical concepts (past and green click-to-reveal boxes.
future).
Example To be modelled by the teacher. Solution animates in sequence.
Green click-to-reveal boxes.
Test Your To be completed by students and used for Assessment for Learning, For multi-step answers, reveal in
Understanding primarily using mini-whiteboards. parts or click final answer to
reveal full solution.
To be used as ‘Example’ &‘Test Your Understanding’ above, within the Example animates in sequence.
Example same slide to provide scaffold via visible modelled solution. Click the header to reveal TYU
Problem Pair TYU column is blank initially, to focus attention on example. question, then green click-to-
Reveal question by clicking ‘Test Your Understanding’ banner. reveal boxes.
Green click-to-reveal boxes. For
To be used as fluency practice. Multiple questions in rapid succession,
Quickfire multi-step answers, reveal in
for calculations that can be completed mentally. Often used for
Questions parts or click final line to reveal
shorter questions/ formulae or to isolate a small part of the method.
full solution.
To be used as a diagnostic question. Multiple choice questions, with
Multi-choice
plausible distractors, to allow teachers to diagnose misconceptions Arrow points to answer, on click.
Question
and errors in student thinking, then adapt their lesson accordingly.
Exam Question To be completed by teacher or student. Green click-to-reveal boxes.
Dr Frost Learning is a registered charity in England and Wales (no 1194954)
Teacher Notes
Prerequisite Knowledge Representations Used Future Links
• Solve monic and non-monic • Coordinate axes • Finding the turning point of
quadratics by factorisation, a quadratic by completing
including those requiring the square
rearrangement • Sketching graphs of
• Substitute values into quadratics including turning
algebraic expressions points
• Plot a point in any quadrant
given its coordinates
• Read a pair of coordinates
plotted in any quadrant
• Plot a linear graph by
completing a table of values
• Plot a quadratic graph by
completing a table of values

Key: Key Points Solution step – All slides include pedagogical

click to reveal detail in the ‘Notes’ section
! To be written for teach slide.
in books Question/Discussion
Dr Frost Learning is a registered charity
Prompt in England and Wales (no 1194954)
Contents
For lessons covering many concepts, please click the below to navigate quickly to
the relevant part of the lesson.

Prerequisite Knowledge Check

Recap: Plotting Linear and Quadratic Graphs

The Big Idea: Using Graphs to Solve Equations ()

The Big Idea: Using Graphs to Solve Equations ()

The Big Idea: Using Graphs to Approximate Solutions

Exercise 1: Using Graphs to Solve Equations

The Big Idea: Solving Quadratic Simultaneous Equations Graphically

Exercise 2: Using Graphs to Solve Quadratic Simultaneous Equations

Dr Frost Learning is a registered charity

in England and Wales (no 1194954)
Prerequisite Knowledge Check Show all
solutions

1 Complete the table of values. 2 State the equations of each of

the straight lines shown.
a 𝑦 =3 𝑥 − 1
𝑦
𝒚 =𝟐
?
? ? ? ? ? a
b 𝑦 = 𝑥 2+ 2 𝒚 =𝟎
?
b 𝑂 𝑥
? ? ? ? ?
c 𝑦 = 𝑥 2 − 4 𝑥 +5 𝒚 =−𝟑
?
c

? ? ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ? d 𝒙 =𝟏
?
? ? ? ? ?
Recap: Plotting Linear and Quadratic Graphs
By completing the table of By completing the table of
values, plot the straight line values, plot the curve with
with equation equation

−5 −3 −1 1 3 3 0 −1 0 3
𝑦 𝑦
A linear × × ×
equation
produces a
straight line
graph ×

𝑂 𝑥 ×𝑂 × 𝑥
× ×

A quadratic
× equation
What is the same and produces a
what is different? curved
graph
×
Test Your Understanding
By completing a table of values, plot the graph of
the equation
𝑦

? ? ? ? ?
? ? ? ? ? × ×
? ? ? ? ? 𝑂 𝑥
? ? ? ? ?
× ×
×
? Reveal All

? Plot Graph
Recap: Using Graphs to Solve Equations
Use the graphs of and find the solutions to the
equation
We plot both equations on the We could also solve this
same axes and find the
equation algebraically:
-coordinate of the intersection

𝑦 =𝑥+ 2 𝑥+ 2=4 − 𝑥
+𝑥 +𝑥
2 𝑥+2=4
−2 −2
2 𝑥=2
(𝟏 , 𝟑) ÷2 ÷2
𝒙 =𝟏
𝑦 =4 − 𝑥
Which method for solving
𝑂 𝑥
equations do you prefer? Why?
𝒙 =𝟏
The Big Idea: Using Graphs to Solve Equations
In general, if we want to solve the equation𝒇 (𝒙) 𝒈 ( 𝒙 )
we can either:
1 Solve algebraically or
2 Plot the graphs of and 𝒚 =𝒈 ( 𝒙) and find their
point(s) of intersection.

We can use algebra or graphs to solve ….

3 𝑥+ 5=12 2
𝑥 +5 𝑥 − 6=0
2
2
2 𝑥=8 − 𝑥
3 𝑥 − 2= 𝑥+ 4 3
2 𝑥+ 𝑥 =5 − 𝑥
2
3 𝑥 −1= Let’s look at these three in
𝑥 more detail…
The Big Idea: Using Graphs to Solve Equations

Solve the equation

Graphically: Algebraically:

Plot the graphs of

and 3 𝑥+ 5=12
−5 −5
3 𝑥=7
÷3 ÷3
𝑦 =12 𝟕
𝒙=
𝑦 =3 𝑥 +5
𝟑

Which method do you prefer?

Can you see any problems with
𝑂 𝑥 either method?
The Big Idea: Using Graphs to Solve Equations

Solve the equation

Graphically: Algebraically:

Plot the graphs of

2
and 2 𝑥=8 − 𝑥
2
𝑥 + 2 𝑥 − 8=0
𝑦 =2 𝑥 Solve by factorisation:
𝑦 =8 − 𝑥 2
( 𝑥+ 4 )( 𝑥 −2)= 0
or
𝑂 𝑥
Which method do you prefer?
Can you see any problems with
either method?
The Big Idea: Using Graphs to Solve Equations
Solve the equation

Graphically: Algebraically:

Plot the graphs of

and
2
𝑦 =3 𝑥 − 1 3 𝑥 − 𝑥= 2
2
3 𝑥 − 𝑥 − 2= 0
Solve by factorisation:
2
𝑦=
𝑥 ( 3 𝑥+ 2 ) ( 𝑥 − 1 )= 0
𝑂 𝑥 or

Which method do you prefer?

Can you see any problems with
either method?
The Big Idea: Using Graphs to Solve Equations
When using graphs to solve our equations, we need to
decide which graphs to plot to find the solutions…

State the graphs that need to State the graphs that need to
be plotted to solve the equation be plotted to solve the equation

When𝒇 (𝒙) 𝒈 ( 𝒙 ) When𝒇 (𝒙) 𝒈 ( 𝒙 )

We plot the graphs of We plot the graphs of
𝒚 =𝒇 ( 𝒙) and 𝒚 =𝒈 ( 𝒙) 𝒚 =𝒇 ( 𝒙) and 𝒚 =𝒈 ( 𝒙)

and and
Quickfire Questions
a State the graphs that need to b Write down the shape of the
be plotted to solve the equation quadratic graph with equation

?
and ?
and

c Write down the shape of the d Write down the shape of the
quadratic graph with equation quadratic graph with equation

and
?
and ?
Example
Use the graphs of and find the solutions to the quadratic
equation

𝑦
2
The solutions 𝑦 =𝑥 + 1 When we are
to the equation solving an
are the equation of the
-coordinate(s) form , we use
of the point(s) the line .
of intersection

In this case, we
𝒙 =− 𝟐 𝑦 =0
also call the
or
𝑂
𝑥solutions the roots
of the function
𝒙 =𝟐 .
Example
By plotting the graph of , find the solutions to the
equations

𝑦
1 0 1 4 9 16
3 0 −3 −6 − 9 −12
× ×
+2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 2
𝑦 = 𝑥 − 3 𝑥 +2
𝟔 𝟐 𝟎 𝟎 𝟐 𝟔

We have plotted so we must also

plot
× ×
The points of intersection are
𝑦 =0
and so the solutions or roots of
𝑂
× × 𝑥
the equation are:

𝒙 =𝟏 or 𝒙 =𝟐
Test Your Understanding
Logan has plotted two graphs on the same axes and is using them
to solve a quadratic equation.
What is equation is he trying to solve and what are the solutions?
𝑦
Logan is solving the
?
equation
Equation
.
2
𝑦 =4 − 𝑥 The solutions to the
equation are the
? of the
-coordinates
points of
Solutions
intersections, so
𝑦 =0
𝑂
𝑥 and

Logan
Example
Use the graphs of and find the solutions to the quadratic
equation
How is this different to 𝑦 2
𝑦 =𝑥 + 1 We are no longer
the previous questions? using the -axis, we
must draw a different
The solutions to horizontal line.
the equation are
the -coordinate(s) Note that as the
of the point(s) of graphs intersect
intersection twice there are
two possible
We read the solutions.
-coordinate(s) from 𝑦 =5
the -axis
How do we know
there are not
𝒙 =− 𝟐 more than two
or intersections?
𝒙 =𝟐
𝑂
𝑥
Test Your Understanding
Use the graphs of and find the solutions to the quadratic
equation
𝑦
2
𝑦 =𝑥 + 2 𝑥 How would our
solutions differ if
we were solving ?

We would get two

𝒙 =− 𝟑 non-integer
solutions
?
or 𝑦 =4
𝒙 =𝟏 𝑦 =3 What about if we
were solving
?

𝑂
𝑥 We would get no
solutions

𝑦 =− 2
Spot the Mistake
Hannah is using graphs to solve the quadratic equation
. What mistake have they made?
Can you provide them with the correct solutions?
Hannah 𝑦
Hannah has
? Error
plotted rather
than .

The correct
I have plotted
the graphs of
?solutions
Solutionare
and
and . They meet
at so the
solution to the
equation is
𝑥
𝑂
Spot the Mistake
Nathan is using graphs to solve the quadratic equation
. What mistake has he made?
Can you provide him with the correct solutions?
Nathan 𝑦
Nathan has not
plotted the entire
? Error
graph, so can only
see one solution, .

I have plotted If he extends his

the graphs of graph he will see
and . They there are two
meet at so ?solutions
Solutionand
the solution to
the equation 𝑂 𝑥
is
Deeper Thinking
Basma wants to find the solutions to the equation
using the graph below.

𝑦
I have plotted the graphs of and
But I only get one solution, , so I
must be wrong!
Basma

𝑂 𝑥
Do you agree with Basma?
Why?
No, she has not made a mistake –
there is only one solution.
Unlike earlier examples, there is
? Error
only one point of intersection for
these two lines, at the minimum
point of the quadratic.
Exam Question
[OCR GCSE Nov 2020 6H Q19a]

The graph of is shown. Use the

graph to solve

and
?
Comparing Methods
Viktor and Imani are solving the equation graphically. They have
used two different methods. Which do you prefer?

I have plotted the graphs of I have rearranged the

and and found where they equation to give
intersect. The solutions then plotted it and found
areand where it crosses The
Viktor solutions are and Imani

Both methods
are equally 𝑂
𝑂 valid, so we
can solve this
equation with
either method
Test Your Understanding
Basma wants to solve the equation .
She wants to do this by plotting the graphs of
and .

Basma The rest of the class have suggested pairs of

equations which could also be used. Who is correct?

How could we
change Logan’s
answer to make it
correct?
and and
and
Can you think of
any other pairs of
equations we
could use?

Hannah Logan Imani

The Big Idea: Using Graphs to Solve Equations
In addition to solving equations of the form where is a
constant, we can also use graphs to solve equations of
the form

𝑓 ( 𝑥 ) =𝑎 𝑓 ( 𝑥 ) =𝑏𝑥 +𝑐

𝑂 𝑂

We have drawn a horizontal line We can draw a line of the form and find
and found the points of intersection the points of intersection
Explaining Maria’s Method
Maria is using solving the equation graphically. Can you explain
each step of her working?
Maria has drawn up a table Step 3 Maria has plotted
Step 1 of values for
Step 4 Maria has plotted
𝑦
Maria didn’t
have to plot
Maria has drawn up a table this pair of
Step 2 of values for equations.
What other
pairs would
be valid?

𝑂 𝑥
Maria has read the -coordinates
Step 5 of the points of intersection

or
Mar
Test Your Understanding
Solve the equation graphically.
1 1
1 State the two graphs you need 2 Complete the table of values
z to plot. z for

?
and
? ? ? ? ? ? ?
We can use any valid rearrangement, but
this is the simplest way!
1 1
3 Complete the table of values 4 Use the graphs to find the
z for z solutions to the equation.
𝑦

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
and

𝑂
𝑥
Example
Use the graph of to solve the equation
How is this different to previous questions? 𝑦
Neither the equation on the left or right
matches the graph that is plotted.
Remember: We can use any valid
rearrangement to solve.

How can we rearrange so the left

side of the equation is ?
2
9 − 𝑥 = 𝑥 +3 𝑂
𝑥
−3 2
−3
6 − 𝑥 =𝑥
Now we can plot on the same
axes as

Finally, we can read the -coordinates

of the points of intersection
or
Example Test Your Understanding
The graph of is drawn below. The graph of is drawn below.
Which straight line would you plot Which straight line would you plot
on the same axes to solve the on the same axes to solve the
equation ? equation ?
𝑦 𝑦

𝑂
𝑥
𝑂
𝑥
Subtract from both sides
2
2
𝑥 + 3 𝑥=4 𝑥 − 4= 𝑥+ 2
+7 ? +7
−𝑥 −𝑥 2
2
𝑥 + 2 𝑥=4 − 𝑥 𝑥 + 3= 𝑥 +9
We would need to plot
We would need to plot ?
the line
the line
Deeper Thinking
There are five graphs drawn on the axes below.

𝑦 =6 − 2 𝑥 𝑦
2 1
𝑦 =𝑥 − 2 𝑥

𝑦 =𝑥 2 − 2 𝑥
?
𝑦 =2 𝑥+3
𝑦 =𝑥 2 − 2 2

𝑂 2 2
𝑦 =𝑥 − 2 𝑥 𝑦 =𝑥 − 2
?
or
𝑦 =2 𝑥+3 𝑦 =8 − 4 𝑥 𝑦 =6 − 2 𝑥
𝑦=8− 4 𝑥
Example Test Your Understanding
Here is the graph of Here is the graph of
By adding a suitable straight line to By adding a suitable straight line to
the graph, find the solutions to the the graph, find the solutions to the
equation equation
2 2
+𝑥↓ 𝑥 + 𝑥=𝑥 + 4 ↓+ 𝑥 −2 𝑥 ↓𝑥 + 2 2𝑥 − 3=𝑥 +3 ↓ −2 𝑥
2 ?
−3 ↓ 2
𝑥 + 2 𝑥=2 𝑥+ 4 ↓ −3 −1 ↓
𝑥 −3=− 𝑥 +3↓ −1
Rearrangement
2
𝑥 + 2 𝑥 − 3=2 𝑥 +1 𝑥 − 4=− 𝑥 +2
𝑦 𝑦

𝑦 =2 𝑥+1

𝑂 𝑥 𝑂 𝑥
𝑦 =− 𝑥 +2
?
or or Solutions
The Big Idea: Using Graphs to Approximate Solutions
Sometimes, we may not be able to read an exact value for
the -coordinate from a graph. In this case we can estimate to
find approximate solutions to an equation.

1 Find the approximate

values of when

and
?

2 Find the approximate

values of when

?
and
Example Test Your Understanding
Use the graph of to estimate Use the graph of to estimate
solutions to the equation solutions to the equation

or ?
or
Spot the Mistake
Viktor has plotted two graphs to find approximate
solutions to the equation
Can you find his mistake and provide the correct solutions?

I have plotted the graphs

of
and and estimated the
solutions of and
Viktor

Viktor has plotted the graph of

? Error
incorrectly as the scales on the
and axes are different.
𝑂
The actual approximate solutions
? Solutions
are and
Exam Question
[Edexcel IGCSE(9-1) Jan 2019 1H Q6c]
The graph of is drawn. By drawing a suitable straight line on
the grid, find estimates for the solutions to the equation

2
𝑥 −5 𝑥= 𝑥 − 7
+6 ? +6
2
𝑥 − 5 𝑥 +6= 𝑥 − 1
We would need to plot
?
the line

The approximate
solutions?are and
Exercise 1 (available as a separate worksheet)
Show all
solutions

1 The graph of is shown below. Use the graph to find the solutions to the equations
given:

𝑦 a

or ?
b

or ?
c

or ?
d
𝑂 𝑥
or ?
e

or ?
Exercise 1 (available as a separate worksheet)
Show all
solutions

2 The graph of is shown below. Use the graph to find the solutions to the equations
given:

𝑦 a 8 +2 𝑥 − 𝑥 =0
2

or ?
2
b 8 +2 𝑥 − 𝑥 =9
𝒙 =𝟏
?
2
c 8 +2 𝑥 − 𝑥 =5
or ?
2
d 8 +2 𝑥 − 𝑥 =𝑥+ 2
𝑂 𝑥 or ?
2
e 8 +2 𝑥 − 𝑥 =8 − 2 𝑥
or ?
Exercise 1 (available as a separate worksheet)
Show all
solutions

3 [Edexcel IGCSE Jan 2015 4H Q15a] 4 [AQA IGCSE FM Jun 2016 P2 Q2b]
Here is the graph of Here is the graph of
Use the graph to solve the equation Use the graph to work out the solutions
of the equation . Give your answers to
1 decimal place.

or ?
or ?
Exercise 1 (available as a separate worksheet)
Show all
solutions

5 Here is the graph of 6 [Edexcel GCSE(9-1) Nov 2019 3H Q17]

By adding suitable straight lines to the Here is the graph of . Use the graph find
graph, find the solutions to the estimates for the solutions to the
equations: equation

a or ?
2
b 𝑥 + 𝑥 −4 =𝑥 or ?
𝑦

𝑂 𝑥

or ?
N Use graphs to solve the equation giving your solutions
to 1 decimal place. or ?
The Big Idea: Solving Simultaneous Equations
We can also use graphs to solve simultaneous equations.
If we plot the graphs of both equations on the same axes, then
the coordinates of the intersection of the graphs are the
solution to the simultaneous equations.

Solve the simultaneous equations

2
𝑦 =𝑥 − 3 𝑥 𝑦 =𝑥 − 3
Reading the coordinates of the
intersection of the curve with the line
provides two and solution pairs:
𝑂

and

This is very similar to solving equations using graphs, except this

time our solutions require both and values.
Example
Solve graphically the simultaneous equations

Draw up the table of values for and

8 5 4 5 8 13 20

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Plot both graphs on the same axes and read

the coordinates of the points of intersection 𝑂

or
Test Your Understanding
Solve graphically the simultaneous equations

2
𝑦 = 𝑥 + 2 𝑥 +1

𝑦 =1 − 𝑥
or
?

𝑂
Exam Question
[Edexcel GCSE Nov 2011 3H Q14b]

The diagram shows the graph

of .
Use the graph to find
estimates to the solutions to
the simultaneous equations

or
?
Deeper Thinking
Basma, Hannah, Abdi and Logan have all answered the same
question. Only one of them has answered it correctly.

𝑦 𝑦

𝑥 Solve simultaneously: 𝑥
Basma Hannah

𝑦 𝑦

𝑥 𝑥
Abdi Logan

Who has got the answer correct?

How can you tell?
Exercise 2 (available as a separate worksheet)
Show all
solutions

1 By completing the tables of values provided, solve the simultaneous equations graphically:
2 2
a 𝑦 =𝑥 + 𝑥 +1 b 𝑦 =𝑥 −5 𝑥 +3

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
𝑦 =𝑥+ 5 𝑦 =3 − 𝑥

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
𝑦 𝑦

or
?

?
or
𝑂 𝑥

𝑂 𝑥
Exercise 2 (available as a separate worksheet)
Show all
solutions

2 [Edexcel GCSE Jun 2016 1H Q19b]

The diagram shows the graph of
. Use the graph to find estimates for the
values of that satisfy the simultaneous
equations

? or

3 Use graphs to solve the simultaneous

equations

? or
4 Use graphs to find approximate solutions to
the simultaneous equations

? or

N Use graphs to solve the simultaneous

equations
or
?