To find the value of b² – 4ac for the quadratic equation x² + 5x + 4 = 0, we first need to identify the coefficients a, b, and c from the standard form of a quadratic equation, which is ax² + bx + c = 0.
- a (coefficient of x²) = 1
- b (coefficient of x) = 5
- c (constant term) = 4
Now that we have the coefficients, we can plug them into the formula for the discriminant:
b² – 4ac = (5)² – 4(1)(4)
Calculating this step by step:
- (5)² = 25
- 4(1)(4) = 16
Now, we can substitute these values into our equation:
b² – 4ac = 25 – 16 = 9
Therefore, the value of b² – 4ac for the equation x² + 5x + 4 = 0 is 9.