If the quadratic equation is ax2 + bx + c = 0 then
if the discriminant, b2 - 4ac is
greater than 0: there are two real roots = [-b + or - sqrt(b2 - 4ac)]/2a
equal to 0: there are two real coincidental roots, with the value -b/2a
less than 0: there are two complex roots = [-b + or - i*sqrt(b2 - 4ac)]/2a where i is the imaginary square root of -1.
The answer to the third case (discr<0) may be given as "there are no real roots".