What is the general form of a quadratic function?

The correct answer is the one that represents the standard format of a quadratic function, which is typically written as ( f(x) = ax^2 + bx + c ).

In this function:

• ( a ), ( b ), and ( c ) are constants, where ( a ) cannot be zero, as this would make it a linear function instead of quadratic.

• ( x ) represents the variable.

• The term ( ax^2 ) signifies that the highest degree of the variable is 2, which is a defining characteristic of quadratic functions.

This structure allows for the graph of the function to form a parabola, which opens upwards if ( a > 0 ) and downwards if ( a < 0 ). The values of ( b ) and ( c ) adjust the position and shape of the parabola, but they do not change the fact that the function is quadratic as long as ( a ) remains non-zero.

The other choices do not represent quadratic functions. For instance, cubic functions have a highest power of 3, as seen in the first option, while the third option describes a polynomial of degree 4. The last option presents the formula for calculating