A positive discriminant indicates that the quadratic has two distinct real number solutions. A discriminant of zero indicates that the quadratic has a repeated real number solution. A negative discriminant indicates that neither of the solutions are real numbers.

What happens if you have a negative discriminant?

If the discriminant is negative, that means there is a negative number under the square root in the quadratic formula. ... This means that if you have a negative discriminant, you will get two complex solutions. If the solutions are both complex, you will not see them on the graph.

What does a negative discriminant always have?

A negative discriminant means that the parabola has no real roots (only imaginary roots.) Roots are where the parabola crosses the x-intercept and we know the parabola has no real roots, so it must never touch the x-axis. This means that the graph will have no x-intercept.