1) Quadratic equations are mathematical expressions of degree 2 that can be written in the standard form ax2 + bx + c = 0, where a, b, and c are real numbers and a ≠ 0.
2) There are four main methods for solving quadratic equations: extracting square roots, factoring, completing the square, and using the quadratic formula.
3) Factoring involves transforming the quadratic expression into standard form, factoring the expression into two linear factors, and setting each factor equal to 0 to solve for the roots.