How can an equation that describe real world problem have multiple solutions?

Question

Hello, I am studying algebra and I came across multiple equations with multiple solution

specially cubic and quadratic equations so since equations describe real world problems

and it's applied to many real world applications how can it have multiple solutions

more importantly why such equations have to have multiple solutions?

P.S am a beginner so be easy on me

Answer 1

Answer 2

So some real-world processes can be modeled by quadratic equations, as you may know. And some of these equations can have multiple solutions, and all that means is you can get the same output for multiple different inputs. For example, a ball being thrown in the air can be modeled by a quadratic equation (parabola). If you think about this, you can see why a question regarding this parabola could have 2 solutions. Let's say I asked you to find the time(s) when the ball was at height 0(we can pretend height zero is where you threw it from). Well, the ball would be at height 0 right as you throw it, which is time = 0(solution 1), and then the second solution would be when the ball eventually comes down and hits the ground at, let's say, time = 5 (solution 2). So you can see that some equations that model real world processes can have two or more solutions.