1. The problem is to provide the formula for solving a quadratic equation. 2. The quadratic formula is used to find the roots of any quadratic equation of the form $ax^2 + bx + c = 0$. 3. The formula is: $$x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}$$ 4. Here, $a$, $b$, and $c$ are coefficients from the quadratic equation. 5. The term under the square root, $b^2 - 4ac$, is called the discriminant and determines the nature of the roots. 6. If the discriminant is positive, there are two real roots; if zero, one real root; if negative, two complex roots.