Quadratic functions are useful in everyday situations like business and predicting supply and demand. They can be expressed as an equation in the form y=ax^2+bx+c, where a≠0. The earliest evidence of quadratic equations was found on clay tablets from ancient Babylon dating back to 1800-1600 BC. Quadratic functions are used today in many areas including calculating vehicle speeds and stopping distances, playing sports, weather prediction, and modeling how objects move under gravity.