Great question. It was mentioned that the highest power associated with the equation is the number of the roots. I would like to kindly correct this. It is the highest possible number of roots that can exist for the equation. For it to be a root, the y-value must be on or cross the x-axis (y=0), and then it is a root. So for example, if you think of the equation Ax^2+bx+c=0, the highest power is 2, so the number of possible roots is 2. Whether there are 2 roots will depend on A and b and c. The general form of such an equation is a parabola. This parabola may or may not cross the x-axis, and thus may or may not have any roots. Hope this helps! In order to calculate the roots, simply plug in y = 0 in the equation and solve for the x. If you find the answer says something like this (x-2)(x-4)=0=y, then you can say that if (x-2) is zero then all of it is zero so 2 is a root and if x-4 is zero then all of it is zero so 4 is also a root, etc.