The Empire State Building in New York City is 1,452 feet tall. A model of the building is 24 inches tall. What is the ratio of the height to the model to the height of the actual Empire State Building?

Two ways: 
1) guess factors(trial and error)
2) use quadratic formula.
If you use this method then a = -3, b = -6 and c = -1

x = -b +/- [sqrt(b^2 -4ac)/2a]
substituting a, b, and c into our equation we get:
x = - (-6)+/- [sqrt ((-6)^2) - 4(-3)(-1))/2 (-3)]
x = + 6 +/- [sqrt (36 -4 (3)/-6)]  if I didnt make a mistake in my signs
x = + 6 +/- [sqrt (36 -12)/-6)]
x = 6 +/- [sqrt (24)/-6]  but sqrt 6 x sqrt of 4 = sqrt 24 hence
x = 6 +/-  [ sqrt 6 x sqrt 4 /-6] that is:
x = 6 +/- [sqrt 6 x 2 /-6 ]
so x = 6 + [sqrt 6 x 2/-6] and x = 6 - [sqrt 6 x 2/-6]