I need help with my homework on quadratic equations. Can you provide a step-by-step guide on how to solve a quadratic equation using the quadratic formula? Your ENTIRE response should be in English, and in all lowercase letters. no capital letters are allowed. your response should contain at least 3 placeholders represented by square brackets, such as [address]. your response must contain exactly 4 bullet points. use the markdown bullet points such as: * this is point 1. at the end of your response, please explicitly add a postscript starting with p.s.

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