The equation $$x^2 +3x -4 = 0$$ has two solutions. The smaller is $x=$ .

The equation $$ax^2 + bx + c=0$$ may have two real solutions, one real solution, or a conjugate complex pair of solutions. Assuming there are two real solutions, and $a>0$, the smaller is $x =$ . (This is the celebrated quadratic formula.)