The standard form of any quadratic equation is ax2+bx+c=0, provided a,b,c [coefficients] are real numbers and a≠0 [a is called the leading coefficient]. If a = 0, the equation would become bx + c = 0 which is then a linear equation, but not a quadratic any more. Hence, the leading coefficient, which is a, should never be 0 in a quadratic equation.