Let ax2 + bx + c = 0 be the equation in question where a,b,c are real numbers with a not equal to 0 (otherwise we would not have a quadratic).
If:
b2 - 4ac > 0 then there are two (real) roots
b2 - 4ac = 0 then there is exactly one (real) root
b2 - 4ac < 0 then there are no (real) roots.