 Projective quadric

A projective quadric is the zero set of a nonzero homogeneous quadratic polynomial in projective space. Over a field of characteristic different from two, represent it by a symmetric matrix $B$, up to a nonzero scalar. The gradient at a representative $v$ is $2Bv$, so the singular locus is the projectivization of $\ker B$. Thus the quadric is nonsingular exactly when $B$ is invertible. In the complex projective plane, ranks three, two, and one give respectively a smooth projective conic, two distinct projective lines, and a double projective line.