Learn how to graph a vertical parabola. A parabola is the shape of the graph of a quadratic equation. A parabola is said to be vertical if it opens up or opens down. A vertical parabola results from a quadratic equation in which the x part of the equation is squared.
To sketch the graph of a parabola, we first identify the vertex, the focus and the directrix. To do this, we first write the equation in the form (x - h)^2 = 4p(y - k), where (h, k) is the vertex and p is the distance between the vertex and the focus.
After expressing the equation in the form (x - h)^2 = 4p(y - k), the vertex is given by (h, k), the focus is given by (h, k + p) and the directrix is given by the line y = k - p. After obtaining the vertex, the focus and the directrix, we can then sketch the parabola.
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30 апр 2012
