Question

Determine the equation of the parabola shown in the diagram in factored form. (check picture below)

Answer 1

`(x+1)(x-3)`

Explanation:

A quadratic in factored form is usually expressed as:
`a(x\pm a)(x \pm b)` where the sign of a and b depends on the sign of the zero. And I said "usually" since sometimes the x will have a coefficient. Anyways in the quadratic there are two zeroes at x=-1 and x=3. This can be written as:
`a(x+1)(x-3)`. Notice how the signs are different? This is because when you plug in -1 as x you get a factor of (-1+1) which becomes 0 and it makes the entire thing zero since when you multiply by 0, you get 0. Same thing for the x-3 if you plug in x=3. Now a is in front and it can influence the stretch/compression. To find the value of a, you can take any point (except for the zeroes, because it will make the entire thing zero, and you can technically input anything in as a)

I'll use the point (1, -4) the vertex

-4 = a(1+1)(1-3)

-4 = a(2)(-2)

-4 = -4a

1 = a. So yeah the value of a is 1

So the equation is just:
`(x+1)(x-3)`