Question

Write the equation of the quadratic function with roots 0 and 2 and a vertex at (1, 5).

Answer 1

The "standard" parabola with roots 0 and 2 is

`y = (x-0)(x-2) = x^2-2x`

All multiples of this parabola, i.e.

`y=a(x^2-2x)`

have the same roots. We can choose the factor such that the parabola passes through the desided point: if we plug 1, 5 for x, y we have

`5 = a(1-2) \iff -a=5 \iff a=-5`

So, our claim is that the parabola

`y=-5(x^2-2x) = -5x^2+10x`

has roots 0 and 2 and vertex at (1, 5).

You can easily verify this: the roots are guaranteed by the fact that we can write the equation as

`y = -5x(x-2)`

The vertex must be at x=1, because it's the midpoint of the roots. Moreover, if we evaluate the function at x=1 we have

`y(1) = -5\cdot 1 \cdot (1-2) = -5 \cdot 1 \cdot (-1) = 5`

as required.