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What is the equation, in standard form, of a parabola that contains the following points?

(-2, -20), (0, -4), (4, -20)

A) y = -2.5x^2 + 5x
B) y = -x^2 + 4x - 4
C) y = -2x^2 +4x - 4
D) y = -2.25x^2 + 4.5x - 2

User Vespino
by
7.9k points

1 Answer

3 votes

Answer:

C) y = -2x^2 +4x - 4

Explanation:

The y-values are the same for points (-2, -20) and (4, -20), so the axis of symmetry is halfway between those points, at x = (-2+4)/2 = 1.

The y-intercept is (0, -4), so the only viable answer choices are B and C. The axis of symmetry is given by ...

x = -b/(2a)

For choice B, this is x = -4/(2(-1)) = 2 (doesn't work).

For choice C, this is x = -4/(2(-2)) = 1, which matches the above analysis.

The appropriate choice is ...

y = -2x^2 +4x - 4

_____

Alternate solution

If you like, you can derive the equation for the parabola. Since you know that the y-intercept is -4, you can write the equation as ...

y = ax² +bx -4

Filling in the data points that are not x=0, we have two equations in two unknowns:

-20 = a(-2)² +b(-2) -4 ⇒ 4a -2b = -16

-20 = a(4)² + b(4) -4 ⇒ 16a +4b = -16

Adding twice the first equation to the second gives ...

2(4a -2b) + (16a +4b) = 2(-16) +(-16)

24a = -48

a = -2 . . . . . . . . matches choice C

4(-2) -2b = -16 . . . . . substitute into an equation to find b

-2b = -8 . . . . . . . . . . add 8

b = 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . divide by -2

The equation that fits the given data is ...

y = -2x² +4x -4

What is the equation, in standard form, of a parabola that contains the following-example-1
User Geforce
by
6.0k points
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