Question

How do you find the value of a shrink or stretch on a parabola or quadratic function?

a) By solving for the x-intercepts.
b) By calculating the vertex coordinates.
c) By analyzing the axis of symmetry.
d) By examining the coefficient of the quadratic term.

Answer 1

To find the shrink or stretch value on a parabola, examine the coefficient of the quadratic term, which determines the degree of vertical stretching or shrinking.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the value of a shrink or stretch of a parabola, you do not solve for the x-intercepts, calculate the vertex coordinates, or analyze the axis of symmetry. Instead, you examine the coefficient of the quadratic term in the quadratic function's formula, which is generally written as f(x) = ax² + bx + c. The coefficient a represents the degree of the parabola's vertical stretch or shrink. If a is greater than 1, the parabola is stretched; if a is between 0 and 1, the parabola is shrunk. A negative value of a also indicates that the parabola is flipped vertically.