Question

The parabola y=x^2 is reflected across the x axis and then scaled vertically by a factor of 1/8 what is the equation of the new parabola

Answer 1

Answer: y = (-1/8)x^2

Reason:

We start with y = x^2. Reflect that over the x axis to get to y = -x^2.

Then multiply by 1/8 to vertically scale by a factor of 1/8. This will vertically compress or squish the parabola.

This is how we arrive at the answer y = (-1/8)x^2 which is the same as writing
`\displaystyle \text{y} = -(1)/(8)\text{x}^2`