Quadratic equations: Drawing parabolas
Drawing of parabolas
We have seen that the graph of a quadratic is a parabola. We have also seen how the intersection points with the axes, the vertex and other points with particular values of #x# of the parabola can be calculated. From these calculated values we can easily draw the graph of a quadratic.
Procedure drawing parabola
| Procedure |
geogebra plaatje
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We will draw the graph of a quadratic. |
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| Step 1 |
Determine the intersection point with the #y#-axis. |
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| Step 2 |
Determine the vertex. |
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| Step 3 |
Determine the intersection points with the #x#-axis, if there are any. |
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| Step 4 |
Substitute values for #x# in the formula in such a way that we have at least 4 points we can draw. |
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| Step 5 |
Draw these points in the coordinate system and connect them by a smooth parabola. |
\[y=$p\]
Draw the intersection with the #y#-axis, the vertex, and the intersections with the #x#-axis.
$wk
The red dots are the four dots from the question. These are calculated as follows:
The formula is already written in the form of #a \cdot x^2+b \cdot x +c# with #a =$j#, #b=$l# and #c=$n#. Seeing as the graph is a .
The intersection with the #y#-axis is equal to the value of the constant in the quadratic formula, which is equal to #$r#. That means that the coordinates of the intersection point with the #y#-axis are #\rv{0,$r}#.
The #x#-value of the vertex is given by #x=-\dfrac{b}{2 \cdot a}# and is equal to:
\[\begin{array}{rclrl}
x&=& -\dfrac{$l}{2 \cdot $j} &&\phantom{xxx}\blue{\text{formula entered}}\\
&=& $t &&\phantom{xxx}\blue{\text{simplified}}\\
\end{array}\]
The #y#-value of the vertex is calculated by entering #x=$t# in the formula. Which gives:
\[\begin{array}{rclrl}
y&=&
&&\phantom{xxx}\blue{\text{formula entered}}\\
&=& $v &&\phantom{xxx}\blue{\text{calculated}}\\
\end{array}\]
The coordinates of the vertex are: #\rv{$t,$v}#. $xc
The intersections with the #x#-axis are the points that correspond to #y=0#.
\[\begin{array}{rcl}
$p &=& 0 \\&&\phantom{xxx}\blue{\text{the equation that should be calculated}}\\
x=\dfrac{-{$l}-\sqrt{$wn-4 \cdot $j \cdot $n}}{2 \cdot $j} &\vee& x=\dfrac{-{$l}+\sqrt{$wn-4 \cdot $j \cdot $n}}{2 \cdot $j} \\&&\phantom{xxx}\blue{\text{quadratic formula entered}}\\
x=$wd &\vee& x=$wf \\&&\phantom{xxx}\blue{\text{calculated}}\\
\end{array}\]
The coordinates of the intersections with the #x#-axis are: #\rv{$wd,0}# and #\rv{$wf,0}#. $wv
The four points in the graph are: #\rv{0,$r}#, #\rv{$t,$v}#, #\rv{$wd,0}# and #\rv{$wf,0}#.
The requested points are connected by a smooth curve in the figure: the parabola that opens upward is given by the formula.