Parabolas

Any equation, where the highest power of x, is x2 when plotted on a graph, will form a parabola 2 The simplest parabola is y x
x -3 -2 9 4 -1 1 0 0 1 1 2 4 3 9

We can plot this using points

Use replay function on grey calculators And table function on green calculators
y 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 x

y=x2

We can see that the shape is up 1 out 1 up 3 out 1 up 5 out 1 up 7 out 1 etc Or Starting at the vertex Out 1 up 12 Out 2 up 22 Out 3 up 32 Out 4 up 42

try y x 2
y 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 x

-3

-2 -1 -4 -1

0 -0

3 -9

y = -x2 -9

-1 -4

The graph is the same shape but upside-down The negative sign reflects the graph in the x axis

y x2
We can try putting other numbers infront of the x
2

y 2 x2 y 3x 2 y 5x2
y y 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 1 2 3 4 5

We can see the larger the number in front of the x2 The steeper the graph Remember the gradient of linear graphs got steeper if we increased the number by the x

These graphs are best plotted using points

y x2
We can try putting other numbers infront of the x
2

y 2 x 2 y 3x 2 y 5 x 2
y y 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1 2 3 4 5 6

The graph is still reflected in the x axis We can see the larger the number in front of the x2 The steeper the graph Remember the gradient of linear graphs got steeper if we increased the number by the x
x x

y x2
y 1 2 x 2 1 y x2 4 1 y x2 10

y x2

We can try putting a smaller number in front of the x 2

1 y x2 2 1 y x2 4 1 y x2 y 10 y y y
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The smaller the number in front of the x2 the flatter the graph
The ones with negative sign are reflected in the x axis

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 11 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10

x x x x

y x2 y x2 3 y x2 1 y x2 5 y x2 7
y y y 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 x x x

We can see: If we add a number to the x2 the parabola shifts up If we subtract a number from the x2 the parabola shifts down

Note the shape is the basic y x 2

Remember the

correct word for shift is translate

We can also add numbers to the x before it is squared

y 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 11 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 x x

y x2 y ( x 3) 2 y ( x 5) 2 y ( x 1) 2
y ( x 4)2

Why ?
Equation of x axis is y 0
( x 3) 2 0

( x 3) 0
x 3

We can see the shape is the basic x2 shape If we add a number in the brackets the graph is translated to the minus number If we subtract a number in the brackets the graph is translated to the plus number

If we add a number in the brackets and at the end the graph is translated vertically and horizontally
y y 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 x x

y ( x 3) 2 4 y ( x 2) 2 5 y ( x 1) 2 2

y ( x 4) 2 1

We can also translate the reflected graphs

y y 5 4 3 2 1 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 x x

y x2 4 y ( x 5) 2 y ( x 2)2 3

In general y ( x k )2 h translates the basic y x 2 graph horizontally to k and vertically to h