Find the vertex of the parabola
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Find the vertex of the parabola
To solve this problem, we will determine the vertex of the parabola from the equation , which is in vertex form.
Thus, the vertex of the parabola is .
The following function has been plotted on the graph below:
\( f(x)=x^2-8x+16 \)
Calculate point C.
In vertex form , the vertex is at (h,k). When you see , this means h = 5 because we're subtracting 5 from x. The negative sign is already built into the form!
Then the vertex would be (-5, 1)! The expression can be written as , so h = -5. Remember: plus in the parentheses means negative h-value.
Think of it as (h,k) = (horizontal shift, vertical shift). The h-value moves the parabola left or right, and the k-value moves it up or down from the origin.
No! That's the beauty of vertex form - the vertex is immediately visible. Expanding would just make your work harder and more prone to errors.
The coefficient a determines the parabola's direction and width. Since this equation has no visible coefficient, a = 1, meaning the parabola opens upward with standard width.
Substitute the x-coordinate back into the equation. For vertex (5,1): . The y-value matches, confirming our vertex is correct!
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