Conics: Parabolas

Welcome
Please register to have access to more features! It is highly recommended that you have Javascript enabled; many features will not work unless you do. The recommended browsers are Firefox and Chrome; the board is also NOT mobile-friendly. Please invite your friends! If you were referred by someone (ex. me, Jessica) please put their username in the referral box on the registration page. Ask them if you don't know their username. If you are visiting for TESTING PURPOSES ONLY, this is the test account information: Username: Test Password: test123

Welcome

Please register to have access to more features!

It is highly recommended that you have Javascript enabled; many features will not work unless you do. The recommended browsers are Firefox and Chrome; the board is also NOT mobile-friendly.

Please invite your friends!

If you were referred by someone (ex. me, Jessica) please put their username in the referral box on the registration page. Ask them if you don't know their username.

If you are visiting for TESTING PURPOSES ONLY, this is the test account information:

Username: Test
Password: test123

Conics: Parabolas

Looking for a topic?
View the Math Topics Directory to find topics quicker under different kinds of math.

Followers: 0
Favorites: 0
Views: 1793

Reply with quote

Conics: Parabolas

Post Number: #1 by Jessica » April 12th, 2011, 10:48 pm

A parabola is the set of all points (x, y) in a plane that are equidistant from a fixed line (directrix) and a fixed point (focus) not on the line.

Standard form ~

with vertex (h, k)

$(x-h)^2 = 4p(y-k)$

$(y-k)^2 = 4p(x-h)$

Vertical axis, directrix: y = k − p

Horizontal axis, directrix: x = h − p

The focus lies on the axis p units (directed distance) from the vertex. if the vertex is at the origin (0, 0) the equation takes one of the following forms