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Parabola

The document defines a parabola and provides its standard equation. It gives several properties of parabolas including that the standard equation is quadratic in one variable and linear in the other. Several examples are worked through applying the standard parabola equation to real world scenarios involving bridges, cables, and vehicle headlights.

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Hans Edwin Maybituin
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694 views22 pages

Parabola

The document defines a parabola and provides its standard equation. It gives several properties of parabolas including that the standard equation is quadratic in one variable and linear in the other. Several examples are worked through applying the standard parabola equation to real world scenarios involving bridges, cables, and vehicle headlights.

Uploaded by

Hans Edwin Maybituin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Parabola

Definition
 A parabola is the set of all points in a plane
that are equidistant from a fixed point and a
fixed line of the plane. The fixed point is
called the focus (denoted by F) and the fixed
line, the directrix.
Standard Equation of the Parabola

2
 
( 𝑥 −h) = 4 𝑐 ( 𝑦 −𝑘 )
 𝑃 𝐹= 𝑃 𝑃ℓ
 The standard equation of the parabola
that opens upward with vertex at 𝑃(𝑥
  , 𝑦)
focus at 𝐹
  (h , 𝑘 +𝑐)
directrix, and
axis of symmetry, 𝑉  (h , 𝑘 )
ℓ  : 𝑦 =𝑘 − 𝑐 𝑃  ℓ (𝑥,− 𝑐)

 standard equation of
the parabola that 2
opens upward with vertex at
 
𝑥 =4 𝑐𝑦
Equation of a parabola
  

DEGENERATE CONICS
 If in the general form in , the equation then involves only y.
 If the roots are real and distinct, the locus is 2 parallel lines;
 if the roots are real and equal, 2 coincident lines;
 if the roots are imaginary, there is no locus.
Theorem
  The equation of a parabola with vertex at the origin, focus at

(a, 0) and directrix on the line is

 The parabola opens to the right if and opens to the left if


 The equation of a parabola with vertex at the origin, focus at
(0, a) and directrix on the line is

 The parabola opens upward if and opens downward if


  
 The equation (in standard form) of a parabola with vertex
at , and focus at , directrix on the line x is

 The parabola opens to the right if and opens to the left if


 The equation (in standard form) of a parabola with vertex at
, and focus at is directrix on the line

 The parabola opens upward if and opens downward if


 Note that each of these equations is quadratic in one
variable and linear in the other variable.
Standard Equations of the Parabola
Standard Equation Vertex Axis of Concavity Focus directrix LR
Symmetry Endpoints
up (h+2c,k+c)
up (h+2c,k+c)
(h-2c,k+c)
down (h-2c,k+c)
(h+2c,k-c)
down (h-2c,k-c)
(h+2c,k-c)
(h-2c,k-c)
right (h+c,k+2c)
(h+c,k-2c)
right
left (h+c,k+2c)
(h-c,k+2c)
(h+c,k-2c)
(h-c,k-2c)
left (h-c,k+2c)
(h-c,k-2c)

NOTE: Standard Equations are relatively less complicated if the vertex is at the
origin.
A cable suspended from supports that are
the same height and 600 ft apart has a sag
of 100 ft. If the cable hangs in the form of
a parabola, find its equation, taking the
origin at the lowest point. Find the width
of the cable at a height 50 ft above the
lowest point.
Water spouts from a horizontal pipe 40 m
above the ground. Twenty meters below
the line of the pipe, the water stream is at
horizontal distance of 16 m from the
vertical line through the end of the pipe.
How far from the vertical line will stream
of water hit the ground?
A parkway 80 ft wide is spanned by a
parabolic arch 100 ft along the horizontal.
If the parkway is in the center, how high
must the vertex of the arch be in order to
give a minimum clearance of 20 ft over the
parkway.
A waterway for a boat ride in a recreational park has
a parabolic cross-section. This waterway has a depth
of 12 feet and a width of 6 feet at the surface. Boats
with rectangular cross-section will be used and they
are to sink to a depth of 4 feet when placed on the
water-filled waterway. What is the maximum width
that these boats can have so that they will float and
move smoothly on the waterway?
If an automobile headlight reflector is cut
by a plane through its axis, the section is a
parabola having the light center as focus. If
the light center is 18 mm from the vertex,
and the diameter of the light is 250 mm,
find the depth of the headlight.
A bridge is to be built in the shape of a
parabolic arch and is to have a span of 100
ft. The length of the arch from a distance
of 40 ft from the center is to be 10 ft. Find
the height of the arch at its center.
When the load is uniformly distributed
horizontally, the cable of a suspension
bridge hangs in a parabolic arc. If a bridge
is 300 ft long, the towers 60 ft high, and
the cable 20 ft above the roadbend at the
center, find the distance from the roadbed
to the cables at intervals of 50 ft.
The figure shows an arched truss 80 ft long
with heights indicated. The vertical
“stringer” are 10 ft apart. If both the top and
bottom of the arch are arcs of parabolas, find
to the nearest foot the sum of the lengths of
the vertical and inclined stringers

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