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Therefore, the point F, defined above, is the focus of the parabola. This discussion started from the definition of a parabola as a conic section, but it has now led to a description as a graph of a quadratic function. This shows that these two descriptions are equivalent. They both define curves of exactly the same shape.
In mathematics, a quadratic function of a single variable is a function of the form [1] = + +,,where is its variable, and , , and are coefficients.The expression + + , especially when treated as an object in itself rather than as a function, is a quadratic polynomial, a polynomial of degree two.
The function f(x) = ax 2 + bx + c is a quadratic function. [16] The graph of any quadratic function has the same general shape, which is called a parabola. The location and size of the parabola, and how it opens, depend on the values of a, b, and c. If a > 0, the parabola has a minimum point and opens upward.
A parabola is a specific type of function. Relative to set theory ... In general, functions are often defined by specifying the name of a dependent variable, and a ...
Quadratic function: Second degree polynomial, graph is a parabola. Cubic function: Third degree polynomial. Quartic function: Fourth degree polynomial. Quintic function: Fifth degree polynomial. Rational functions: A ratio of two polynomials. nth root. Square root: Yields a number whose square is the given one.
While a parabolic arch may resemble a catenary arch, a parabola is a quadratic function while a catenary is the hyperbolic cosine, cosh(x), a sum of two exponential functions. One parabola is f(x) = x 2 + 3x − 1, and hyperbolic cosine is cosh(x) = e x + e −x / 2 . The curves are unrelated.
A family of conic sections of varying eccentricity share a focus point and directrix line, including an ellipse (red, e = 1/2), a parabola (green, e = 1), and a hyperbola (blue, e = 2). The conic of eccentricity 0 in this figure is an infinitesimal circle centered at the focus, and the conic of eccentricity ∞ is an infinitesimally separated ...
A parabola, a convex curve that is the graph of the convex function () = In geometry, a convex curve is a plane curve that has a supporting line through each of its points. There are many other equivalent definitions of these curves, going back to Archimedes.