Name That Graph
Take a look at the parabola below.
Can you find an equation for this parabola?
- In how many ways can you choose to show this equation?
- Which format did you initially choose and why?
What is the same and what is different about your approach to finding an equation of the two parabolas below, compared to the example above?
- What properties do the three parabolas have in common?
- Is there an approach to finding the equation that works for all three of these parabolas, and indeed for any parabola you could be given?
- Which approach to finding the equation was the most efficient? Is it the same approach for each example?
Underground Mathematics is hosted by Cambridge Mathematics. The project was originally funded by a grant from the UK Department for Education to provide free web-based resources that support the teaching and learning of post-16 mathematics.
Visit the site at undergroundmathematics.org to find more resources, which also offer suggestions, solutions and teacher notes to help with their use in the classroom.
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