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Exploration: The Shape of a Parabola

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Last updated almost 3 years ago
12 questions
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IMPORTANT!!!!
You will need DESMOS to plot all the equations that are a part of this investigation. When using DESMOS, make sure you insert only the expression and not the entire equation.
For example, if I ask you to plot
then on DESMOS enter only


Also, note: In the previous class, I only marked absent the students who did absolutely no work. Today, I will be much stricter. I am not looking for exact answers, I am looking for sincere participation. If your Formatiev App is not working, take help from a friend and complete the task on a google doc. Share the doc with me at the end.
If you graph the quadratic function y = x2. The graph is a parabola as shown to the right.
Question 1
1.

Go to DESMOS and Graph:
for a few values of a between 10 and +10.

The parabola in the graph of y = x^2 is concave up like an upward u . But if you threw a basketball then the parabola of the basketball’s trajectory is concave like a downward ∩
Question 2
2.

Find the values of a for which the parabola is concave up.

Question 3
3.

Find the values of a for which the parabola is concave down.

Question 4
4.

Find the values of a that make the parabola narrower than the graph
of y = x^2

Question 5
5.

Find the values of a that make the parabola wider than the graph of y = x^2

Graph y = x2 + c for different values of c between 10 and +10.
Question 6
6.

Describe the effects of changing the value of c.

Question 7
7.

Graph y = x^2 + bx for different values of b between 10 and +10. Include
some non-integer values. Describe the effect of changing the value of b.

Question 8
8.

Graph the linear function y = bx for different values of b. Describe how
the graph changes for different values of b

Question 9
9.

Go back to the parabola y = ax^2 + bx. Give a any value except 0. Keep a fixed and change b. Describe how the shape of the parabola changes for different values of b

Use your findings to describe the similarities and differences in the shape of the graphs of each pair of quadratic functions.
Question 10
10.

Question 11
11.

Question 12
12.

The standard form of a quadratic function is:

where a, b
and c are real numbers, and a ≠ 0.