Which parabola is wider

A linear coefficient of —2 paired with a positive quadratic coefficient indicates the axis if symmetry will shift to the right. All rights reserved. A negative quadratic coefficient causes the ends of the parabola to point downward. Each term in the function has a special purpose: ax 2 is the quadratic term.

Important Tidbit A positive quadratic coefficient causes the ends of the parabola to point upward. The greater the quadratic coefficient, the narrower the parabola. Round this number up usually, to the nearest whole number. What does the A mean in a parabola? When a is positive, the parabola opens upwards; when a is negative, the parabola opens downward.

How do you scale parabolas? The reference parabola is stretched or compressed by the size, or absolute value, of a. How many y intercepts can a parabola have? A parabola can have 2 x-intercepts, 1 x-intercept or zero real x intercepts. If the parabola only has 1 x-intercept see middle of picture below , then the parabola is said to be tangent to the x-axis. Share Flipboard Email.

Jennifer Ledwith. Math Expert. Jennifer Ledwith is the owner of tutoring and test-preparation company Scholar Ready, LLC and a professional writer, covering math-related topics. Updated August 07, Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Ledwith, Jennifer. Parabola Changes in Quadratic Functions. Math Glossary: Mathematics Terms and Definitions.

How to Find the Y-Intercept of a Parabola. The Quadratic Formula - One x-intercept. Again, a large negative value of a makes the parabola narrow; a value close to zero makes it wide. For an equation in standard form, the value of c gives the y -intercept of the graph. The line that passes through the vertex and divides the parabola into two symmetric parts is called the axis of symmetry. In the graphs below, the axis of symmetry is different marked in red.

Note that c still gives the y -intercept.