Question

A parabola having its axis vertical passes through three points A(0,0), B(1,0), and C(5,-20) respectively. Determine the coordinates of the vertex of the parabola.

Answer 1

Answer:

(1/2, 1/4)

Step-by-step explanation:

This is gonna be long. The x coordinate of a parabola's vertex = -b/2a. Now we have to find the equation of the parabola. Using the given points and plugging them into y=ax^2 + bx + c, we can determine:

0 = c

0 = a + b

-20 = 25a + 5b

After rearranging and solving, we get:

b = -a

-20 = 20a

a = -1

b = 1

y = -x^2 + x

Now we can find the x coordinate of the vertex, which is 1/2. After plugging this into our parabola, we get a y coordinate of -1/4 + 1/2 = 1/4. Therefore, the vertex is located at (1/2, 1/4).