How do you determine the vertex and direction when given a quadratic function?
1 Answer
There are two forms a quadratic function could be written in: standard or vertex form. Here are the following ways you can determine the vertex and direction dependent on the form:
Standard Form (
1. Direction of the parabola can be determined by the value of a. If a is positive, then the parabola faces up (making a u shaped). If a is negative, then the parabola faces down (upside down u).
2. Vertex can be found by
Here is an example:
to find the vertex:
then plug that value into the equation
Vertex is (1,-1)
Vertex Form (
1. Direction of the parabola can be determined by the value of a. If a is positive, then the parabola faces up (making a u shaped). If a is negative, then the parabola faces down (upside down u).
2. Vertex is (h,k).
Here is an example: