Investigating the Effect of a, h, and k in Vertex Form

a = -1/2 a = 1/3 a = 1 a = 2 a = 3

k = 0 k = 4 k = -2

Can the value of k change the number of Roots the parabola has?

What’s Tricky about stating what h is? Y = a(x – h)2 + k When stating what h is: it has the opposite sign to what is written in the equation. The minus sign is part of the equation.

Stating what h is……….y=a(x-h) 2 +k y = (x – 6) y = 3(x - 2) 2 - 3

Stating what h is ……….y=a(x-h) 2 +k y = (x + 3) y = 3(x + 4) 2 - 5

Possible Questions Write the equation of the parabola where a = 2, h = -5 and k = 1 Give the values of a, h, and k for the following parabola: y = -0.5(x – 5) 2 + 7