1 LC The Parabola MCR3U - Santowski
2 (A) Parabola as Loci A parabola is defined as the set of points such that the distance from a fixed point (called the focus) to any point on the parabola is the same as the distance from this same point on the parabola to a fixed line called the directrix | PF | = | PD | We will explore the parabola from this locus definition Ex 1. Using the GSP program, we will geometrically construct a set of points that satisfy the condition that | PF | = | PF | by following the directions on the handout
3 (B) Parabolas as Loci n.htmlhttp:// n.html - Interactive applet from AnalyzeMath.com
4 (C) Parabolas as Loci - Algebra We will now tie in our knowledge of algebra to come up with an algebraic description of the parabola by making use of the relationship that | PF | = | PD| ex 2. Find the equation of the parabola whose foci is at (-3,0) and whose directrix is at x = 3. Then sketch the parabola.
5 (C) Parabolas as Loci - Algebra Since we are dealing with distances, we set up our equation using the general point P(x,y), F at (-3,0) and the directrix at x=3 and the algebra follows on the next slide |PF| = |PD|
6 (C) Parabolas as Loci - Algebra
7 (D) Graph of the Parabola
8 (E) Analysis of the Parabola The actual equation is –12x = y 2 and note how this is different than our previous look at parabolas (quadratics) Previously, we would have defined the equation as y = + (12x) which would represent the non-function inverse of y = -1/12 x 2 The domain of our parabola is {x E R | x < 0} and our range is y E R Our vertex is at (0,0), which happens to be both the x- and y- intercept. In general, for a parabola opening along the x-axis, the general equation is y 2 = 4cx where c would represent the x co-ordinate of the focus If the parabola opens along the y-axis, the general equation is similar: x 2 = 4cy
9 (F) In-class Examples Determine the equation of the parabola and then sketch it, labelling the key features, if the focus is at (5,0) and the directrix is at x = -5 The equation you generate should be the following: y 2 = 20x
10 (G) Internet Links olaDefinition.html - an interactive applet fom AnalyzeMath olaDefinition.html - Examples and explanations from OJK's Precalculus Study Page - Graphs of parabolas from WebMath.com
11 (G) Homework AW, p488, 3,4,7b,8b