1. Parabolas and Quadratic Functions

5. The x coordinate of the vertex can be found using as well. This is the easier method for finding the vertex of the parabola and the vertical line of symmetry.

6. is the line of symmetry and the x coordinate of the vertex of the parabola and the line of symmetry. To find the complete vertex point (- 3, 5) simply plug – 3 into g(x) above. The – 2 coefficient of the first term indicates the parabola will open down in the coordinate system. Use a = -2 and b = -12 to find the x coordinate of the vertex using the formula on the previous screen. This is also the axis of symmetry as well.

7. The x – intercepts can be found by finding what value(s) of x make the equation zero. You can see below that at x = - 8 and x = 3 this parabola crosses the x axis. If the equation does not factor, you will have to solve for the x- intercepts using the quadratic formula from chapter 1.

8. Use this formula to find the x coordinate of the vertex of the parabola. Plug that value back into g(x) to find the y coordinate of the vertex.