Quadratic Functions, Parabolas, Problem Solving
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pg097 [R] G1 5-36058 / HCG / Cannon & Elich cr 11-14-95 QC3 2.5 Quadratic Functions, Parabolas, and Problem Solving 97 58. If f~x! 5 2x 1 3 and the domain D of f is given by 63. Area Given the three lines y 5 m~x 1 4!, D 5 $x _ x 2 1 x 2 2 # 0%,then y 52m~x14!,andx52, for what value of m will (a) draw a graph of f,and thethreelinesformatrianglewithanareaof24? (b) find the range of f.(Hint: What values of y occur on 64. (a) Is the point ~21, 3! on the circle the graph?) x 2 1 y 2 2 4x 1 2y 2 20 5 0? 59. The length L of a metal rod is a linear function of its (b) If the answer is yes, find an equation for the line temperature T, where L is measured in centimeters and that is tangent to the circle at (21,3);iftheanswer T in degrees Celsius. The following measurements have is no, find the distance between the x-intercept been made: L 5 124.91 when T 5 0, and L 5 125.11 points of the circle. when T 5 100. 65. (a) Show that points A~1, Ï3! and B~2Ï3, 1! are on (a) Find a formula that gives L as a function of T. the circle x 2 1 y 2 5 4. (b) What is the length of the rod when its temperature (b) Find the area of the shaded region in the diagram. is 208 Celsius? (Hint: Show that segments OA and OB are perpen- (c) To what temperature should the rod be heated to dicular to each other. make it 125.17 cm long? y 60. Store Prices The owner of a grocery store finds that, A(1, 3) on average, the store can sell 872 gallons of milk per B(– 3, 1) week when the price per gallon is $1.98. When the price per gallon is $1.75, sales average 1125 gallons a week. Assume that the number N of gallons sold per week is x a linear function of the price P per gallon. O (a) Find a formula that gives N as a function of P. (b) If the price per gallon is $1.64, how many gallons should the store owner expect to sell per week? (c) To sell 1400 gallons per week, what price should the store set per gallon? 66. The horizontal line y 5 2 divides nABC into two re- 61. Equilateral Triangle Forwhatvalue(s)ofmwill the gions. Find the area of the two regions for the triangle triangle formed by the three lines y 522, y 5 mx14, with these vertices: and y 52mx 1 4 be equilateral? (a) A~0, 0!, B~4, 0!, C~0, 4! 62. Perimeter Find m such that the three lines y 5 mx16, (b) A~0, 0!, B~4, 0!, C~8, 4! y 52mx 1 6, and y 5 2formatrianglewitha 67. The vertices of nABC are A~0, 0!, B~4, 0!, C~0, 4!.If perimeter of 16. 0,k,4, then the horizontal line y 5 k will divide the triangle into two regions. Draw a diagram showing these regions for a typical k.Findthevalueofkfor which the areas of the two regions are equal. 2.5 QUADRATIC FUNCTIONS, PARABOLAS, AND PROBLEM SOLVING It is only fairly recently that the importance of nonlinearities has intruded itself into the world of the working scientist. Nonlinearity is one of those strange concepts that is defined by what it is not. As one physicist put it, “It is like having a zoo of nonelephants.” B. J. West Much of this course, and calculus courses to follow, deals with other inhabitants of the “zoo” of nonlinear functions, including families of polynomial, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions. All are important, but quadratic func- tions are among the simplest nonlinear functions mathematicians use to model the world. pg098 [V] G2 5-36058 / HCG / Cannon & Elich cr 10-31-95 QC 98 Chapter 2 Functions I had mathematical Definition: quadratic function curiosity very early. My A quadratic function is a function with an equation equivalent to father had in his library a 2 wonderful series of f ~x! 5 ax 1 bx 1 c, (1) German paperback books....OnewasEuler’s where a, b,andcare real numbers and a is not zero. Algebra. I discovered by myself how to solve For example, g~x! 5 5 2 4x 2 and h~x! 5 ~2x 2 1!2 2 x2 are quadratic func- equations. I remember that tions, but F~x! 5 Ïx 2 1 x 1 1andG~x!5~x23!2 2 x2 are not. (In fact, G is I did this by an incredible linear.) concentration and almost painful and not-quite Basic Transformations and Graphs of Quadratic Functions conscious effort. What I did amounted to completing The graphing techniques we introduced in Section 2.3 are collectively called basic the square in my head without paper or pencil. transformations. The graph of any linear function is a line, and we will show that Stan Ulam that graph of any quadratic function can be obtained from the core parabola, f ~x! 5 x 2, by applying basic transformations. We apply terminology from the core parabola to parabolas in general. The point (0, 0) is called the vertex of the core parabola, and the y-axis is the axis of symmetry. The axis of symmetry is a help in making a hand-sketch of a parabola. Whenever we locate a point of the parabola on one side of the axis of symmetry, we automatically have another point located symmetrically on the other side. We will derive a transformation form for a general quadratic function, an equation that identifies the vertex and axis of symmetry of the graph, but to graph any particular quadratic, you may not need all of the steps. Indeed, because a graphing calculator graphs any quadratic function, we could ask why we need the transformation form at all. Because a calculator graph is dependent on the window we choose and the pixel coordinates, we need an algebraic form from which we can read more exact information. To begin, we factor out the coefficient a from the x-terms,andthenaddand subtract the square of half the resulting x-coefficient to complete the square on x. b f~x! 5 ax2 1 bx 1 c 5 a x2 1 x 1 c S a D b b 2 b 2 5 a x 2 1 x 1 2 1 c FS a 4a 2D 4a 2G b 2 b 2 5 a x 1 1 c 2 . S 2aD S 4aD The final equation has the form f~x! 5 a~x 2 h!2 1 k (2) which we recognize as a core parabola shifted so that the vertex is at the point ~h, k! and the axis of symmetry is the line x 5 h. Parabola Features Looking at the derivation of Equation (2), we can make some observations about the graphs of quadratic functions. pg99 [R] G1 5-36058 / HCG / Cannon & Elich cr 11-14-95 QC4 2.5 Quadratic Functions, Parabolas, and Problem Solving 99 Graphs of quadratic functions For the quadratic function f~x! 5 ax2 1 bx 1 c: The graph is a parabola 2b Axis of with axis of symmetry x 5 . y a symmetry 2 The parabola opens upward if a . 0, downward if a , 0. 2b x =– b To find the coordinates of the vertex, set x 5 .Thenthey-coordinate is 2a 2a x 2b given by y 5 f . S 2aD x-intercept points The graph of every quadratic function intersects the y-axis (where x 5 0), but it need not have any x-intercept points. To find any x-intercepts, we solve the equation y-intercept Vertex f~x! 5 0. By its nature, every quadratic function has a maximum or a minimum point (depending on whether the parabola opens down or up) that occurs at the vertex of FIGURE 26 the parabola. See Figure 26. cEXAMPLE 1 Locating the vertex of a parabola The graph of the quad- ratic function is a parabola. Locate the vertex in two ways: (i) by writing the y b function in the form of Equation (2) and (ii) by setting x 52 . Sketch the 4 2a 3 graph. 2 2 2 (a) f ~x! 5 x 2 2x 2 3 (b) f ~x! 5 2x 1 4x 2 1 1 y = x2 Solution x 1 234 –4–3 –2 –1–1 (a) (i) Complete the square on the x-terms. –2 f ~x! 5 x 2 2 2x 2 3 5 ~x 2 2 2x 1 1! 2 1 2 3 –3 5 ~x 2 1!2 2 4, –4 (1, – 4) (a) f(x)=x2–2x–3 From this form, the graph is the core parabola shifted 1 unit right and 4 2 =(x–1) –4 units down; the vertex is at (1, 24). 2 b 22 y (ii) From f ~x! 5 x 2 2x 2 3, 2 2a 522·1 51. Substituting 1 for x, f ~1! 5 1 2 2·123524, so again the vertex is the point (1, 24). The 4 y = x2 graph is shown in Figure 27(a). 3 (b) (i) Before completing the square, we factor out 2 from the x-terms: 2 2 2 1 f ~x! 5 2x 1 4x 2 1 5 2~x 1 2x! 2 1 1 234 x 5 2~x 2 1 2x 1 1 2 1! 2 1 5 2~x 1 1!2 2 3.