College
Algebra Examples Section 3.5
Quadratic Functions
As
you study these exercises, move your cursor over the light bulbs and the highlighted
words.
Study with an active cursor
| The definition that pops up when you move the cursor over a highlighted word is what should pop into your mind when you read, hear, or speak that word. | The material that pops up when you move the cursor over a light bulb is a suggested strategy for solving the problem. You should always formulate a similar strategy when you attempt to solve a problem. | When you move the cursor over an explanation of a step in a solution, the property that pops up is the mathematical justification for taking that action. You must always be able to provide such a justification for every step you take in mathematics. |
For this set of exercises
two solutions are provided for each problem.
The advantage of the first method is that the logic used will work in a wider
range of problems than the second approach. The advantage of the second method
is that it is a little quicker.
The major disadvantage of the second method is that it relies on the specialized formula (standard form) for a parabola and therefore is useful only in the special situation where it is desired to find a quadratic when given its vertex and another point on its graph.
