By Tanner
Significance
My parabola is in the red and the original parabola is in green which is y = x2. They are very different my parabola is much wider and goes in a downward direction, while the original parabola is not a wide and goes in a upward direction. The vertex in my equation is (5,-5), while the vertex in the original parabola is (0,0).
My ‘a’ value. In my equation my ‘a’ value is -1/4. This is important because it tells you if your parabola is going to up or down. A negative ‘a’ value makes your parabola go downwards, while a positive ‘a’ value makes your parabola go up. It also tells you whether your parabola is going to have a maximum or minimum value. If your ‘a’ value is a fraction your parabola will be much wider than if it’s a whole number. My ‘a’ value tells me the I’m going to have a wider parabola that goes in a downward direction and it has a maximum value. The ‘a’ value on the original value is 1. It different to the original parabola because the ‘a’ value is a whole number in the original, so it’s not as wide. The ‘a’ value is also positive so it goes up with a minimum value.
My ‘h’ value. In my equation my ‘h’ value is 5. In my equation it may look like -5 but when you put it on the graph you change it to positive, and the same goes for the other way around. My ‘h’ value is important because it tells me what the axis of symmetry is, which is 5. It also tells me my ‘x’ value in my vertex, which is also 5. My parabola’s ‘h’ value is very different from the original equation. In the original parabola the ‘h’ value is 0, so the axis of symmetry is different from my parabola.
My ‘k’ value. In my equation my ‘k’ value is -5. The ‘k’ value is important because it gives you the ‘y’ value in your vertex. The ‘k’ value also tells you what your maximum or minimum value is. To find this you look at your ‘a’ value to see if it goes up or down. In my equation it goes down so I have a maximum value, and to find that value you jus use your ‘k’ value. So I have a maximum value of -5. In the original parabola the ‘k’ is 0. So the minimum value is 0, which is very different from my parabola, which has a maximum value of -5.
Self-Assessment
Give an example from the assignment where you respresented the same mathematical idea in three different ways.
I started by writing my equation down, then I wrote it in desmos and to be able to see it visually on a graph. I then compared it to the original parabola the was given and compared the differences of the two parabolas.
Give an example from this assignment where you used mathematical vocabulary to demonstrate you understanding.
I used my mathematical vocabulary when I was explaining the importance of the ‘a’, ‘h’, and ‘k’ values of my parabola, and how my parabola is much different from the original parabola.
Give an example from this assignment where you use formatting to share the information in a clear and organized way.
I demonstrated my learning in an organized way by using desmos to get a visual of my parabola. I also clearly talked about each of of the 3 values by separating them into different paragraphs. I colour coded my parabola and the original parabola so people would know the difference.
