College Algebra (10th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0321979478
ISBN 13: 978-0-32197-947-6

Chapter 7 - Section 7.2 - The Parabola - 7.2 Assess Your Understanding - Page 515: 29

Answer

$x^{2}=\displaystyle \frac{4}{3}y$ The latus rectum has endpoints $(-\displaystyle \frac{2}{3},\frac{1}{3})$ and $(\displaystyle \frac{2}{3},\frac{1}{3})$

Work Step by Step

1.$\quad $The axis of symmetry is vertical, the point (2,3) is above the vertex $\quad \Rightarrow\quad $opens up. 2.$\quad $From Table 2, $\begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|} \hline {focus}&{directrix}&{equation}& ... opens\\ \hline {(h,k+a)}&{y=k-a}&{(x-h)^{2}=4a(y-k)}&up\\ \hline \end{array}$ The equation is $\quad x^{2}=4ay\quad $ 3.$\quad $Find $a$ by using the fact that (2,3) lies on the parabola: $2^{2}=4a(3)$ $a=\displaystyle \frac{1}{3}\quad \Rightarrow\quad $Focus : $(h,k+a)$ = $(0,\displaystyle \frac{1}{3})$, directrix: $y=-\displaystyle \frac{1}{3}$ 4.$\quad $Equation:$\displaystyle \quad x^{2}=\frac{4}{3}y$ 5. $\quad $For $y=\displaystyle \frac{1}{3}, \quad x^{2}=\displaystyle \frac{4}{9}\quad \Rightarrow\quad x=\pm\frac{2}{3}$ The latus rectum (line segment parallel to the directrix, containing the focus) has endpoints $(-\displaystyle \frac{2}{3},\frac{1}{3})$ and $(\displaystyle \frac{2}{3},\frac{1}{3})$ We have enough details for the graph.
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