Expert: Chanda Walker - 1/2/2009

Question
I learned at one time that the graphic representation of a quadratic equation set is a parabola.  I read in one of Abe's answers this equation as the graph of a parabola: y=a(x-h)2+k.  I am sure that both are correct, but I don't know how that is possible.  Can you explain what y=a(x-h)2+k  actually means and why it is the same as the quadratic equation?  Thanks very much.

Answer
I think there is just a formatting issue. I think I would have written that equation like this:

y = a(x-h)^2 + k

so that it is clear that the 2 indicates the terms in the parenthesis are squared.  If it were not a superscript it would have been written like this:

y = 2a(x-h) + k

The fonts we have here are not the best for doing math.  Sorry about the confusion.

But good for you for asking!  Parabolas are quadratic and they MUST have a squared term!