Understanding characteristics of quadratic functions and connections between various representations, tables, graphs ...
Understanding characteristics of quadratic functions and connections between various representations, tables, graphs and equations, are developed in this unit. The symmetry of the function values can be found in the table, the graph and the equation. The graphical form shows common characteristics of quadratic functions including maximum or minimum values, symmetric shapes (parabolas), location of the y-intercept, and the ability to determine roots of the function. Quadratic functions can be written in a variety of formats: polynomial form f (x) = ax2 + bx + c, factored form f (x) = a (x -p ) (x - q), and vertex form f (x) = a (x - h) 2 + k. This unit focusses on the vertex form. The impact of changing the parameters a, h, and k will be explored and understood.