Precalculus Examples

Graph x^2+6x+12y+9=0
Step 1
Solve for .
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Step 1.1
Move all terms not containing to the right side of the equation.
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Step 1.1.1
Subtract from both sides of the equation.
Step 1.1.2
Subtract from both sides of the equation.
Step 1.1.3
Subtract from both sides of the equation.
Step 1.2
Divide each term in by and simplify.
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Step 1.2.1
Divide each term in by .
Step 1.2.2
Simplify the left side.
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Step 1.2.2.1
Cancel the common factor of .
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Step 1.2.2.1.1
Cancel the common factor.
Step 1.2.2.1.2
Divide by .
Step 1.2.3
Simplify the right side.
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Step 1.2.3.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 1.2.3.1.1
Move the negative in front of the fraction.
Step 1.2.3.1.2
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 1.2.3.1.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.3.1.2.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 1.2.3.1.2.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.3.1.2.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 1.2.3.1.2.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 1.2.3.1.3
Move the negative in front of the fraction.
Step 1.2.3.1.4
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 1.2.3.1.4.1
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.3.1.4.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 1.2.3.1.4.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 1.2.3.1.4.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 1.2.3.1.4.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 1.2.3.1.5
Move the negative in front of the fraction.
Step 2
Find the properties of the given parabola.
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Step 2.1
Rewrite the equation in vertex form.
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Step 2.1.1
Complete the square for .
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Step 2.1.1.1
Use the form , to find the values of , , and .
Step 2.1.1.2
Consider the vertex form of a parabola.
Step 2.1.1.3
Find the value of using the formula .
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Step 2.1.1.3.1
Substitute the values of and into the formula .
Step 2.1.1.3.2
Simplify the right side.
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Step 2.1.1.3.2.1
Dividing two negative values results in a positive value.
Step 2.1.1.3.2.2
Multiply the numerator by the reciprocal of the denominator.
Step 2.1.1.3.2.3
Combine and .
Step 2.1.1.3.2.4
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 2.1.1.3.2.4.1
Factor out of .
Step 2.1.1.3.2.4.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 2.1.1.3.2.4.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 2.1.1.3.2.4.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 2.1.1.3.2.4.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 2.1.1.3.2.5
Multiply the numerator by the reciprocal of the denominator.
Step 2.1.1.3.2.6
Multiply by .
Step 2.1.1.3.2.7
Cancel the common factor of .
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Step 2.1.1.3.2.7.1
Factor out of .
Step 2.1.1.3.2.7.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 2.1.1.3.2.7.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 2.1.1.4
Find the value of using the formula .
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Step 2.1.1.4.1
Substitute the values of , and into the formula .
Step 2.1.1.4.2
Simplify the right side.
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Step 2.1.1.4.2.1
Simplify each term.
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Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.1
Simplify the numerator.
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Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.1.1
Apply the product rule to .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.1.2
Raise to the power of .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.1.3
Apply the product rule to .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.1.4
One to any power is one.
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.1.5
Raise to the power of .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.1.6
Multiply by .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.2
Simplify the denominator.
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Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.2.1
Multiply by .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.2.2
Combine and .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.3
Reduce the expression by cancelling the common factors.
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Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.3.1
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.3.1.1
Factor out of .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.3.1.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.3.1.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.3.1.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.3.1.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.3.2
Move the negative in front of the fraction.
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.4
Multiply the numerator by the reciprocal of the denominator.
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.5
Multiply by .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.6
Combine and .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.7
Move the negative in front of the fraction.
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.8
Multiply .
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Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.8.1
Multiply by .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.1.8.2
Multiply by .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.2
Combine the numerators over the common denominator.
Step 2.1.1.4.2.3
Add and .
Step 2.1.1.4.2.4
Divide by .
Step 2.1.1.5
Substitute the values of , , and into the vertex form .
Step 2.1.2
Set equal to the new right side.
Step 2.2
Use the vertex form, , to determine the values of , , and .
Step 2.3
Since the value of is negative, the parabola opens down.
Opens Down
Step 2.4
Find the vertex .
Step 2.5
Find , the distance from the vertex to the focus.
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Step 2.5.1
Find the distance from the vertex to a focus of the parabola by using the following formula.
Step 2.5.2
Substitute the value of into the formula.
Step 2.5.3
Simplify.
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Step 2.5.3.1
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 2.5.3.1.1
Rewrite as .
Step 2.5.3.1.2
Move the negative in front of the fraction.
Step 2.5.3.2
Combine and .
Step 2.5.3.3
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 2.5.3.3.1
Factor out of .
Step 2.5.3.3.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 2.5.3.3.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 2.5.3.3.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 2.5.3.3.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 2.5.3.4
Multiply the numerator by the reciprocal of the denominator.
Step 2.5.3.5
Multiply .
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Step 2.5.3.5.1
Multiply by .
Step 2.5.3.5.2
Multiply by .
Step 2.6
Find the focus.
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Step 2.6.1
The focus of a parabola can be found by adding to the y-coordinate if the parabola opens up or down.
Step 2.6.2
Substitute the known values of , , and into the formula and simplify.
Step 2.7
Find the axis of symmetry by finding the line that passes through the vertex and the focus.
Step 2.8
Find the directrix.
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Step 2.8.1
The directrix of a parabola is the horizontal line found by subtracting from the y-coordinate of the vertex if the parabola opens up or down.
Step 2.8.2
Substitute the known values of and into the formula and simplify.
Step 2.9
Use the properties of the parabola to analyze and graph the parabola.
Direction: Opens Down
Vertex:
Focus:
Axis of Symmetry:
Directrix:
Direction: Opens Down
Vertex:
Focus:
Axis of Symmetry:
Directrix:
Step 3
Select a few values, and plug them into the equation to find the corresponding values. The values should be selected around the vertex.
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Step 3.1
Replace the variable with in the expression.
Step 3.2
Simplify the result.
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Step 3.2.1
Find the common denominator.
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Step 3.2.1.1
Multiply by .
Step 3.2.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 3.2.1.3
Multiply by .
Step 3.2.1.4
Multiply by .
Step 3.2.1.5
Multiply by .
Step 3.2.1.6
Reorder the factors of .
Step 3.2.1.7
Multiply by .
Step 3.2.2
Combine the numerators over the common denominator.
Step 3.2.3
Simplify each term.
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Step 3.2.3.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.2.3.2
Multiply by .
Step 3.2.3.3
Multiply by .
Step 3.2.3.4
Multiply by .
Step 3.2.4
Simplify the expression.
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Step 3.2.4.1
Add and .
Step 3.2.4.2
Subtract from .
Step 3.2.4.3
Move the negative in front of the fraction.
Step 3.2.5
The final answer is .
Step 3.3
The value at is .
Step 3.4
Replace the variable with in the expression.
Step 3.5
Simplify the result.
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Step 3.5.1
Find the common denominator.
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Step 3.5.1.1
Multiply by .
Step 3.5.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 3.5.1.3
Multiply by .
Step 3.5.1.4
Multiply by .
Step 3.5.1.5
Multiply by .
Step 3.5.1.6
Reorder the factors of .
Step 3.5.1.7
Multiply by .
Step 3.5.2
Combine the numerators over the common denominator.
Step 3.5.3
Simplify each term.
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Step 3.5.3.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.5.3.2
Multiply by .
Step 3.5.3.3
Multiply by .
Step 3.5.3.4
Multiply by .
Step 3.5.4
Reduce the expression by cancelling the common factors.
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Step 3.5.4.1
Add and .
Step 3.5.4.2
Subtract from .
Step 3.5.4.3
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 3.5.4.3.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.5.4.3.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 3.5.4.3.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.5.4.3.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 3.5.4.3.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 3.5.4.4
Move the negative in front of the fraction.
Step 3.5.5
The final answer is .
Step 3.6
The value at is .
Step 3.7
Replace the variable with in the expression.
Step 3.8
Simplify the result.
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Step 3.8.1
Find the common denominator.
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Step 3.8.1.1
Multiply by .
Step 3.8.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 3.8.1.3
Multiply by .
Step 3.8.1.4
Multiply by .
Step 3.8.1.5
Multiply by .
Step 3.8.1.6
Reorder the factors of .
Step 3.8.1.7
Multiply by .
Step 3.8.2
Combine the numerators over the common denominator.
Step 3.8.3
Simplify each term.
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Step 3.8.3.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.8.3.2
Multiply by .
Step 3.8.3.3
Multiply by .
Step 3.8.3.4
Multiply by .
Step 3.8.4
Simplify the expression.
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Step 3.8.4.1
Add and .
Step 3.8.4.2
Subtract from .
Step 3.8.4.3
Move the negative in front of the fraction.
Step 3.8.5
The final answer is .
Step 3.9
The value at is .
Step 3.10
Replace the variable with in the expression.
Step 3.11
Simplify the result.
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Step 3.11.1
Find the common denominator.
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Step 3.11.1.1
Multiply by .
Step 3.11.1.2
Multiply by .
Step 3.11.1.3
Multiply by .
Step 3.11.1.4
Multiply by .
Step 3.11.1.5
Multiply by .
Step 3.11.1.6
Reorder the factors of .
Step 3.11.1.7
Multiply by .
Step 3.11.2
Combine the numerators over the common denominator.
Step 3.11.3
Simplify each term.
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Step 3.11.3.1
Multiply by by adding the exponents.
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Step 3.11.3.1.1
Multiply by .
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Step 3.11.3.1.1.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.11.3.1.1.2
Use the power rule to combine exponents.
Step 3.11.3.1.2
Add and .
Step 3.11.3.2
Raise to the power of .
Step 3.11.3.3
Multiply by .
Step 3.11.3.4
Multiply by .
Step 3.11.4
Reduce the expression by cancelling the common factors.
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Step 3.11.4.1
Add and .
Step 3.11.4.2
Subtract from .
Step 3.11.4.3
Cancel the common factor of and .
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Step 3.11.4.3.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.11.4.3.2
Cancel the common factors.
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Step 3.11.4.3.2.1
Factor out of .
Step 3.11.4.3.2.2
Cancel the common factor.
Step 3.11.4.3.2.3
Rewrite the expression.
Step 3.11.4.4
Move the negative in front of the fraction.
Step 3.11.5
The final answer is .
Step 3.12
The value at is .
Step 3.13
Graph the parabola using its properties and the selected points.
Step 4
Graph the parabola using its properties and the selected points.
Direction: Opens Down
Vertex:
Focus:
Axis of Symmetry:
Directrix:
Step 5