Parabola Maximum and Minimum: Example 10

Topic

Quadratics

Description

The maximum or minimum value of a parabola occurs at its vertex. For a parabola opening upward (a > 0), this point is a minimum. For a parabola opening downward (a < 0), it's a maximum. The vertex lies on the axis of symmetry.

For a quadratic function in standard form f(x) = ax² + bx + c, the x-coordinate of the vertex is given by x = -b/(2a), and the y-coordinate (maximum or minimum value) can be calculated by substituting this x-value into the original function.

For f(x) = 6x² + 12x + 3, a = 6 is positive, so the parabola opens upward with a minimum value. The x-coordinate of the vertex is x = -b/(2a) = -1. The minimum y-value is f(-1) = -3. Thus, the minimum value is -3 at x = -1. The vertex (-1, -3) lies on the axis of symmetry x = -1.

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