HOLY NAME UNIVERSITY

City of Tagbilaran
Basic Education Department
Senior High School
S.Y. 2020-2021

PRE-CALCULUS CONCEPT NOTES

Week 03, January 25-29, 2021

LESSON 2.1. PARABOLA

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:
1. State the general parts of a conic section – parabola;
2. Define a parabola;
3. Determine the standard form of equation of a parabola; and
4. Determine the general form of equation of a parabola.

INTRODUCTION OF PARABOLA
One of the members of conic sections is a parabola. This conic has many practical applications. The construction
of a parabolic reflector mirror is obtained by revolving a parabola about its symmetry. Suspension bridges are supported
by parabolic cables suspended from two or more towers. When an object is given an initial thrust and then moves under
the influence of the force of gravity and eventually strikes the ground, the path of the object is a parabola.

GENERAL PARTS AND CLASSIFICATION OF CONICS

The following are the parts of a conic section.
1. Focus is the fixed point 𝑭.
2. Directrix is the fixed line 𝑫.
3. Eccentricity is the positive constant ratio denoted by 𝒆.

Conic sections may be classified according to the value of eccentricity as follows:

1. If 𝒆 = 𝟎, the conic is a circle.
2. If 𝒆 = 𝟏, the conic is a parabola.
3. If 𝒆 < 𝟏, the conic is an ellipse.
4. If 𝒆 > 𝟏, the conic is a hyperbola.

DEFINITION OF A PARABOLA
A parabola is the set of all points in a plane equidistant from a fixed point and a fixed line. The fixed point is the
called the focus and the fixed line is called the directrix. The vertex of the parabola is the midpoint of the perpendicular
segment from the focus to the directrix, while the line that passes through the vertex and focus is called the axis of
symmetry. The line segment through the focus perpendicular to the axis of symmetry is called the latus rectum whose
length is 4𝑐.

PARTS OF A PARABOLA
The following are the parts of a parabola.
1. The fixed point 𝑭 is called the focus.
2. The fixed line 𝑫 is called the directrix.
3. The point on the parabola which is halfway from the focus
to the directrix is the vertex.
4. The axis of symmetry (axis of the parabola) is the line
passing through the focus and perpendicular to the
directrix. This axis divides the parabola into two equal
branches.
5. A chord connecting any two points of a parabola and
passing through the focus is a focal chord. A focal chord
connecting two points of the parabola passing through the focus and perpendicular to the axis of symmetry is
called the latus rectum.

IMPORTANT LENGTHS AND DISTANCES INVOLVED IN A PARABOLA

Let 𝒄 be positive real number. Then we have the following lengths and distances associated with the graph of a
parabola.
1. 𝒄 = distance from vertex to focus or from vertex to directrix
2. 𝟐𝒄 = distance from focus to an end of latus rectum or a directrix
3. 𝟒𝒄 = length of the latus rectum
 To derive the formula of the parabola opening to the right having the vertex at the origin, let’s say, 𝐹 is the
focus and 𝐷 is a point in a directrix as shown in Figure 2.1, then the parabola is the set of all points 𝑃 (𝑥, 𝑦) such that
𝐹𝑃 = 𝑃𝐷. The equation of the parabola opening to the right is

𝑑1 = 𝑑2
𝐹𝑃 = 𝑃𝐷
√(𝑥 − 𝑐)2 + (𝑦 − 0)2 = √(𝑥 + 𝑐)2 + (𝑦 − 𝑦)2
√(𝑥 − 𝑐)2 + 𝑦 2 = √(𝑥 + 𝑐)2 + 02
(𝑥 − 𝑐)2 + 𝑦 2 = (𝑥 + 𝑐)2 + 0
𝑥 − 2𝑐𝑥 + 𝑐 2 + 𝑦 2 = 𝑥 2 + 2𝑐𝑥 + 𝑐 2
2

𝒚𝟐 = 𝟒𝒄𝒙

If we consider Figure 2.2, then the parabola is the set of all points
𝑃(𝑥, 𝑦) such that 𝐹𝑃 = 𝑃𝐷. The equation of the parabola opening
upward is
𝑑1 = 𝑑2
𝐹𝑃 = 𝑃𝐷
√(𝑥 − 0)2 + (𝑦 − 𝑐)2 = √(𝑥 − 𝑥)2 + (𝑦 + 𝑐)2
√𝑥 2 + (𝑦 − 𝑐)2 = √02 + (𝑦 + 𝑐)2
𝑥 2 + (𝑦 − 𝑐)2 = 0 + (𝑦 + 𝑐)2
𝑥 + 𝑦 2 − 2𝑐𝑦 + 𝑐 2 = 𝑦 2 + 2𝑐𝑦 + 𝑐 2
2

𝒙𝟐 = 𝟒𝒄𝒚

For simplicity the following will be represented as

𝑉 = vertex of the parabola
𝐹 = focus of the parabola
𝑃(𝑥, 𝑦) = any point along the parabola
𝐷 = directrix of the parabola
𝐸1 , 𝐸2 = endpoints of the latus rectum
𝑐 = distance from vertex to focus
𝑒 = eccentricity

GENERAL FORM AND STANDARD FORM OF A PARABOLA

This section presents how to convert general form of a parabola to its standard form and vice versa. Table 2.1
presents the general and standard equations of the parabola with vertex at the origin and at (ℎ, 𝑘).

TABLE 2.1
General and Standard Equations of the Parabola
VERTEX GENERAL FORM STANDARD FORM Graph
𝑦 2 = 4𝑐𝑥 Opening to the right
𝑦 2 + 𝐷𝑥 + 𝐹 = 0
𝑦 2 = −4𝑐𝑥 Opening to the left
(0, 0)
𝑥 2 = 4𝑐𝑦 Opening upward
𝑥 2 + 𝐸𝑦 + 𝐹 = 0
𝑥 2 = −4𝑐𝑦 Opening downward

(𝑦 − 𝑘)2 = 4𝑐 (𝑥 − ℎ) Opening to the right

𝑦 2 + 𝐷𝑥 + 𝐸𝑦 + 𝐹 = 0
(𝑦 − 𝑘)2 = −4𝑐 (𝑥 − ℎ) Opening to the left
(ℎ, 𝑘)
(𝑥 − ℎ)2 = 4𝑐 (𝑦 − 𝑘) Opening upward
𝑥 2 + 𝐷𝑥 + 𝐸𝑦 + 𝐹 = 0
(𝑥 − ℎ)2 = −4𝑐 (𝑦 − 𝑘) Opening downward
Example 1: Convert the general equations to standard form:

A. 𝒚𝟐 + 𝟏𝟐𝒙 + 𝟐𝒚 + 𝟐𝟓 = 𝟎

Solution:
𝑦 2 + 12𝑥 + 2𝑦 + 25 = 0
𝑦 2 + 2𝑦 = −12𝑥 − 25
𝑦 2 + 2𝑦 + 1 = −12𝑥 − 25 + 1
(𝑦 + 1)2 = −12𝑥 − 24
(𝒚 + 𝟏)𝟐 = −𝟏𝟐(𝒙 + 𝟐)

B. 𝟐𝒙𝟐 − 𝟏𝟐𝒙 − 𝒚 + 𝟏𝟔 = 𝟎

Solution:
2𝑥 2 − 12𝑥 − 𝑦 + 16 = 0
2𝑥 2 − 12𝑥 = 𝑦 − 16
2(𝑥 2 − 6𝑥) = 𝑦 − 16
2(𝑥 2 − 6𝑥 + 9) = 𝑦 − 16 + 2(9)
2(𝑥 2 − 6𝑥 + 9) = 𝑦 − 16 + 18
2(𝑥 − 3)2 = 𝑦 + 2
𝟏
(𝒙 − 𝟑)𝟐 = (𝒚 + 𝟐)
𝟐

Example 2: Convert the standard equation to general form:

A. (𝒚 − 𝟑)𝟐 = 𝟕(𝒙 − 𝟖)

Solution:
(𝑦 − 3)2 = 7(𝑥 − 8)
𝑦 2 − 6𝑦 + 9 = 7𝑥 − 56
𝑦 2 − 7𝑥 − 6𝑦 + 9 + 56 = 0
𝒚𝟐 − 𝟕𝒙 − 𝟔𝒚 + 𝟔𝟓 = 𝟎

B. (𝒙 + 𝟐)𝟐 = −𝟖(𝒚 + 𝟓)

Solution:
(𝑥 + 2)2 = −8(𝑦 + 5)
𝑥 2 + 4𝑥 + 4 = −8𝑦 − 40
𝑥 2 + 4𝑥 + 8𝑦 + 4 + 40 = 0
𝒙𝟐 + 𝟒𝒙 + 𝟖𝒚 + 𝟒𝟒 = 𝟎

Prepared by: Ariel E. Lapore