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a)find the equation of the parabolic arch curve.
b)how far from the center of the arc would you need to be in order for the height of the arc to be 15 meters.link to the image
https://i.stack.imgur.com/aktsu.jpg
I don't know how to proceed in this, should I convert it into coordinates and then proceed, but the proper axis are not given so where should the vertex be?

Aayush Gupta
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1 Answers1

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Hint: Identify the $\;y\,-$ axis with the parabola axis of symmetry and decide that the parabola vanishes at the points $\;(-8.5,0)\,,\,\,(8.5,0)\;$ . Thus your parabola is

$$y=a(x-8.5)(x+8.5) $$

Finally, observe the parabola's vertex is at $\;(0,24)\;$ ...

DonAntonio
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  • so i get the equation of parabola as $y= -(96/289)( $x +8.5)( x -8.5)
    how do i proceed for part b? what does it mean by the center?     – Aayush Gupta Jun 18 '17 at 11:36