Factoring and Parts of Parabola Flashcard

Front

What is a parabola?

Back

A parabola is a U-shaped curve that is the graph of a quadratic function. It can open upwards or downwards.

Front

What does it mean for a parabola to have a minimum point?

Back

A minimum point is the lowest point on the graph of a parabola that opens upwards.

Front

What does it mean for a parabola to have a maximum point?

Back

A maximum point is the highest point on the graph of a parabola that opens downwards.

Front

What are the factors of a quadratic expression?

Back

Factors of a quadratic expression are binomials that multiply together to give the original quadratic expression.

Front

What is the standard form of a quadratic equation?

Back

The standard form of a quadratic equation is ax² + bx + c = 0, where a, b, and c are constants.

Front

How do you identify the vertex of a parabola?

Back

The vertex of a parabola can be found using the formula x = -b/(2a) from the standard form of the quadratic equation.

Front

What is the axis of symmetry in a parabola?

Back

The axis of symmetry is a vertical line that divides the parabola into two mirror-image halves, passing through the vertex.

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What is the difference between factoring and expanding in algebra?

Back

Factoring is breaking down an expression into simpler components (factors), while expanding is multiplying out the factors to get the original expression.

Front

What is the difference of squares?

Back

The difference of squares is a special product that can be factored as (a - b)(a + b), where a² - b² = (a - b)(a + b).

Front

How do you factor a quadratic expression like x² + bx + c?

Back

To factor x² + bx + c, find two numbers that multiply to c and add to b, then write it as (x + m)(x + n).