Question

Which of the following could be the equation for a parabola that opens to the left with vertex (-17,2)?

Answer 1

Answer:

Step-by-step explanation:

This parabola is a horizontal one.  

In the more familiar case, vertical parabolas, the applicable equation is:

y - k = a(x - h)^2, where (h, k) is the vertex and 'a' has to do with vertical compression or stretching.

For the horizontal parabola, we adapt the above formula to:

x - h = b(y - k)^2

substituting -17 for x and 2 for k:

x + 17 = b(y - 2)^2

Because the parabola opens to the left, b must be negative.  One of many examples would be:

x + 17 = -2(y - 2)^2, where the choice of 'b' is arbitrary.