Answer: a = 4
Step-by-step explanation: Area of a triangle is calculated as: .
The triangle formed by the parabola has base (b) equal to the distance between the points where the graph touches x-axis and height (h) is the point where graph touches the y-axis.
The points on the x-axis are the roots of the quadratic equation:
a(x-3)(x+2)=0
(x-3)(x+2)=0
x - 3 = 0
x = 3
or
x + 2 = 0
x = -2
So, base is the distance between (-2,0) and (3,0).
Since they are in the same coordinate, distance will be:
b = 3 - (-2)
b = 5
Area of the triangle is 10. So constant a is
5a = 10.2
a = 4
The constant a of the function y = a(x-3)(x+2) is 4.
