Plot the following?

#y=x^2+7x+12#

1 Answer
Nov 25, 2017

If you graph it, it looks like this: graph{x^2+7x+12}

Explanation:

First, you have to find the a,h,and k from the equation. We know right away that #a=1#. We get the value of #h# by calculating #(-b)/(2a)# which in this equation, is #-7/2# You can get the value of #k# by plugging the value of #h# in the equation as #x#. #k# in this problem is #-1/4#.

You can get the rest of the points by using the information below. Plug in the values of h and a that we already found in the expressions. Plug in the x values in the original equation to get the y values.

x coordinates ------------- y coordinates
h-2a
h-a
h (-3.5)
h+a
h+2a

We get
x coordinates -------- y coordinates
-5.5 ------------------- 3.75
-4.5 -------------------- .75
-3.5 ---------------------- -.25
-2.5 --------------------- 7.5
-1.5 ------------------------ 3.75

Graph the points and voila! You have the parabola(my username) Remember that the lines go up/down forever. (In this case, it goes up forever.)