A student says that the graph of the parabola #y = x^2 + 1001# is "one thousand times larger" than the parabola #y = x^2 + 1#. Why is this not correct?

1 Answer
George C.
Mar 19, 2016

The expression "one thousand times larger" would mean multiplication by #1000#, whereas the actual distinction is an addition of #1000# resulting in a translation of the graph.

Explanation:

The curves of both parabolas is exactly the same, except that one curve is translated by #1000# units in the #y# direction. So any sizes of the curves are identical.

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