How to construct a parabola - ��˿�� Bitesize

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

A short video showing how to construct a parabola. The height of each column of coins is its distance from the centre, squared. So 1² = 1. 2² = 4. 3² = 9. And so on.

How to construct a parabola slideshow

Skip image gallery

Image caption,
Click to see a step-by-step slideshow.
Image caption,
WHAT YOU NEED: 182 coins and card.
Image caption,
STEP 1: Place a coin on a flat surface. Next to it, place four coins in the shape of a square.
Image caption,
STEP 2: Repeat this four times, increasing the size of the square by 1 coin in width and height each time. You should be left with 6 squares.
Image caption,
STEP 3: Stack each square of coins into a pile - you should have 6 piles of coins which increase in size from left to right.
Image caption,
STEP 4: Repeat this in the opposite direction. The second set of coins should decrease in height from right to left.
Image caption,
You can see that the coins in this formation make a parabola (a u-shaped symmetrical curve). You can see this clearly if you line the coins up with a piece of card and draw a curve along the edge of the piles of coins.

Where next?

Discover more about this topic from Bitesize.

Algebra

���˿���

How to construct a parabola slideshow

Where next?

More on Algebra

��˿��