This week in math we learned about equivalent forms of the equation of a quadradic function. In this lesson we were shown how to convert between the three different forms of a function to figure out different things about the function. General form (ax² + bx – c = y) doesn’t tell us much except for the y-intercept which is “c”. Factored form      y = a(x – x1)(x – x2) tells you the x-intercepts, and standard or vertex form y = a(x – p)² + q tells you the vertex of the function. Standard or vertex form is generally the most useful form because it tells you the vertex and that is the most important thing that you need for graphing. For example if you were given something in factored form and told to get it into standard/vertex form, you would first foil it and then combine like terms to get general form, and you would then complete the square to get it into standard/vertex form.

The picture below is an example of what I just explained: