A chord of a parabola - Math Central

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Question from Robin, a student:

Hi,
I am going to show that the chord PtPt' of the parabola has the equation 2x-y(t+t')+2att'
A point on the parabola can be represented as Pt= (at2, 2at).

Hi Robin,

A point on the parabola is Pt = (at², 2at) thus the two points Pt and Pt' have coordinates (at², 2at) and (at'², 2at'). Write the equation of the line through (at², 2at) and (at'², 2at') using x and y as the variables and then simplify.

Penny

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