|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Hi Elizabeth, This is the diagram I drew from your description. The parabola passes through $(0, 0)$ and there are 6 cables, 4 meters apart so the bridge is $4 \times 7 = 28$ metres long and hence the parabola passes through $(28, 0).$ The first cable is $3.072$ metres long and hence the parabola passes through $(4, 3.072).$ Substitute $(0, 0)$ and $(28, 0)$ into the equation of the parabolas, $(x-h)^2=-4a(y-k)$ and you can then solve the resulting equations for $h.$ Do you see how to proceed from here? Penny | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Math Central is supported by the University of Regina and The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences. |