Finding the Vertex of a Quadratic Many applications of quadratic functions involve maximizing or minimizing a particular quantity. This can be easily done by determining the vertex of a parabola. If the parabola opens upward, the vertex represents the minimum of the function; while, if it opens downward, the vertex represents the maximum of the function. If a quadratic function is given in standard form instead of vertex form, we can still find the vertex of the graph of that function. Specifically, the vertex of the graph of f(x) = ax2 + bx + c is -b/2a Why is -b/2a the x value of the vertex? -b/2a will be the middle value (average) of the 2 values for x, when y is 0 (the x intercepts). All the other values of x will split off this center point (-b/2a). The quadratic equation is The x-coordinate of the vertex will be -b / 2a. For example, consider the equation, f(x) = 6x2 - 3x +1, noting that a = 6, b = -3, and c = 1. The x-coordinate of the vertex of the graph of f(x) is found at -b/2a - (-3)/(2*6) = 1/4 To find the y-coordinate of the vertex, we substitute x = 1/4 into f(x) as, y = 6 * (1/4) 2 + 1 = 5/8 To facilitate finding the vertex, it is often convenient to convert a quadratic equation from standard form , y(x) = ax2 + bx + c, to vertex form, y(x) = a(x − h)2 + k, where a ≠ 0. By inspecting an equation in vertex form, you can determine: the vertex, given by (h, k) the direction the parabola opens, a > 0 indicates that the parabola opens upward, and a < 0 indicates that the parabola opens downward For example, the quadratic equation y = 4(x + 3)2 - 9 has vertex (-3,-9) and opens upward. Note of Caution Notice that the x-coordinate of the vertex in the above example is -3 and not 3 because the vertex form is x - h. Therefore, we determine that the vertex of the graph is (1/4, 5/8).