Find the Axis of Symmetry f(x)=x^2-4x-12

$f (x) = x^{2} - 4 x - 12$

Step 1

Write $f (x) = x^{2} - 4 x - 12$ as an equation.

$y = x^{2} - 4 x - 12$

Step 2

Rewrite the equation in vertex form.

Complete the square for $x^{2} - 4 x - 12$ .

Use the form $a x^{2} + b x + c$ , to find the values of $a$ , $b$ , and $c$ .

$a = 1$

$b = - 4$

$c = - 12$

Consider the vertex form of a parabola.

$a {(x + d)}^{2} + e$

Find the value of $d$ using the formula $d = \frac{b}{2 a}$ .

Substitute the values of $a$ and $b$ into the formula $d = \frac{b}{2 a}$ .

$d = \frac{- 4}{2 \cdot 1}$

Cancel the common factor of $- 4$ and $2$ .

Factor $2$ out of $- 4$ .

$d = \frac{2 \cdot - 2}{2 \cdot 1}$

Cancel the common factors.

Factor $2$ out of $2 \cdot 1$ .

$d = \frac{2 \cdot - 2}{2 (1)}$

Cancel the common factor.

$d = \frac{2 \cdot - 2}{2 \cdot 1}$

Rewrite the expression.

$d = \frac{- 2}{1}$

Divide $- 2$ by $1$ .

$d = - 2$

Find the value of $e$ using the formula $e = c - \frac{b^{2}}{4 a}$ .

Substitute the values of $c$ , $b$ and $a$ into the formula $e = c - \frac{b^{2}}{4 a}$ .

$e = - 12 - \frac{{(- 4)}^{2}}{4 \cdot 1}$

Simplify the right side.

Simplify each term.

Cancel the common factor of ${(- 4)}^{2}$ and $4$ .

Rewrite $- 4$ as $- 1 (4)$ .

$e = - 12 - \frac{{(- 1 (4))}^{2}}{4 \cdot 1}$

Apply the product rule to $- 1 (4)$ .

$e = - 12 - \frac{{(- 1)}^{2} \cdot 4^{2}}{4 \cdot 1}$

Raise $- 1$ to the power of $2$ .

$e = - 12 - \frac{1 \cdot 4^{2}}{4 \cdot 1}$

Multiply $4^{2}$ by $1$ .

$e = - 12 - \frac{4^{2}}{4 \cdot 1}$

Factor $4$ out of $4^{2}$ .

$e = - 12 - \frac{4 \cdot 4}{4 \cdot 1}$

Cancel the common factors.

Factor $4$ out of $4 \cdot 1$ .

$e = - 12 - \frac{4 \cdot 4}{4 (1)}$

Cancel the common factor.

$e = - 12 - \frac{4 \cdot 4}{4 \cdot 1}$

Rewrite the expression.

$e = - 12 - \frac{4}{1}$

Divide $4$ by $1$ .

$e = - 12 - 1 \cdot 4$

Multiply $- 1$ by $4$ .

$e = - 12 - 4$

Subtract $4$ from $- 12$ .

$e = - 16$

Substitute the values of $a$ , $d$ , and $e$ into the vertex form ${(x - 2)}^{2} - 16$ .

${(x - 2)}^{2} - 16$

Set $y$ equal to the new right side.

$y = {(x - 2)}^{2} - 16$

Step 3

Use the vertex form, $y = a {(x - h)}^{2} + k$ , to determine the values of $a$ , $h$ , and $k$ .

$a = 1$

$h = 2$

$k = - 16$

Step 4

Since the value of $a$ is positive, the parabola opens up.

Opens Up

Step 5

Find the vertex $(h, k)$ .

$(2, - 16)$

Step 6

Find $p$ , the distance from the vertex to the focus.

Find the distance from the vertex to a focus of the parabola by using the following formula.

$\frac{1}{4 a}$

Substitute the value of $a$ into the formula.

$\frac{1}{4 \cdot 1}$

Cancel the common factor of $1$ .

Cancel the common factor.

$\frac{1}{4 \cdot 1}$

Rewrite the expression.

$\frac{1}{4}$

Step 7

Find the focus.

The focus of a parabola can be found by adding $p$ to the y-coordinate $k$ if the parabola opens up or down.

$(h, k + p)$

Substitute the known values of $h$ , $p$ , and $k$ into the formula and simplify.

$(2, - \frac{63}{4})$

Step 8

Find the axis of symmetry by finding the line that passes through the vertex and the focus.

$x = 2$

Step 9

Find the Axis of Symmetry f(x)=x^2-4x-12

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