PARABOLA IN
CHICAGOPARABOLA IN
CHICAGO
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You can probably see that the highest point of the curve is at x=5, which is not quite the centre. This is due to air resistance. So that the maths does not become too complicated, assume that the curve is symmetrical about it’s highest point and so the water from the fountain hits the river where x=10 (not x=9 as in the picture)
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The equation of a parabola is basically y=x2 |
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| For the curve of the fountain, because y=0 when x=0 and when x=10 the equation is something like y=x(x-10) |
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| As the fountain is the other
way up, the equation is y=x(10-x) But this curve goes too high, up to (5,25) |
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The fountain reaches a height of only 2.6,
so multiply the formula by  So the equation of the fountain is
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