Question

Can somebody explain to me how to find the equation of the parabola given the focal point and the directrix?

Answer 1

@ganeshie8 or @amistre64 ?

Answer 2

well, the definition of a parabola is that set of all points that are equidistant from the focus, and the perpendicular distance from the directric

Answer 3

ok. so how exactly would the equation be formulated?

Answer 4

in my text, it uses x1 and y1 and i don't understand what that represents

Answer 5

well, what do they use as a directrix, and a focus?

Answer 6

i was trying to think of a general way to establish the perp distance a given point to a given line