We’re going to find the equation of a parabola whose focus is (3,2) and whose directrix is the line
. But we’re going to do it straight from the
definition of a parabola.
In the drawing above, I show the focus and the directrix, and an arbitrary point (
,
) on the parabola.
is the distance from the point (
,
) to the focus (3,2). What is
?
is the distance from the point (
,
) to the directrix (
). What is
?
What defines the parabola as such—what makes (
,
) part of the parabola—is that
. Write the equation for the parabola.
Simplify your answer to part (c); that is, rewrite the equation in the standard form.