Question

The height h above the roadway of the main cable of the Golden Gate Bridge can be modeled by the function h(x) =1/9000x2 - 7/15x + 500, where x is the distance in feet from the tower.

Complete the square and write the function in vertex form.

Answer 1

h(x) = 1/9000x^2 - 7/15x + 500 = 1/9000(x^2 - 4200x + 4500000) = 1/9000(x^2 - 4200x + 4410000 + 90000) = 1/9000(x - 2100)^2 + 1/9000(90000) = 1/9000(x - 2100)^2 + 10

h(x) = 1/9000(x - 2100)^2 + 10