A parent function is the simplest form of a group of functions. All the functions in the group have the same highest degree. Therefore, the shape of the graphs of a group of functions will also be same.
Some functions can be expressed as,
[tex]\begin{gathered} f(x)=x^2+3 \\ h(x)=(x+3)^2 \\ g(x)=(x-2)^2 \end{gathered}[/tex]
All the above functions when drawn as a graph gives a U shaped parabola. So, the parent function of the above group of functions is the equation of parabola given by
[tex]y=x^2[/tex]The highest degree of the parent function here is 2 same as the highest degree of the group of functions.
