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Question 750606: write an equation of the conic/parabola with vertex at (-4,3) and focus at (-4,-2). I'm having trouble with this section of math and it would be great if you could help me. thank you.
Answer by josgarithmetic(39620)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! The focal length is  . You should reread the book discussion about deriving the equation for a parabola. if p is the focal length, then a standard position parabola is  , or  .
You should use the standard form for a parabola, since you know your vertex, as given (-4,3). Putting this information into the standard form equation, you have 
and because you know p=5, the focal length,
You can leave in standard form, or you can multiply and simplify the right hand side into general form.
*____Note that the standard form equation for a parabola is  where the vertex is (h,k).
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