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  Start with the given equation 
 
 
 
  Subtract  from both sides 
 
 
 
  Factor out the leading coefficient  
 
 
 Take half of the x coefficient
  to get  (ie  ). 
 
 Now square
  to get  (ie  ) 
 
 
 
 
 
  Now add and subtract this value inside the parenthesis. Doing both the addition and subtraction of  does not change the equation 
 
 
 
 
  Now factor  to get  
 
 
 
  Distribute 
 
 
 
  Multiply 
 
 
 
  Now add  to both sides to isolate y 
 
 
 
  Combine like terms 
 
 
 
 Now the quadratic is in vertex form
  where  ,  , and  . Remember (h,k) is the vertex and "a" is the stretch/compression factor. 
 
 
 
 Check:
 
 
 Notice if we graph the original equation
  we get: 
 
 
  Graph of  . Notice how the vertex is (  ,  ). 
 
 
 Notice if we graph the final equation
  we get: 
 
 
  Graph of  . Notice how the vertex is also (  ,  ). 
 
 
 So if these two equations were graphed on the same coordinate plane, one would overlap another perfectly. So this visually verifies our answer.
 
 
 
 
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