Question 1073023
Each cable forms a parabola that curves upward
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Let the leftmost tower be located at the origin of our graph, then
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x coordinate of the parabola's vertex is 150 and the y coordinate is 5
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the vertex form of the parabola is
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1) y = a(x-150)^2 + 5
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we also know that the point (0, 80) is on the parabola
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using equation 1 and the point (0, 80) we have
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80 = 22500a +5
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22500a = 75
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a = 75 / 22500 = 0.003
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y = 0.003(x-150)^2 + 5
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y = 0.003(x^2 -300x +22500) + 5
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standard form of the parabola is
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y = 0.003x^2 -0.9x +72.5
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to determine cable lengths evaluate the standard form for
values of y for x = 15, 30, 45, ,,, 150
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Note be sure to order 4 of each length since each parabola has 2 of each length
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