A in a quadratic

stranger · Advanced Newbie Joined: 23 Jan 2008 Posts: 63

OK, here it is:

For the standard form of a quadratic equation, find where X1 and X2 are values whose Y-coefficients are equal and X1 is A greater than X2. In other words, make a program that will find the horizontal line that crosses a parabola at two points, which are A units apart.

Good luck, this one flattened me.

DarkerLine · Posted: 06 Mar 2008 06:53:58 pm Post subject:

This is more of a math problem than a programming problem, isn't it? When y=ax^2+bx+c, you know the vertex is at -b/2a, so all you have to do is and and subtract half of A from this value.

stranger · Advanced Newbie Joined: 23 Jan 2008 Posts: 63

oops, sorry, I meant the reciprocal of A. What I was thinking was, the larger A is, the wider the parabola, so there must be two points that are always the same distance from the vertex that will show, if you were viewing the line without knowing the equation, the value of A. Or at least A^-1.