<p>You are given the quadratic function :
y=a(x)^2 + bx - 5</p>
<p>How will the graph of the function change if we divide the constant ''a'' by three ?</p>
<p>It will become shallower (not as steep).</p>
<p>Why is that ?What functions serve the three constats - a ,b, and c (-5 in our case )</p>
<p>Use this simple trick. we know c is -5, let b = 0. Our new function is ax^2 - 5. the c term simply shifts the graph down, so we just have a standard parabola. You know from algebra that the bigger a is, the faster the curve grows. The smaller a is, the wider the graph is. </p>
<p>You can show that ax^2 + bx + c will be wider if a is divided by 3 for all a,b,c, using a simple application of vieta’s formulas, but that will never be on the SAT nor is there any need to think that much about the problem.</p>
<p>Also, go Barcelona lol!</p>
<p>hahahah
Anomaly,check out the Jan 07 SAT qas and tell me if this can be on the SAT or not 
After I faced a ‘‘cube inscribed in sphere’’ question on the May 07 qas ,I can expect everything :)</p>
<p>No, I’m sure the question can come, but using vieta’s roots to solve it is not expected of the average test taker.</p>
<p>a represents the steepness, b represents the movement right or left (but it doesn’t shift by b units), and c is up or down.</p>