Quadratics

Overview

A parabola is the set of points whose distance to a fixed point, the focus, equals the distance to a fixed line, the directrix. The point where this distance is minimal is called the vertex. The distance from vertex to the focus (or directrix) is the focal length of the parabola.

It can also be defined as the conic section formed by orienting the cutting plane parallel to the slant of the double cone.