Fun with Parabolas

xtrangeloop
12-30-2019

Overview

Built for Week 4 of Developing Data Products
Demo: https://xtrangeloop.shinyapps.io/MyFirstShinyApp/
Source Code: https://github.com/xtrangeloop/Shiny

Explanation & Purpose

Standard Form Quadratic Equation: Ax² + Bx + C

This web application attempts to make math fun and approachable by creating an interactive parabola that displays as the relationship between the coefficients of quadratic equations in order to study the effect on the resulting parabola.

This would be a great supplement for a math classroom because the student can see how changing each coeffecient impacts the appearance of the parabola.

Additionally, the original form of the parabola is displayed as a shadow so that the changes are more apparent.

The Defined Function: Calculate

There are three input options, corresponding to the coefficients A, B, and C in the standarad form of a quadratic equation.

A determines the direction (up or down) and width of the parabola.
B shifts the parabola along the x-axis (left and right).
C shifts the parabola along the y-axis (up and down).

Plotting Parabolas

Below is a static demonstration of the Calculate function using 1, 0, and 0 to represent the coefficients A, B, and C respectively.

Calculate <- function(x) ((1*x^2) + 0*x + 0)
plot(Calculate, xlim = c(-10, 10))

plot of chunk Plot