[Math] Cubic: Finding turning point when given x and y intercepts

cubics

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I have tried substituting in the two points (-4,0) and (0,28) and solving simultaneously for b and c with no success, and the book gives two separate but equally correct solutions for b and c that satisfy the equation.

Am I looking at this the right way or can anyone suggest where I am going wrong?

Best Answer

First of all, since the dilation factor is equal to $1$, the equation automatically reduces to $y=(x-b)^3+c$. Now, since the equation only has a single factor, $(x-b)$, the vector $(b,c)$ is the result we're looking for. Now, the $b$ and $c$ can be found by plugging in the given intercepts: $$0=(-4-b)^3+c$$$$28=(-b)^3+c$$ Since this is a system of nonlinear equations, we can solve it by substitution. $$c=-(-4-b)^3=(4+b)^3$$$$28=(-b)^3+(4+b)^3$$ Since we can't easily combine the right-hand side of this in factored form, we'll expand it. $$28=64+48b+12b^2+b^3-b^3=64+48b+12b^2$$ Well now, that's just a simple quadratic. Solving it, we get two solutions: $(-1, 0)$ and $(-3, 0)$. Let's try plugging both of those back into the first equation: $$c=(4-1)^3=27$$$$c=(4-3)^3=1$$ So now we have two possible coordinate pairs, $(-1, 27)$ and $(-3, 1)$. If you graph these equations, you'll see that either coordinate works.

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