Real-Life Applications of Parabolas and Hyperbolas
One of the civil engineers you interviewed for your article works for a company which specializes in bridge construction projects. In the process of designing suspension bridges, they must account for many variables in the modeling. Some of these variables include the bridge span; the force of the typical water currents wearing upon the structure; ice flows striking the structure; the forces the current creates caused by river traffic flowing beneath the bridge; height of the bridge and the wind force. The bridge also has to be designed to withstand the constant flow of traffic on the bridge and to bear its weight. Graphing parabolas and hyperbolas can be used to illustrate some of these design issues.
1. How does the graph of a parabola differ from the graph of one branch of a hyperbola? Identify some real world applications of parabolas and hyperbolas (other than civil engineering).
2. Search the Library or other internet sources to find and discuss at least two practice uses of probability today. Be sure to cite your sources.
https://brainmass.com/math/probability/real-life-applications-of-parabolas-and-hyperbolas-115091
Solution Preview
It seems there is no difference between the graph of a parabola and the graph of one branch of a hyperbola. But some times the graph of a parabola corresponds to a quadratic function such as y=x^2, its graph is symmetric with y-axis. But a hyperbola usually corresponds to x^2/a^2-y^2/b^2=1, ...
Solution Summary
Real-Life Applications of Parabolas and Hyperbolas are investigated.