If the line intersects the parabola at the points A and B, then at the vertex of the parabola, the line segment AB subtends an angle equal to:
- A
- B
- C
- D
If the line intersects the parabola at the points A and B, then at the vertex of the parabola, the line segment AB subtends an angle equal to:
Correct answer:D
Standard Method
Given: The line is and the parabola is .
Find: The angle subtended by chord AB at the vertex of the parabola.
Rewrite both equations in slope form:
and
At the intersection points,
Multiplying by ,
So,
Dividing by ,
Factorizing,
Hence, or .
Now find the corresponding coordinates on the parabola:
and
Therefore, the points are and .
For the parabola , the vertex is .
Compute the slopes of and :
The angle between the two lines is given by
Substituting,
Therefore, the line segment AB subtends an angle at the vertex. The correct option is D.
Alternative Extracted Approach
Given: The line intersects the parabola .
Find: The angle subtended by segment AB at the vertex.
Substitute into the line equation:
Multiplying by ,
Rearranging,
Hence, the intersection points are and , and the vertex is .
Using the lines from the vertex to the endpoints of the chord,
So the required angle is
Thus, the line segment AB subtends at the vertex, so the correct option is D.
Using the slope of AB instead of the slopes of VA and VB is incorrect, because the subtended angle is at the vertex, not the inclination of the chord. First join the vertex to A and B, then find the angle between those two lines.
Applying the angle-between-lines formula without the modulus can give a negative tangent value. The required geometric angle is obtained from , so take the absolute value before evaluating .
Making an algebraic error while solving leads to wrong intersection points. Clear fractions carefully, reduce to , and then factorize correctly.
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