Let
forms an equilateral triangle.
Find the value of
Hint
The factorised form of the parabola's equation is
This should enable you to find the roots and vertex in terms of
You should definitely draw a diagram!
Hint
Here is the diagram
Hint
Since the triangle is equilateral, you know that all sides of the triangle are equal.
Therefore, the distance between the roots is equal to the distance from the origin to the vertex.
To make use of this information, you will need Pythagoras.
Solution
We have
so the roots are
Since
With this information, we can draw an accurate diagram:
Since the triangle is equilateral, the sides of the triangle have the same length, let's call it
Clearly, the base of the triangle has length
On the other hand, consider the other two sides. We use Pythagoras', noting that the dashed line has length
By equating these two expressions for
So