alleryStart learning →Where does the vertex of a parabola sit in relation to its focus and its directrix?
AOn the directrix itself
BAt the focus itself
CBeyond the focus
DMidway between the two
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. Midway between the two
1. The focus is a point and the directrix is a line, one on each side of the curve.
2. The vertex is the point of the curve closest to both of them.
3. It lands exactly midway, as the midpoint between the directrix and the focus.
4. Putting the vertex on the directrix would make its distance to the directrix zero.
_Source: OpenStax College Algebra (CC BY 4.0), Ch 8 "Analytic Geometry", section 8.3 The Parabola_
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