Bader Al Othman

I made a bridge with a variety of mathematical functions including linear and quadratic

functions, as well as using the different aspects of them. Many of my lines are oblique.

For the road of the bridge, I used a horizontal line with the equation (y = 2) that has a

domain of {x\ 0 ≤ x ≤ 14} and a range of {y = 2}. The equation is in the slope-intercept form (y

= mx + b), but the y-intercept (b) is the only value left. I chose this domain because that is how

long I want the bridge to be, and the range can only be {y = 2}.

I then used four vertical lines to act as the towers of the bridge. The left outer tower has

the equation, domain and range of (x = 0, {x\ x = 0}, {y\ 0 ≤ y ≤ 3}), and the right outer tower

has (x = 14, {x\ x = 14}, {y\ 0 ≤ y ≤ 3}). The left inner tower has the equation, domain and range

of (x = 5, {x\ x = 5}, {y\ -1 ≤ y ≤ 4}), and the right inner tower has (x = 9, {x\ x = 9}, {y\ -1 ≤ y

≤ 4}).

For the support wires of the bridge, I used slope-intercept form (y = mx + b) because they

were, again, linear functions. Starting with the left outer support wire, I chose the y-intercept to

be 2, so all I had to do was find the slope (m) to get (y = mx + b). I used the formula (

y 2−¿ y
m= 1
¿ ) to find the slope of the lef t outer support wire with the points (0, 2) and (5, 4), and
x 2−¿x ¿
1

2
the equation was y = x +2 {x\ 0 ≤ x ≤ 5}, {y\ 2 ≤ y ≤ 4}. To find the equation of the right outer
5

support wire, I used the same formula for slope, then found the y-intercept by plugging in the

2 38
slope and the point (14, 2) for x and y, and ended up with y = - x + with the domain and
5 5

range of {x\ 9 ≤ x ≤ 14}, {y\ 2 ≤ y ≤ 4}. I chose these domains and ranges because I wanted them
to connect to the towers. I then used the slope formula again for the inner support wires and

found the y-intercept the same way.

For the two parabolas in the middle, I made them the under-passage and main wire. To

find the equations of the concave down parabola, I substituted the vertex of both, since they

intersect only at the vertex, (7, 2) for h and k and put the equation in vertex form ( y=a ( x−h )2 +k

). The equation turned out to be y=a ( x−7 )2 +2. I then found a by substituting one of the x-

−2
intercepts (5, 0) for x and y. After solving for (a), the final equation was y= ( x−7 )2 +2with
4

the domain and range of {x\ 5 ≤ x ≤ 9}, {y\ 0 ≤ y ≤ 2. For the concave up parabola, all I did was

flip the sign of (a) and made it positive, which is a reflection and making this parabola a positive

2 2
definite, because both parabolas have the same vertex, giving me the equation y= ( x−7 ) + 2
4

with the domain and range of {x\ 5 ≤ x ≤ 9}, {y\ 2 ≤ y ≤ 4}. I chose this domain and range

because the wire needs to intersect and can’t go past the tops of the inner towers which are at

points (5, 4) and (9, 4).

I used two perpendicular bisectors for extra support under the bridge. I found the

equations for first lines two lines in slope-intercept form the same way I found the others; I then

x1−¿ x y 1−¿ y
found each midpoint with the formula (M = 2
, 2
¿ ¿). To find the slope of the
2 2

perpendicular bisector, I took the negative reciprocal of the original slope. I substituted the

midpoint of each equation for x and y and solved for (b). I ended up with the equations (y = -x +

7 and y = x + 5) and (y = x – 7 and y = -x + 9) for each line and its perpendicular bisector. The

domains of the short support beams are {x\ 5 ≤ x ≤ 6}, {x\ 8 ≤ x ≤ 9} with the ranges of {y\ 1 ≤ y
≤ 2}). The longer beams have domains of {x\ 5 ≤ x ≤ 7}, {x\ 7 ≤ x ≤ 9} with the ranges of {y\ 0

≤ y ≤ 2}).