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Home / Science, Engineering & Maths / Maths for

Humans: Linear, Quadratic & Inverse Relations / A
quadratic function through three points

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A quadratic function through

three points
In this article, Norman Wildberger explains
how to determine the quadratic function that
passes through three points.

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Another application of quadratic functions is to

curve fitting, also called the theory of splines.
Since a parabola y = ax2 + bx + c is specified
by three numbers, it is reasonable to suppose
that we could fit a parabola to three points in
the plane. This is indeed the case, and it is a
useful idea.

In this step we see how to algebraically fit a

parabola to three points in the Cartesian plane.
This involves recalling, or learning, how to solve
three equations in three unknowns. This is a
useful skill on its own right.

The unique circle

through three non-
collinear points
A line is determined by two points. A circle, on
the other hand, is determined by three points
—as long as these points are not collinear (all
three points cannot lie on the same line). The
construction of a circle which passes through
three points is a standard exercise in Euclidean
geometry: we construct the perpendicular
bisectors of the line segments determined by
these three points, and then these three lines
meet at the circumcenter of the triangle ABC ,
namely the centre of the unique circle which
passes through all three points.

Here is a GeoGebra image of this construction:

pic of the circumcenter of a triangle ABC

What about a parabola? Well, if we restrict

ourselves to parabolas given by quadratic
equations, that is curves which the form
y = ax2 + bx + c, then since there are three
unknown quantities, we can expect that we can
fit such a curve to three distinct points. Let’s
see how this works in practice.

Fitting a parabola to
three points
Suppose we want to find a parabola with
equation y = ax2 + bx + c which passes
through the points [0, 1], [1, 5] and [2, 3].
Substituting each of the three points into the
equation, we get

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learning?
This content is taken from
UNSW Sydney online course,
Maths for Humans: Linear,
Quadratic & Inverse Relations

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1=c
5=a+b+c
3 = 4a + 2b + c
This is three equations in three unknowns. This
is more complicated, but in this particular case,
things are simpler since the first equation
already tells us that c = 1, so the other two
equations become a + b = 4 and 2a + b = 1.

Solving these equations, yields a = −3, b = 7

and also c = 1, so the required parabola is
y = −3x2 + 7x + 1. Here is the graph:

Solving three linear

equations in three
unknowns
Since two linear equations represent two lines
in the plane, their common solution corresponds
to the geometric meet of the two lines. For
three linear equations in three unknowns, the
situation actually corresponds to the common
intersection point of three planes in three-
dimensional space!

Fortunately the ancient Chinese were able to

develop a general technique for solving such
systems of equations. Here we just try to find a
simple practical method.

Suppose we want to find the equation of the

quadratic function y = ax2 + bx + c which
passes through the points [1, 3], [2, −1] and
[4, 1]. It means we have three equations, one for
each of the points – since we know the points
given must satisfy the unknown equation. The
three equations are

3=a+b+c (1)

−1 = 4a + 2b + c (2)

1 = 16a + 4b + c. (3)

What is the strategy? It is simple: we try to

eliminate one of the variables, leaving us with
two equations in two unknowns. This we know
how to solve.

To get two equations in two variables, let’s

eliminate c from the first two equations. We do
that by subtracting one from the other, say
subtract the first from the second:

−4 = 3a + b (4)

Please make sure you understand how we got

that. Now we do the same with the last two
equations: take the third equation and subtract
the second:

2 = 12a + 2b
We can make that a bit simpler by dividing all
the coefficients by 2 to get

1 = 6a + b. (5)

Now we treat (5) and (4) as new equations,

and use them to find a and b.

If we take (5)–(4) we get 5 = 3a, so that

a = 5/3, and then plugging back into either (3)
or (4) gives b = −9. Then putting both of these
back into say (1) gives 3 = 5/3 − 9 + c so that
c = 31/3.

The parabola is therefore

y = 5/3x2 − 9x + 31/3. Here is its graph:

Graph of parabola y=5/3x^2-9x+31/3

Q1 (M): Find the equation of the quadratic

function y = ax2 + bx + c which passes
through the points [−1, 9], [2, 3] and [5, 15].

Q2 (C): Find a quadratic relation of the form

x = ay2 + by + c which passes through the
points [0, 1], [1, 5] and [2, 3].

Answers
A1. The answer is the parabolic function
y = x2 − 3x + 5.

A2. The answer is the curve

x = − 18 (3y2 − 20y + 17). Note this is not a
function.

© UNSW Australia 2015

Want to keep
learning?
This content is taken from UNSW Sydney online
course

Maths for Humans: Linear, Quadratic & Inverse

Relations

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Maths for Humans: Linear, Quadratic

& Inverse Relations

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