Valerie GaughtAlgebra II

McDonald’s Golden Arches

The first McDonalds that had the arches was opened on April 15, 1955

in Des Plaines, Illinois. They were designed by architect Stanley

Meston. At first, the design was just there to be apart of the store, they

didn’t have much significance. Many people interpret the design as an “M” or as two French fries being

bent into an “M”.

Early versions of the arch had a horizontal line in

them which represented the original slanted roof

of the McDonalds.The arch has many sizes

due to McDonalds popularity throughout the

world.

Y=-1.5(x-4)²+13.5

1. What are the transformations of your graph from the parent function?

The parabola is flipped over the x axis, it stretches by a factor of 1.5, it shifts left 4 units and shifts up 13.5 units.

2. Does the graph have a minimum or maximum? If so, what is it? What does this mean in regards to the example?

The parabola has a maximum which is (4,13.5) and (-4,13.5). When the parabola is put on a graph, the bottom part could go on for forever.

3. What is the axis of symmetry? What is it for the example?

The axis of symmetry is an imaginary line through the graph that causes the parabola to mirror itself on both sides of the line. The axis of symmetry on the McDonalds arch is (0,-10.5).

4. What method would you use to find the measurements for a McDonalds sign?

I would personally make (0,0) that axis of symmetry so finding the rest of the measurements would be a bit simpler.

5. Where else are parabolas found in your surroundings?

The front of mailboxes, rainbows, cartoons, jungle gyms, the front of rockets, smiley faces, math class, cords, plant stems, letters and numbers, clouds, bird wings, ripped paper, shoe designs, bananas, coffee mugs, random shoelaces

• http://rayharvey.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Golden_Arches.jpg

• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/McDonald%27s_Golden_Arches.svg/200px-McDonald%27s_Golden_Arches.svg.png

• http://www.venturevalkyrie.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/mcdonalds-china-arches.jpg

• www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company.html • http://img.groundspeak.com/waymarking/0e07d430-

b87f-46a1-9489-3d96ff348c7d.jpg• http://gb.fotolibra.com/images/previews/505025-

mcdonalds-golden-arches-sign.jpeg