What does parabola mean?
Word: Parabola
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Parabola means a smooth curve shaped like the path of something thrown up into the air and falling back down.
How do you spell parabola?
Syllables: pa - rab - o - la
Tricky part: Students used to words such as ball and collar often double the l. This word never does: one l is all it has.
Watch out for: parabolla, parrabola, paribola
Memory tip: One ball, one l: a thrown ball draws this curve, but the word does not borrow the second l of ball.
Parabola in a sentence
Example 1: Our maths teacher drew a parabola on the board and marked its highest point.
Example 2: The long jumper rose and fell in a shape close to a parabola.
Example 3: Rekha plotted ten points on squared paper and joined them to make a neat parabola.
Fun Fact
Satellite dishes are curved like a parabola because that shape bounces incoming signals towards a single point.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
obalapra
a) parallel
b) parable
c) parasol
d) parabola
Show answer
d) parabola. Three a's and a b appear in the jumble, and no other option uses that set.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
parab_l_
a) o,u
b) o,a
c) u,a
d) a,a
Show answer
b) o,a. An o comes before the l, and the word closes on an a.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The jet of water from the park fountain traces a perabola before it falls into the pool.
a) perabola
b) fountain
c) pool
d) traces
Show answer
a) perabola. The word opens with par, the same way parachute does.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) perimiter
b) parabola
c) hexagon
d) diameter
Show answer
a) perimiter. The distance around a shape has an e after the m, as diameter does.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these moves along a path closest to a parabola?
a) a train running on a straight track
b) a cricket ball hit high into the air
c) a ceiling fan blade turning all day
d) a lift rising inside a tall building
Show answer
b) a cricket ball hit high into the air
2. A parabola differs from a circle because it ____.
a) is made of straight lines
b) stays open at one side
c) has four equal corners
d) has no curved part at all
Show answer
b) stays open at one side
