The vertical line of symmetry means the parabola is symmetric around the line x = 2, so the x-coordinate of the vertex is 2. Since the vertex is the midpoint of the segment connecting the two points (1,1) and (4,-7), the x-coordinate of the vertex is 21+4=3. Therefore, the vertex of the parabola is (3,v), where v is the value of y when x = 3.
We know that the parabola goes through the point (1,1), so we can use the point-slope form of the equation of a line to get the equation of the parabola:
y - 1 = m(x - 1)
where m is the slope of the parabola. Since the parabola is symmetric around the line x = 2, the slope of the parabola is equal to the negative reciprocal of the slope of the line connecting the two points (1,1) and (4,-7), which is (-7 - 1)/(4 - 1) = -8/3. Substituting this into the point-slope form of the equation of the parabola, we get the equation of the parabola:
y - 1 = (-8/3)(x - 1)
or
y = -8/3 * x + 17/3
To find the value of v, we substitute x = 3 into this equation to get
v = -8/3 * 3 + 17/3 = 1
Therefore, the vertex of the parabola is (3,1).
Since the greater root of the quadratic is √n + 2, the other root must be √n - 2. Since the sum of the roots of the quadratic is 3 (the x-coordinate of the vertex), we have
√n - 2 + √n + 2 = 3
or
2√n = 5
or
√n = 5/2
or
n = (5/2)^2 = 25/4
Therefore, the answer is 25/4.