The given equation is y² = 4x. To find the value of p, we can compare this equation to the standard form of a parabola, which is y² = 4px.
In our equation, we see that the term 4x corresponds to 4p. This allows us to set up the following equation:
4p = 4
To solve for p, we divide both sides by 4:
p = 1
So, in the equation y² = 4x, the value of p is 1. This means that the focus of the parabola is located at the point (1, 0), and the parabola opens to the right along the x-axis.