Question

How to determine the direction a parabola opens

Answer 1

Answer:

Upward or Downward

Step-by-step explanation:

A parabola is the graph of a quadratic function y = ax2 + bx + c. The graphs below depict two typical parabolas:

For clarity, we indicate their x-intercepts with red dots, their y-intercepts with pink dots, and the vertex of each parabola with a green dot:

The first parabola (a U shape) opens vertically, whereas the second parabola opens downwards (is an upside down U shape).

Given the function y = ax2 + bx + c, write the following:

• If an is greater than zero (positive), the parabola widens upward.
• If the value is 0 (negative), the parabola expands downward.