Question

Which equation represents the quadratic parent function shifted to the left two units?

Answer 1

This is tricky.
In quadratic functions, left and right shifts seem opposite to their orientation on the xy plane.
A positive value in parentheses denotes a shift to the left while a negative denotes a shift to the right.
For instance, in this question, y = (x + 2)^2 represents a shift to the left.

The two options without the parentheses represent up and down shifts, but these are not backwards. y = x^2 + 2 is a shift up two units.

Therefore, y = (x + 2)^2 is your answer.