Question

Which way will the parabola open? Explain.

Answer 1

Our parabola open downward and therefore a is negative.

Explanation:
As value of a changes from positive to negative or from negative to positive, the direction of opening changes. For negative values of a we got negative parabolas that open downward. As the original formula y = x^2 we see that x^2 will always be positive because when you square a number it always gives positive value. Therefore the direction for which it will open, depends on value of a.

Answer 2

Answer:

The parabola is vertical (opens up or down).

Step-by-step explanation:

If the x is squared or if a is positive, the parabola opens up or to the right. If it is negative, it opens down or to the left. The vertex is at (h, k).

- Hope this helps!