Question

parabola is defined by the equation x2 = y. In which direction will the parabola open? A. up B. down C. right D. left E. cannot be determined

Answer 1

The parabola will open upwards.

Answer 2

Answer: Option A: Up

Explanation:

When we have a quadratic equation of the form:

y = ax^2 + bx + c

The sign of "a" defines how the equation "opens"

This is because a is multiplicating the term that grows faster as x changes (the biggest power in the polynomial, x^2)

So if a is positive, as IxI grows, the value of y(x) will be also positive.

if a is negative, as IxI grows the value of y(x) will also be negative.

So here we have the equation y = x^2

here we have a = 1, b = 0 and c = 0.

Here "a" is positive, this means that the parabola will open up, so the correct option is A.