A quadratic in vertex form can be represented as

a represents reflection over the x-axis, and a vertical stretch or compress
- is reflection and a fraction (1/2) represents a compression.
-h represents a shift of that many units to the right (-2 shifts to the
right two units)
k represents a shift up or down (-2 is shifting down 2 units_
Reflected over the x-axis, Vertically compressed by a factor of 1/2, shifted 2 units to the right, and shifted 2 units down