17.8k views
3 votes
Lizzie graphed the parabola y = -x 2 + 3. Does Lizzie's parabola open up, down, left, or right? Responses

1 Answer

5 votes

The parabola opens down.

In which direction the parabola opens?

A general parabola equation is written as:

y = ax² + bx + c

The leading coefficient is a, and we need to look at this coefficient to know if our parabola opens up or down.

if a > 0, the parabola opens upwards.

if a < 0, the parabola opens downwards.

The given parabola is:

y = -x² + 3

This can be rewritten:

y = (-1)*x² + 3

So the leading coefficient is -1, which means that the parabola opens down.

User Newester
by
8.8k points