Consider the function:
The direction of the graph is like which of the following:

This function is a quadratic equation of the form where . Since the coefficient is negative, the graph of this function is a downward-opening parabola. Picture a frown instead of a smile!

To better understand this function, you could find its vertex. The vertex can tell you the maximum or minimum value of the function, which is a key feature of quadratics. The x-coordinate of the vertex is found using the formula . For this function, it’s at which gives you the peak of this frowning parabola!