Advanced MathEasyDirection a parabola opens
Advanced Math practice question
Which of the following best describes the graph of y = −x² in the xy-plane?
- A. A parabola that opens downwardCorrect
- B. A parabola that opens upward
- C. A straight line
- D. A circle
Answer: A. A parabola that opens downward
A negative coefficient on x² makes the parabola open downward, with its vertex at the origin as its highest point.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. A parabola that opens upward
- y = x² opens upward; the minus sign flips it.
- C. A straight line
- A squared term makes a curve, not a line.
- D. A circle
- There is no y² term; this is a parabola.
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