A parabola that opens upward

A parabola that opens upward is a U-shaped curve where the vertex is the lowest point on the graph. It can be represented by the general equation y = ax^2 + bx + c, where a is a positive number. The axis of symmetry is a vertical line passing through the vertex, and the parabola is symmetric with respect to this line. The focus of the parabola lies on the axis of symmetry and is equidistant from the vertex and the directrix, which is a horizontal line parallel to the x-axis.