Standard Form: a Slider Move the slider to see how a controls the parabola's width and direction. y = ax² x y −4 −2 2 4 −6 −4 −2 2 4 6 (0, 0) CURRENT VALUE a = 1 OPENS UPWARD active parent |a| > 1: narrower parabola. |a| < 1: wider parabola. Negative a opens down. a = 0 collapses to a horizontal line.
−2 +2