What direction does this parabola go? x^2=16y

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This equation is equivalent to y = 1/16*x^2The x-squared term tells me that the parabola opens vertically.The positive coefficient (1/16) of the x-squared term tells me that the parabola opens "up".If you think about the graph in terms of a table of values, for any value of x, the expression 1/16*x^2 will be positive. Therefore, the y values will always be positive. The parabola must open up.

It opens upwards (smile shaped)