Yes. If a < 0 then the parabola goes downward (sad). The vertex (-8, -3) is in the third quadrant, so the parabola starts in the 3rd quadrant and goes downward.
If the formula for a parabola is in vertext form
y = a(x - b)^2 + c
x = b is the line of symmetry, (b, c) is the vertex, and if a > 0 then the vertex is the minimum, else if a < 0 then the vertex is the maximum.
The equation is in vertex form, so the axis of symetry is at
x = -8
The vertex is at (-8, -3)
-3 is the maximum.
when you graph. would the graph be in quadrant 3 and going down then?