A quadratic function is a function with x^2 in its general form of y=ax^2 + bx + c. The vertex is the highest or lowest point of the parabola, located using the x-coordinate of -b/2a. The axis of symmetry is the vertical line passing through the vertex. Students work in groups of three, with designated roles of grapher, recorder, and summarizer to graph and analyze sets of quadratic functions based on their vertices, axes of symmetry, and coefficients.