A shape that looks like a U can be in any direction. there are certain terms relating to a parabola for example: latus rectum, directrix, focus, locus, axis of symmetry and roots.
Parabolas can be represented algebraically in the form of a quadratic function.
Latus rectum is the line that passes right through the focus horizontally
Axis of symmetry is the line that passes through the vertex
vertically
Focus is a point below or above or
on the side of the vertex
Directrix is a line that is derived by -a and is on the opposite side of focus
Roots are the points on the x axis that intersect the parabola