To find the axis of symmetry for a quadratic function, there's an easy formula you can use.

If you have a quadratic equation in this standard form:

$y = ax^2 + bx + c$

You can find the axis of symmetry with this formula:

$x = -\frac{b}{2a}$

Here's how to do it step by step:

1. Find $a$ and $b$: Look at your quadratic equation. For example, if we have: $y = 2x^2 + 4x + 1$ Here, $a$ is 2 and $b$ is 4.

2. Use the formula: Plug the values of $a$ and $b$ into the formula:

   $x = -\frac{4}{2 \times 2}$ This simplifies to:

   $x = -\frac{4}{4} = -1$

3. Graphing: This means that the line $x = -1$ is your axis of symmetry.

When you graph the parabola, it will look the same on both sides of this line!

And don’t forget to plot the vertex at this point, too!