Question 58609
Find the vertex of this parabola:  y = -x^2 - 3x - 2
You got the x value right, but you're doing it in such a way that if you cannot factor it, you won't find it.  Therefore, I'm going to show you the sure fire way of finding the x value of the vertex, no matter what and then we'll see what went wrong for the y-value:
The formula for finding the x-value of the vertex of a parabola is {{{highlight(x=-b/2a)}}}, for a quadratic equation written in standard form:{{{highlight(y=ax^2+bx+c)}}}
Your a=-1, b=-3, and c=-2
{{{x=-(-3)/(2(-1))}}}
{{{x=3/-2}}}
{{{x=-3/2=-1.5}}}  
Substitute that value into the equation for x and solve for y:
{{{y=-(-1.5)^2-3(-1.5)-2}}}
{{{y=-2.25+4.5-2}}}
{{{y=.25}}}
The vertex is: (x,y)=(-1.5,.25)
Happy Calculating!!!