Question

Write the equation of the parabola in vertex form.

vertex (–4, 3), point (4, 131)

Answer 1

there are two possibilities here...
4a(y-k) = (x-h)^2 or 4a(x-h) = (y-k)^2
where (h,k) is the vertex and a is the distance from the vertex to focus.

to find a, stick in what you know from the given:
h=-4
k=3
x=4
y=131
and solve for a in BOTH cases since it was not specified which type of parabola you have.