How would I expand this two quadratic equations and find a & x for both of them?

Question

Here are my equations:

y=a(x+1.5)^2+0
y=a(x+2)^2+1.5

Answer 1

#2 , (without expanding)

y - 1.5 = a(x+2)^2
a = (y-1)/(x+2)^2

to get x:
(y-1.5)/a = (x+2)^2
x+2 = ± √( (y-1/5)/a )
x = -2 ± √( (y-1/5)/a )

follow the same steps for #1, which is easier