The phrase that best describes the translation from the graph of y = 2x² to the graph of y = 2x² + 5 is that it represents a vertical shift upward by 5 units.
When you add a constant to a function, it affects the y-values of the graph. In this case, the function y = 2x² is a parabola that opens upwards, with its vertex at the origin (0,0). By adding 5 to the function, you effectively move every point on the graph up by 5 units. The vertex also moves from (0,0) to (0,5), which illustrates a vertical translation.