Okaloosa-Walton College
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
Transforming Graphs
D. P. Story
This le contains explanations and animations of some of the com-
mon function transformations: shifting, compression and stretching.
I hope you enjoy the demonstrations, I enjoyed making them. DP S
c 2007 [email protected] College Algebra Web Site
Prepared: Feb. 16, 2007 Published: Feb. 20, 2007
2/9
Vertical Shifting
Theory: Let f be a given function, and y
dene g(x) = f (x) + C. When C > 0,
the graph of g is shifted vertically upward 9
from that of f ; When C < 0 the graph is
vertically shifted downward. 8 y = x2
In the animation to the right, when you 7
click on the forward button, the initial
function of f (x) = x2 is shifted vertically 6
upward by an amount of C, the graph in 5
red is that if g(x) = x2 + C, for larger
and larger values of C. The last function 4
graphed is g(x) = x2 + 2.
3
When you click on the backward anima-
tion button, the function g(x) = x2 + 2 2
is shifted downwards. This downward
movement illustrates the case of C < 0. 1
Do you understand why? x
Note: Explore the functionality of the 3 2 1 1 2 3
buttons. Have fun!
10
3/9
Horizontal Shifting Shifting to the Right
Theory: Let f be a given function, and y
dene g(x) = f (x h). When h > 0, the
graph of g is shifted horizontally to the 9
right of that of f .
8 y = x2
In the animation to the right, when you
click on the forward button, the initial 7
function of f (x) = x2 is shifted hori-
zontally to the right by an amount of h, 6
0 h 2. The graph in red is that if 5
g(x) = (x h)2 , where h > 0, for larger
and larger values of h. The last function 4
graphed is g(x) = (x 2)2 . You can see
this last graph has vertex at x = 2, ex- 3
actly 2 units to the right from the vertex 2
of f (x) = x2 .
When you click on the backward anima- 1
tion button, the function g(x) = (x h)2 x
is shifted back to the left.
3 2 1 1 2 3
10
4/9
Horizontal Shifting Shifting to the Left
Theory: Let f be a given function, and y
dene g(x) = f (x h). When h < 0, the
graph of g is shifted horizontally to the 9
left of that of f .
8 y = x2
In the animation to the right, when you
click on the forward button, the initial 7
function of f (x) = x2 is shifted hori-
zontally to the left by an amount of |h|, 6
2 h 0. The graph in red is that if 5
g(x) = (x h)2 , where h < 0, for smaller
and smaller values of h. The last function 4
graphed is g(x) = (x + 2)2 (in this case,
h = 2). You can see this last graph has 3
vertex at x = 2, exactly 2 units to the 2
left from the vertex of f (x) = x2 .
When you click on the backward anima- 1
tion button, the function g(x) = (x h)2 x
is shifted back to the right.
3 2 1 1 2 3
10
5/9
Vertical Compression
Theory: Let f be a given function, and y
dene g(x) = af (x). When 0 < a < 1,
the graph of g is compressed vertically 9
from the graph of f towards the x-axis.
The amount of compression is propor- 8 y = x2
tional to the height of the graph of f . 7
In the animation to the right, when you
click on the forward button, the initial 6
function of f (x) = x2 is compressed verti- 5
cally for 0.25 a 1. The graph in red is
that if g(x) = ax2 , for smaller and smaller 4
values of a. The last function graphed is
g(x) = 0.25x2 (in this case, a = 0.25). 3
You can see the results of compression to- 2
wards the x-axis.
When you click on the backward anima- 1
tion button, the function g(x) = ax2 is x
stretched back into the original function.
3 2 1 1 2 3
10
6/9
Vertical Stretching
Theory: Let f be a given function, and y
dene g(x) = af (x). When a > 1, the
graph of g is stretched vertically from the 9
graph of f away from the x-axis. The
amount of stretching is proportional to 8 y = x2
the height of the graph of f . 7
In the animation to the right, when you
click on the forward button, the initial 6
function of f (x) = x2 is stretched verti- 5
cally for 1 a 3. The graph in red is
that if g(x) = ax2 , for larger and larger 4
values of a. The last function graphed
is g(x) = 3.00x2 (in this case, a = 3.00). 3
You can see the results of stretching away 2
from the x-axis.
When you click on the backward anima- 1
tion button, the function g(x) = ax2 is x
stretched back into the original function.
3 2 1 1 2 3
10
7/9
Horizontal Stretching
Theory: Let f be a given function, and y
dene g(x) = f (ax). When 0 < a < 1,
the graph of g is stretched horizontally 9
from the graph of f away from the y-axis.
The amount of stretching is proportional 8 y = x2
to the x coordinate of the point on the 7
graph of f .
In the animation to the right, when you 6
click on the forward button, the ini- 5
tial function of f (x) = x2 is horizontal
stretching for 0.25 a 1. The graph 4
in red is that if g(x) = (ax)2 , for smaller
and smaller values of a. The last func- 3
tion graphed is g(x) = (0.25x)2 (in this 2
case, a = 0.25). You can see the results
of stretching away from the y-axis. 1
When you click on the backward anima- x
tion button, the function g(x) = ax2
3 2 1 1 2 3
is compressed horizontally back into the
original function.
10
8/9
Horizontal Compression
Theory: Let f be a given function, and y
dene g(x) = f (ax). When a > 1,
the graph of g is compressed horizontally 9
from the graph of f toward the y-axis.
The amount of compression is propor- 8 y = x2
tional to the x coordinate of the point on 7
the graph of f .
In the animation to the right, when you 6
click on the forward button, the initial 5
function of f (x) = x2 is compressed hor-
izontally for 1 a 3. The graph in 4
red is that if g(x) = (ax)2 , for larger
and larger values of a. The last func- 3
tion graphed is g(x) = (3.00x)2 (in this 2
case, a = 3.00). You can see the results
of stretching away from the x-axis. 1
When you click on the backward anima- x
tion button, the function g(x) = (ax)2 is
3 2 1 1 2 3
compressed back into the original func-
tion.
10
9/9
Vertical Compression & Horizontal Stretching Compared
When you compare the end-states of the Ver- y
tical Compression example and the Horizon-
tal Stretching example, they appear to be the 9
same, except one was more extreme than the
other. They are not the same transforma- 8 y = x2 2x + 2
tion, despite their appearance.
7
To clarify the issue, lets look at the function
f (x) = x2 2x + 2 = (x 1)2 + 1. Run 6
the animation. The green curve is vertical
compression (y = af (x)) while the red curve 5
is horizontal stretching (y = f (ax)), in both
cases 0 < a < 1. We get quite dierent re- 4
sults.
3
In this case, each of the curves is a parabola:
For the green one, the vertex is com- 2
pressed vertically downward towards the x-
axis, while the red one stretches the vertex 1
horizontally away from the y-axis. The nal
resting place for the red vertex is at x = 4. x
The vertices tell the story: For vertical com- 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 6
pression (green), the vertex moves from (1, 1)
to (1, 0.25), while for horizontal stretching
(red) the vertex moves (1, 1) to (4, 1). 10
