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1.3 transformations of functions

The document discusses transformations of functions, including translations, vertical and horizontal shifts, stretching, and reflecting transformations. It provides examples of how to graph functions by applying these transformations, such as shifting, stretching, and reflecting graphs. Additionally, it includes a model for daylight length in Philadelphia based on sine function transformations.

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arianna.conover
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18 views

1.3 transformations of functions

The document discusses transformations of functions, including translations, vertical and horizontal shifts, stretching, and reflecting transformations. It provides examples of how to graph functions by applying these transformations, such as shifting, stretching, and reflecting graphs. Additionally, it includes a model for daylight length in Philadelphia based on sine function transformations.

Uploaded by

arianna.conover
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 1: Functions and Models Transformations of Functions

Book Title: Calculus: Early Transcendentals


Printed By: Arianna Conover ([email protected])
© 2018 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

Transformations of Functions

By applying certain transformations to the graph of a given function we can obtain the
graphs of related functions. This will give us the ability to sketch the graphs of many
functions quickly by hand. It will also enable us to write equations for given graphs.

Let’s first consider translations. If is a positive number, then the graph of is


just the graph of shifted upward a distance of units (because each -coordinate
is increased by the same number ). Likewise, if , where , then the
value of at is the same as the value of at ( units to the left of ). Therefore the
graph of is just the graph of shifted units to the right (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

Translating the graph of

Vertical and Horizontal Shifts

Suppose . To obtain the graph of


Now let’s consider the stretching and reflecting transformations. If , then the graph of
is the graph of stretched by a factor of in the vertical direction
(because each -coordinate is multiplied by the same number ). The graph of is
the graph of reflected about the -axis because the point is replaced by the
point . (See Figure 2 and the following chart, where the results of other stretching,
shrinking, and reflecting transformations are also given.)

Figure 2

Stretching and reflecting the graph of

Vertical and Horizontal Stretching and Reflecting

Suppose . To obtain the graph of

Figure 3 illustrates these stretching transformations when applied to the cosine function with
. For instance, in order to get the graph of we multiply the -coordinate of
each point on the graph of by . This means that the graph of gets
stretched vertically by a factor of .
Figure 3

Example 1

Given the graph of , use transformations to graph , ,


, , and .

Solution The graph of the square root function , obtained from Figure
1.2.13(a), is shown in Figure 4(a). In the other parts of the figure we sketch
by shifting units downward, by shifting units to the right,
by reflecting about the -axis, by stretching vertically by a factor
of , and by reflecting about the -axis.

Figure 4

Example 2

Sketch the graph of the function .

Solution Completing the square, we write the equation of the graph as

This means we obtain the desired graph by starting with the parabola and
shifting units to the left and then unit upward (see Figure 5).

Figure 5
Example 3

Sketch the graphs of the following functions.

(a)

(b)

Solution

(a) We obtain the graph of from that of by compressing


horizontally by a factor of . (See Figures 6 and 7.) Thus, whereas the
period of is , the period of is .

Figure 6

Figure 7

(b) To obtain the graph of , we again start with . We


reflect about the -axis to get the graph of and then we shift
unit upward to get . (See Figure 8.)

Figure 8

Example 4

Figure 9 shows graphs of the number of hours of daylight as functions of the time of
the year at several latitudes. Given that Philadelphia is located at approximately
latitude, find a function that models the length of daylight at Philadelphia.

Figure 9

Graph of the length of daylight from March 21 through December 21 at


various latitudes

Source: Adapted from L. Harrison, Daylight, Twilight, Darkness and Time (New York: Silver, Burdett,
1935), 40.

Solution Notice that each curve resembles a shifted and stretched sine function. By
looking at the blue curve we see that, at the latitude of Philadelphia, daylight lasts
about hours on June 21 and hours on December 21, so the amplitude of the
curve (the factor by which we have to stretch the sine curve vertically) is
.
By what factor do we need to stretch the sine curve horizontally if we measure the
time in days? Because there are about days in a year, the period of our model
should be . But the period of is , so the horizontal stretching factor is
.

We also notice that the curve begins its cycle on March 21, the th day of the year,
so we have to shift the curve units to the right. In addition, we shift it units
upward. Therefore we model the length of daylight in Philadelphia on the th day of
the year by the function

Another transformation of some interest is taking the absolute value of a function. If


, then according to the definition of absolute value, when and
when . This tells us how to get the graph of from the graph
of : The part of the graph that lies above the -axis remains the same; the part that
lies below the -axis is reflected about the -axis.

Example 5

Sketch the graph of the function .

Solution We first graph the parabola in Figure 10(a) by shifting the


parabola downward unit. We see that the graph lies below the -axis when
, so we reflect that part of the graph about the -axis to obtain the graph
of in Figure 10(b).

Figure 10
Chapter 1: Functions and Models Transformations of Functions
Book Title: Calculus: Early Transcendentals
Printed By: Arianna Conover ([email protected])
© 2018 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

© 2025 Cengage Learning Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may by reproduced or used in any form or by any means -
graphic, electronic, or mechanical, or in any other manner - without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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