Name ____________________________________________________

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Geogebra and Shifting Functions

How to get to the Geogebra applet 1. Go to a web browser. 2. Type in www.geogebra.org or search for Geogebra in a search engine. 3. Click the Download button. 4. Click the Webstart or Applet Start button. Purpose Today we are going to be examining function shifts and we will learn what happens when you change a function by adding or subtracting values in strategic locations. To formulate hypothesis, we are going to be using variations of the function f(x) = x2. Introductory Steps 1. When you first get into Geogebra, feel free to play around and see what various buttons do. In particular, notice the list of created objects on the left, and the input bar on the bottom. Some shortcuts include: a. The mouse wheel zooms in and out, although the feel is backwards for me. b. Shift + left-click or ctrl + left-click drags the entire work-space around. c. You can click on the dot next to created objects on the left-panel to hide them. d. Right-click and making a box zooms the window into the box. e. Undo and redo buttons are located at the top-right. Ctrl-Z and Ctrl-Y also undo and redo respectively. 2. When you have gotten familiar with the controls, type f(x) = x^2 into the input box in the bottom. 3. Notice what happens to the function on the top left as you move the parabola around. Try moving the parabola to achieve a specific function. Shifting Functions Part 1 1. We are next going to use sliders to manipulate functions. The slider button is second from the right at the top. Click on it and then click in open space somewhere in the graph area. Click apply when a box appears. 2. You should now have a line with a point and an a=1 over it. Try moving the point to see what happens. Repeat step 1 so that you should have two lines, the second one have b=1 over it. 3. Now in the Input box at the bottom, type the following: f(x) = (x+a)^2+b. 4. Now try moving the sliders. Notice again what happens to the function in the window to the left. Shifting Functions Part 1 Questions 1. Explain what happens to the graph of the function when you increase your a value.

2. Explain what happens to the graph of the function when you decrease your a value.

Name ____________________________________________________

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3. Explain what happens to the graph of the function when you increase your b value.

4. Explain what happens to the graph of the function when you decrease your b value.

Shifting Functions Part 2 1. We are now going to create a square root function with sliders similar to the quadratic function in Part 1. You may want to hide the quadratic function by clicking on the button to the left of the equation. 2. In the Input box at the bottom, type in g(x) = sqrt(x+a)+b. Shifting Functions Part 2 Questions 1. Explain what happens to the graph of the function when you increase your a value.

2. Explain what happens to the graph of the function when you decrease your a value.

3. Explain what happens to the graph of the function when you increase your b value.

4. Explain what happens to the graph of the function when you decrease your b value.

5. Describe the location of the variables a and b in the functions f(x) = (x+a)^2+b and g(x) = sqrt(x+a)+b, and what is special about the location that causes it to move as you described.

Name ____________________________________________________

Date _________

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Shifting Functions Part 3 In this part of the activity, you are going to slide the function f(x)=(x+a)^2+b around until its vertex (the bottom of the parabola) is at specific points. After a few attempts, you should be able to predict what values a and b will take so that you dont have to hunt for the vertex. For the first few points, you may want to create a point at the vertex so that you can see where you want the bottom of the parabola to intersect. You can do this by clicking on the point button (second button from the left at the top). If you miss the vertex, or simply want to change the last point to the next vertex, just double-click the coordinates of the point in the Objects box to the left, and you can type in the new coordinates. You can also create a point by typing into the Input box P = (2, 1), but make sure you use a capital letter for P (or another letter) because that defines it as a point. Vertex a Value b Value f(x) =

(2, 1) (3, 2) (4, -1) (-2, 3) (-3, -4) (0, 2.5)

What relationship do you notice between the vertex and the two values: a and b?

Shifting Functions Part 4 In this part of the activity, you are going to create your own shifting function that acts just as above, but you are going to apply it to one of the functions below. For each of the functions below, write down where you would insert the slider values a and b. Then test this by graphing it in Geogebra. Make sure that the behavior of the graph, when you move the sliders, behaves exactly as your answers of #1-4 for Part 1 say that your first graph did. It is okay if you do not know what the function looks like, just type it in as you see it and Geogebra will show you the function.

Name ____________________________________________________ Function with a and b inserted

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Generic Function

Domain & Range

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