1.

Scaling and Shifting 1-D Functions

William T. Rhodes
11Jan08
We will frequently work with scaled and shifted versions of various functions. Consider the
function
1, 1 0
( ) 1, 0 2
0, otherwise
t t
f t t
+ <

<
'

and three shifted-scaled versions given y

1
( ) !
2
t
g t f
_

,
1
( ) 1
2
h t f t
_
+

,
2
( )
!
x
q t f
+ _

,
"f you understand the #rocedures that take you fro$
( ) f t
to
( ) g t
,
( ) h t
, and
( ) q t
, you are
#re#ared to handle $ost any scaling-shifting o#eration.
%he functions
( ) f t
and
( ) g t
are sketched in &ig. 1 so as to show their relationshi# to one
another. 'ote that the total width of the function has een increased y a factor of 2 and what
egan at the origin for
( ) f t
, i.e., the #eak of the triangular section of the function, ends u# 1 unit
to the right. %he associated #rocedure can e a##lied to the $ore general function [ ] ( ) ( cf t b a
,
where the scaling-shifting o#erations consist of (a) stretching the function y the factor a,
shifting the resulting scaled function in the #ositive-t direction y the a$ount b, and then scaling
the a$#litude y the factor c. %hus to otain [ ] ! ( 1) ( 2 f t
, you first stretch
( ) f t
y a factor of
2, then shift the resulting stretched function right y 1 unit, and finally scale the a$#litude y the
factor !. )ractice with the function [ ] 2 ( 2) ( ! f t
.
&ig. 1 *hows
( ) f t
and its scaled-shifted version [ ] ! ( 1) ( 2 f t
. %he arrows suggest the
o#erations (scale, shift, a$#lify) associated with the three res#ective #ara$eters 1, 2, and !.
" will refer a scaled-shifted version of
( ) f t
written in the for$
t b
cf
a
_

,
as eing in standard scaled-shifted for$. "n $ost cases the value of the scaling #ara$eter a will
e #ositive (if not, see the note elow on reflecting
( ) f t
through the origin). +alues of 1 a >
result in a stretching, i.e., the function gets longer along the t-a,is. "f 0 1 a < < , the scaling
o#eration results in a co$#ressed, or squee-ed version of
( ) f t
.
%he function
( ) h t
is not in standard scaled-shifted for$, ut it can e rewritten to e so.
1 2
( ) 1
2 2
t
h t f t f
+ _ _
+

, ,
.
&ollowing the #rocedure taken for
( ) g t
, we can easily sketch
( ) h t
, as shown in the &ig. 2(a).
'ote that the / sign efore the 2 in the standard-for$ nu$erator $eans that what lies at the
origin for the starting function
( ) f t
$ust now e $oved 2 units to the left, i.e., minus 2 units in
the #ositive-t direction. 0s a check on the reasoning, set t equal to 2 and note that you $ust e
looking at
(0) f
.
&ig. 2 *hows two scaled and shifted versions of
( ) f t
,
( ) h t
and
( ) q t
. 'ote that the $inus sign in
the latter leads to a reflection of the starting function.
1ealing with the $inus sign in the scaled-shifted function
( ) q t
requires only slightly
$ore effort. 2y a##roach is to first define the reflected version of
( ) f t
, illustrated in &ig. 2()
and given y
( ) ( )
ref
f t f t @
,
and then write
( ) q t
in the for$
2 2
( )
! !
ref
t t
q t f f
+ _ _


, ,
.
3nowing the sha#e of
( )
ref
f t
(you should sketch this function for #ractice), you can then easily
sketch
( ) q t
following the earlier #rocedures, the result eing shown in &ig. 2(c).
%he following co$$ents relate to what we have discussed.
1. 0ny stretching or co$#ression of a function is #erfor$ed about the origin. %hink in
ter$s of a ruer sheet containing a #icture of
( ) f t
which you then stretch y, e.g., a
factor of 2.
2. When working with standard-for$ scaled-shifted versions of
( ) f t
, it is i$#ortant that
you #erfor$ the scaling and shifting o#erations in the correct order, for the two
o#erations do not co$$ute (i.e., you cannot in general reverse the order in which they are
#erfor$ed and otain the sa$e result). +erify this fact for yourself y taking
! ( ) f t
,
shifting it right y 1 unit, and then stretching the result y a factor of 2 ( re$e$ering to
stretch aout the origin, not aout any other #oint on the function). "f you #erfor$ the
o#erations as stated, you will not get the result otained aove for
( ) g t
.