Exploring Families of Functions Notes + Study Guide

General rules for transforming functions:

You can typically write functions as
a(bx h) + k
Where a, b, h, and k are constants.
I.

a represents the constant responsible for a vertical stretch or

compression.
If |a| 1 (if a is not a fraction thats less than 1) then the graph will
be vertically stretched.
2 7

If |a| 1 (if a is a fraction thats less than 1 like

for
3 8
example) then the graph will be vertically compressed.
In both cases, the y coordinates are multiplied by a, but when the
graph is vertically stretched it gets bigger in the y direction. When the
graph is vertically compressed it gets smaller in the y direction. You
can tell this from the names stretched and compressed too, but
here are some sample graphs to show you what changing the value of
a can do:

In
is

GRAPH
A

graph A, the red graph is

function y = (x-2) and the
the modified function y =
there is a vertical stretch of

GRAPH
B

the parent
blue graph
2(x-2). So
2. You can

see this because for the same x coordinate, the y value of the blue line
is twice that of the red line. Take x = 10 for example. The y coordinate
for the red line is 8, but the
y coordinate for the blue line is 16 which = 2 x 8. So vertically
stretching the graph by 2 means all of the y coordinates get multiplied
by 2.
In graph B, the red graph is still the parent function y = (x-2) but the
blue graph is the modified function y = 0.5(x-2). So there is a vertical
compression by 0.5 since |0.5| 1. Thus each y coordinate is
multiplied by 0.5 and gets smaller. Take x = 10 as your sample point
again. In the red graph, the y coordinate is 8 but in the blue graph the
y coordinate is 4 which equals 0.5 x 8.
If you get a question like this on a test and arent sure whether to
shrink or compress the function, you can always pick a value for x and
FOR PARENT FUNCTION
y = (x - 2)
y = (10 2)
y=8

FOR MODIFIED
FUNCTION
y = 2(x - 2)
y = 2(10 2)
y = 20 4
y = 16

solve for y like this:

So since the new y value is 2 x the old one, the function is
stretched vertically.
If a is negative, then the graph is reflected over the x axis. This is
because the y coordinate changes to its opposite sign when it is
multiplied by a negative. So if you had a point (x, y), reflecting it over
the x axis makes the new point (x, -y). We can see this by graphing as
well.

GRAPH
C

In graph C, the red graph is the

same parent function y = (x-2) but
the blue graph is the modified
function
y = -(x-2). a in this case is -1. So
you can see that each y
coordinate in the red graph is just
the negative value for the blue
graph. Take a sample point again,
x = 10 for example. In the red
graph, you have the point (10, 8)
so the y coordinate = 8. In the
blue graph however, you have the
point (10, -8) so the y coordinate
is -8. In other words, each red y
coordinate is simply multiplied by
a (-1 in this case) to get the
blue y coordinate. So youre still

II.

b represents the constant responsible for a horizontal stretch or

compression.
If |b| 1 (if b is not a fraction thats less than 1) then the graph will
be horizontally compressed.
2 7

If |b| 1 (if b is a fraction thats less than 1 like

for
3 8
example) then the graph will be horizontally stretched.
This is more or less the opposite of what happens when |a| is greater
than or less than 1. (If |a| 1, the graph is vertically stretched, but if
|b| 1, the graph is horizontally compressed.)
In both horizontal stretches and compressions, the new x coordinates
are just the old ones multiplied by the reciprocal of b. When the
graph is horizontally stretched it gets bigger in the x direction.
When the graph is horizontally compressed it gets smaller in the x
direction.
Again, here are some graphs to show you what changing the value of
b does

GRAPH
GRAPH
In graph
E,
the
red
graph
is
the
same
parent
function
D
E y = (x - 2) and
the blue graph is the modified function y = (2x 2). So there is a
horizontal compression by 2 in the blue graph. This means that the x
values in the blue graph are the x values in the red graph for the
same y value. Thus the new x coordinates are the old ones multiplied
by the RECIPROCAL of 2, which is . Take the sample point, y = 8. In
the red graph, if you find y = 8 and look at the x value, you can see the
point is (10, 8) so the x coordinate is 10. Do the same for the blue
graph. At y = 8, x = 5, which equals 0.5 x 10 or the x value from the
red graph. So the graph shrinks horizontally. If you get a question like
this on a test and arent sure whether to shrink or compress the
function, you can always pick a value for y and solve for x like this.
FOR MODIFIED
FUNCTION
y = (2x - 2)
8 = (2x 2)
2x = 8 + 2
2x = 10
So you can tell that since the new x value is the old one, the
graph shrinks.
FOR PARENT FUNCTION
y = (x - 2)
8 = (x 2)
x=8+2
x = 10

In graph B, the red graph is still the parent function y = (x-2) but the
blue graph is the modified function y = (0.5x-2). So there is a
horizontal stretch since |0.5| 1. Thus each x coordinate is

multiplied by 2 (multiplied by the reciprocal of ) and gets bigger. Take

y = 8 as your sample point again. In the red graph, the x coordinate is
10 but in the blue graph the x coordinate is 20, which equals 2 x 10.
If b is negative, the graph is reflected over the y axis. This is
because its x coordinate changes to a negative when it is multiplied by
its opposite sign, and in order to do this, the points are reflected over
the y axis. We can see this by graphing as well.
In graph C, the red graph is the
same parent function y = (x-2) but
the blue graph is the modified
function
y = (-x-2). b in this case is -1. So
you can see that each x
coordinate in the red graph is just
the negative value for the blue
graph. Take a sample point again,
y = 2 for example. In the red
graph, you have the point (4, 2) so
the y coordinate = 4. In the blue
graph however, you have the
point (-4, 2) so the x coordinate is
-4. In other words, each red x
coordinate is simply multiplied by
b (-1 in this case) to get the
blue x coordinate. So youre
multiplying each x value by b,

III.

h is the constant responsible for a horizontal phase shift (for

moving the function left or right).
(x h) moves the parent function y = x h units right.
(x + h) moves the parent function y = x h units left.
While this might seem counterintuitive, we can prove this by graphing.
Here are some examples of how adding or subtracting a constant h

changes
a function:
GRAPH
GRAPH
G
F
In graph F, the red graph is the parent function y = x and the blue
graph is the modified function y = (x 2). You can see that the blue
graph is the same as the red one except that is it moved 2 units to the
right.
In graph G, the red graph is the parent function y = x and the blue
graph is the modified function y = (x + 2). You can see that the blue
graph is the same as the red one except that is it moved 2 units to the
left.
If you get a question like this on a test and arent sure if the function
moves to the right or left, you can find a value of y that is in both
graphs and try to find the x values for them like this:
FOR PARENT FUNCTION
y = (x)
First pick a y value on the graph
I chose y = 0.
0=x
So the graph intercepts the y axis
at x = 0

FOR MODIFIED FUNCTION

y = (x - 2)
Pick the same y value you chose
for the other one. In this case, its
still y = 0
0 = (x 2)
X=2
So the graph intercepts the y axis

Since x = 2 is two units to the right from x = 0, the function

moves 2 to the right

IV.

k is the constant responsible for a vertical phase shift (for moving

the function up or down).
x - k moves the parent function y = x k units down.
x + k moves the parent function y = x k units up.
We can prove this by graphing. Here are some examples of how adding
or subtracting a constant k changes a function:

GRAPH
GRAPH I
H
In graph H, the red graph is the parent function y = (2x +1)2 and the
blue graph is the modified function y = (2x + 1)2 3. So you can see
that the blue function is the same as the red one but is shifted 3 units
down.
In graph I, the red graph is the parent function y = (2x +1)2 and the
blue graph is the modified function y = (2x + 1)2 + 3. The blue function
is the same as the red one but is shifted 3 units up.
The key difference between the constants h and k is that h is
applied only to x whereas k is applied to the whole function (h is
inside of the parentheses containing x and k is outside.)
So the function (2x + 1)2 3 has a horizontal phase shift 1 unit to
the left and a vertical phase shift 3 units down.

V.

Domain:
Domain is basically all of the x values that a function can be defined
for (all of the x values a function can have). Here are some examples of

graphs and their domains.

GRAPH
K

Graph J is the function y = x. If we were to make the window of the graph

huge,
(-10,000,000 to 10,000,000), for example, we would see that the graph still
continues in both directions. Thus, since the x values can extend from
to , the domain of the function is ( , ).
Graph K is the function y = x2. You can plug in any number for x so the
domain is still
( , ).

GRAPH J

In graph L, the function is

x
Y=
2
x +3 x4
We can factor the denominator
into
(x +4)(x 1) which means that x
cannot equal -4 or 1. Because of
this, there are vertical
asymptotes at -4, and 1 as
shown by the dotted green lines.
Thus, there are no defined
values for x at -4 and 1.
The domain is (

VI.

Range:
Range is basically all of the y values that a function can be defined for
GRAPH
(all of the
y values a function can have). The same examples of graphs
L
and their domains can be used to find their ranges:

GRAPH
K
The range of Graph J is (- , ) since there are negative values for y
and positive values.

GRAPH J

The range of Graph K is (0, ) because there are no y values below

0 and there cant be any below 0. If you try plugging any negative x
into the function y = x2 you will get a positive number for y. Thus, there
cannot be any negative values and the range begins at 0.
In graph L, the function is
x
Y=
2
x +3 x4
The range is ( ,
Because there are y values that
stretch in both directions.
GRAPH
L

VII.

CHEAT SHEET:
For transformations of functions that follow the format a(bx
h) +k:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

If |a| 1, function is vertically stretched

If |a| 1, function is vertically compressed
If |b| | 1, function is horizontally compressed
If |b| 1, function is horizontally stretched
If h is +
(x (+h)) = (x h)
function moves to the right
6. If h is
(x (-h)) = (x + h)
Function moves to the left
7. If k is + function moves up
8. If k is function moves down
Domain and Range:
1. For even powered functions, domain = ( ,
* Range = (0, ) UNLESS THERE IS A VERTICAL PHASE SHIFT
2. For odd powered functions, domain = ( ,
Range = ( ,
3. For absolute value functions, domain = ( ,
* Range = ( 0 , UNLESS THERE IS A VERTICAL PHASE SHIFT
* IF there is a vertical phase shift, the 0 will be replaced with the minimum y
value the function can have.