Graph of Trigonometric Functions (Tangent and Cotangent)

III. Graph of Tangent

A. Graphing a Function in the Form of Procedure 1. Find the consecutive asymptotes by finding an interval containing one period:

A pair of consecutive asymptotes occur at

2. Identify an

, midway between the consecutive asymptotes.

3. Find the points on the graph and of the way between the consecutive asymptotes. These points have of and , respecrtively.

4. Use steps 1-3 to graph one full period of the function. 5. Add additional cycles to the left or right as needed. Example 1. Graph Solution 1. The period is . It is only necessary to graph over an interval of length . The remainder of the graph consists of repetitions of that graph of intervals of 2. The tangent function is an odd function: with respect to the origin. 3. The tangent function is undefined at . The graph of asymptote at . . The graph is symmetric

has a vertical

We obtain the graph of using some points on the graph and origin symmetry. The table below will give us the lists of some values of on the graph of on the interval .

Values of

on the graph

As

increases from

to ,

increases slowly at first, then more and more rapidly.

The graph below is based on our observation that as increases from , increases slowly at first, then more and more rapidly. Notice that without bound as approaches As the figure shows, the graph of has a vertical asymptote at .

The graph of can be completed on the interval by using origin symmetry. Figure below shows the result of reflecting the graph in the figure about the origin. The graph of has another vertical asymptote at . Notice that decreases without bound as approaches .

Because the period of the tangent function is , the graph in the Figure below shows one complete period of . We obtain the complete graph of by repeating the graph to the left and right over intervals of The resulting graph and its main characteristics are shown in the figure below.

Note: The red color is the vertical asymptotes and the blue color is the graph of .

Example 2. Graph Solution 1. Find the consecutive asymptotes. We do this by finding an interval containing one period.
Set up the inequality

variable .

expression in tangent

Multiply all parts by 2 and solve for x.

An interval containing one period is and . 2. Identify an between through .

. Thus, two consecutive asymptotes occur at

and

, midway between the consecutive asymptotes. Midway is . An is and the graph passes

3. Find points on the graph and of the way between the consecutive asymptotes. These points have of . Because , the coefficient of the tangent in is 2, these points have of -2 and 2. The graph passes .

4. Use steps 1-3 to graph one full period of the function. We use the two consecutive asymptotes and asymptotes with of -2 and 2. We graph one period of from to . In order to graph for , we continue the patter and extend the graph another full period to the right. The graph is shown below.

Note: The red color is the vertical asymptotes and the red color is the graph of .

B. Graphing a Function in the Form of Procedure 1. Find the consecutive asymptotes by finding an interval containing one period:

A pair of consecutive asymptotes occur at

2. Identify an

, midway between the consecutive asymptotes.

3. Find the points on the graph and of the way between the consecutive asymptotes. These points have of and , respecrtively.

4. Use steps 1-3 to graph one full period of the function. 5. Add additional cycles to the left or right as needed. Example 1. Graph Solution The graph of is the graph of units. Refer to the figure below. shifted horizontally to the left .

1. Find two consecutive asymptotes. We do this in finding an interval containing one period.
Set up the inequality

variable expression in tangent

Subtract from all parts and solve . Simplify:

and

An interval containing one period is at 2. Identify an .

. Thus, two consecutive asymptotes occur

, midway between the consecutive asymptotes.

An

is

and the graph passes through

3. Find points on the graph and of the way between the consecutive asymptotes. These points have of . Because , the coefficient of the tangent in is 1, these points have of . They are shown on the below graph. 4. Use steps 1-3 to graph one full period of the function. We use the two consecutive asymptotes, , to graph one full period of from The graph can be extended to the right and left.

Note: The red color is the vertical asymptotes and the blue color is the graph of .

C. Graphing a Function in the Form of Procedure In graphing , graph . by finding an interval

1. Find the consecutive asymptotes of graph containing one period:

A pair of consecutive asymptotes occur at

2. Identify an asymptotes.

of

, midway between the consecutive

3. Find the points on the graph consecutive asymptotes. These points have respecrtively. 4. Identify the vertical shift of Note: If is positive, the graph upward. If is negative, the graph units downward. .

, and of the way between the of and ,

will shift units will shift

5. Use steps 1-4 to graph one full period of the function. 6. Add additional cycles to the left or right as needed.

Example 1. Graph Solution To graph , graph

1. Find two consecutive asymptotes. We do this in finding an interval containing one period.

Set up the inequality

variable expression in tangent

Subtract from all parts and solve . Simplify:

and

An interval containing one period is at 2. Identify an .

. Thus, two consecutive asymptotes occur

, midway between the consecutive asymptotes.

An

is

and the graph passes through

3. Find points on the graph and of the way between the consecutive asymptotes. These points have of . Because , the coefficient of the tangent in is 1, these points have of . They are shown on the below graph. 4. Use steps 1-3 to graph one full period of the function. We use the two consecutive asymptotes, , to graph one full period of from The graph can be extended to the right and left. 5. To graph downward given that are below. , move each point (coordinate) of graph is . The graphs of

Note: The green color is the vertical asymptotes, the blue color is the graph of and the red color is the graph of .

IV. Graph of Cotangent

A. Graphing a Function in the Form of Procedure 1. Find the consecutive asymptotes by finding an interval containing one period:

A pair of consecutive asymptotes occur at

2. Identify an

, midway between the consecutive asymptotes.

3. Find the points on the graph and of the way between the consecutive asymptotes. These points have of and , respecrtively.

4. Use steps 1-3 to graph one full period of the function. 5. Add additional cycles to the left or right as needed.

Example 1. Graph Solution

1. Find the two consecutive asymptotes. We do this by finding an interval containing one period.
Set up the inequalities

variable expression in cotangent

Divide all parts by 2 and solve for .

An interval containing one period is . 2. Identify an between

. Thus two consecutive asymptotes occur at

, midway between the consecutive asymptotes. Midway is and the graph passes through .

3. Find points on the graph of the way between consecutive asymptotes. These points have of . Because , the coefficient of the cotangent in is , these points have of . They are shown on the graph below. 4. Use step 1-3 to graph one full period of the function. We use the two consecutive asymptotes, , to graph one full period This curve is repeated to the left and right, as shown on the graph below.

Note: The red color is the vertical asymptote and the blue color is the graph of .

B. Graphing a Function in the Form of Procedure 1. Find the consecutive asymptotes by finding an interval containing one period:

A pair of consecutive asymptotes occur at

2. Identify an

, midway between the consecutive asymptotes.

3. Find the points on the graph and of the way between the consecutive asymptotes. These points have of and , respecrtively.

4. Use steps 1-3 to graph one full period of the function. 5. Add additional cycles to the left or right as needed. Example 1. Graph Solution 1. Find the consecutive asymptotes by finding an interval containing one period: .

A pair of consecutive asymptotes occur at

An interval containing one period is and 2. Identify an .

. Thus, two consecutive asymptotes occur at

, midway between the consecutive asymptotes.

So, an

is

and the graph passes through

3. Find the points on the graph and of the way between the consecutive asymptotes. These points have of and , respecrtively. These points have of . Because , the coefficient of the cotangent in , these points have . They are shown in the graph below. 4. Use steps 1-3 to graph one full period of the function. 5. Add additional cycles to the left or right as needed. The graph of shown below. is

Note: The green color is the vertical asymptotes and the red color is the graph of

C. Graphing a Function in the Form of Procedure In graphing , graph . by finding an interval

1. Find the consecutive asymptotes of containing one period:

A pair of consecutive asymptotes occur at

2. Identify an asymptotes.

of

, midway between the consecutive

3. Find the points on the graph consecutive asymptotes. These points have respecrtively. 4. Identify the vertical shift of .

, and of the way between the of and ,

Note: If is positive, the graph of upward. If is negative, the graph of units downward. 5. Use steps 1-4 to graph one full period of the function. 6. Add additional cycles to the left or right as needed. Example 1. Graph Solution To graph To graph upward given that are below. , graph . .

will shift units will shift

is

, move each point (coordinate) of graph . The graphs of

Note: The green color is the vertical asymptotes, the blue color is the graph of and the red color is the graph of .
Prepared by: Aldren B. Narzoles Twitter Account:@ aldrennarzoles Facebook Account: aldebaran_solei@yahoo.com Yahoo Account: aldren_narzoles@yahoo.com Blogger Account: lpuelearning.blogspot.com