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 example) then the graph
3

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:

GRAPH A

GRAPH B

In graph A, the red graph is the parent function y = (x-2) and the blue graph is the
modified function y = 2(x-2). So there is a vertical stretch of 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 solve for y like this:
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

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.
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 just
multiplying each y value by a, but since
a is negative here, you reflect each
point over the x axis.
GRAPH C

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 example) then the graph
3

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 D

GRAPH E

In graph E, the red graph is the same parent function 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
x=5
x one, the graph shrinks.
So you can tell that since the new x value is the old
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,
but since b is negative here, you reflect
each point over the y axis.

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 F

GRAPH G

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 at x = 2

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 H

GRAPH I

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

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
(, ).
In graph L, the function is
Y=

2 +34

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
(, 4) (4, 1) (1, )
GRAPH L

VI.

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

GRAPH J

GRAPH K

The range of Graph J is (- , ) since there are negative values for y and positive
values.
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 = x 2 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
Y=

2 +34

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.