Trigonometry : Graphing Sine and Cosine

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Trigonometry

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Graphing Sine And Cosine

The function shown below has an amplitude of ___________ and a period of _________.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The amplitude is always a positive number and is given by the number in front of the trigonometric function.  In this case, the amplitude is 4.  The period is given by , where b is the number in front of x.  In this case, the period is .

Example Question #1 : Graphing Sine And Cosine

This is the graph of what function?

Screen_shot_2014-02-15_at_6.42.25_pm

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The amplitude of the sine function is increased by 3, so this is the coefficient for . The +2 shows that the origin of the function is now at  instead of

Example Question #3 : Graphing Sine And Cosine

Which of the following graphs does not have a -intercept at

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The y-intercept is the value of y when .

Recall that cosine is the  value of the unit circle. Thus, , so it works.

Secant is the reciprocal of cosine, so it also works.

Also recall that . Thus, the only answer which is not equivalent is

Example Question #2 : Graphing Sine And Cosine

Which graph correctly illustrates the given equation?

Possible Answers:

Screenshot__3_

Screenshot__6_

Screenshot__4_

Screenshot__5_

Screenshot__2_

Correct answer:

Screenshot__2_

Explanation:

The simplest way to solve a problem like this is to determine where a particular point on the graph would lie and then compare that to our answer choices. We should first find the y-value when the x-value is equal to zero. We will start by substituting zero in for the x-variable in our equation. 

Now that we have calculated the y-value we know that the correct graph must have the following point:

Unfortunately, two of our graph choices include this point; thus, we need to pick a second point.

Let's find the y-value when the x-variable equals the following:

 

We will begin by substituting this into our original equation.

Now we need to investigate the two remaining choices for the following point:

 

Unfortunately, both of our remaining graphs have this point as well; therefore, we need to pick another x-value. Suppose the x-variable equals the following:

 

Now, we must substitute this value into our given equation.

Now, we can look for the graph with the following point: 

We have narrowed in on our final answer; thus, the following graph is correct:

Screenshot__2_

Example Question #3 : Graphing Sine And Cosine

Let  be a function defined as follows:

.

 

The 3 in the function above affects what attribute of the graph of ?

Possible Answers:

Period

Amplitude

Phase shift

Vertical shift

Correct answer:

Vertical shift

Explanation:

The period of the function is indicated by the coefficient in front of ; here the period is unchanged.

The amplitude of the function is given by the coefficient in front of the ; here the amplitude is 2.

The phase shift is given by the value being added or subtracted inside the function; here the shift is  units to the right.

The only unexamined attribute of the graph is the vertical shift, so 3 is the vertical shift of the graph.

Example Question #4 : Graphing Sine And Cosine

Screen_shot_2015-03-07_at_2.53.10_pm

What is an equation for the above function, enlarged below?

Screen shot 2015 03 07 at 2.53.10 pm

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The amplitude of a sinusoidal function is  unless amplified by a constant in front of the equation. In this case, the amplitude is , so the front constant is .

The graph moves through the origin, so it is either a sine or a shifted cosine graph.

It repeats once in every , as opposed to the usual , so the period is doubled, the constant next to the variable is .

The only answer in which both the correct amplitude and period is found is:

 

Example Question #1 : Graphing Sine And Cosine

What is the domain of the sine function? What is the domain of the cosine function?

Possible Answers:

Domain of sine: all real numbers

Domain of cosine: 

Domain of sine: 

Domain of cosine: all real numbers

Domain of sine: all real numbers

Domain of cosine: all real numbers

Domain of sine: 

Domain of cosine: 

Correct answer:

Domain of sine: all real numbers

Domain of cosine: all real numbers

Explanation:

Both sine and cosine functions go on infinitely to the left and right when viewed on a graph. For this reason, each of these functions has domains of "all real numbers."

Alternatively, each of these functions ranges between -1 and 1 in the y direction. The incorrect answers all include , which is the range of both the sine and the cosine functions.

Example Question #69 : Trigonometric Functions And Graphs

Which of the following would correctly translate the function  into ?

Possible Answers:

Shift  1 unit down

Shift  to the left  units

Shift  1 unit up

Shift  to the left  units

Shift  to the right  units

Correct answer:

Shift  to the left  units

Explanation:

The graph of  is shown in red below, and the graph of  is shown in blue below. Because the function is periodic, there are infinitely many transformations that could allow  to translate into , but there is only one answer choice below that is correct, and that is "shift  to the left  units." Per the graph, shifting  to the right  units would also be correct, but that is not an available answer choice.

Screen shot 2020 08 09 at 12.58.14 pm

Example Question #5 : Graphing Sine And Cosine

Which of the following graphs represents the function ?

Possible Answers:

Neg2cosx 1

Neg2cosx 4

2cosx 1

Negcosx 3

Correct answer:

Neg2cosx 1

Explanation:

The graph of  is:

Neg2cosx 1

This graph goes through three transformations. First, take the graph of , in blue below, and flip it over the x-axis. We do this because of the negative sign in front of the cosine function. You can see the resulting graph in green below. Next, we want to stretch the graph by a factor of 2, since our amplitude is 2 (we get this from the coefficient in front of the cosine function). You can see the resulting graph in purple, below. 

Screen shot 2020 08 09 at 1.10.27 pm

Finally, we need to shift the graph up 1 unit. This is represented by the black graph, below. 

Screen shot 2020 08 09 at 1.12.45 pm

 

The incorrect answers display the graphs of the functions , and .

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