Unit 1A

Precalculus

Lesson 4: Transformations

Skill Builder

You may have heard terms such as transformation, translation, shift, reflection, and stretch before, in various contexts. However, you may not be familiar with the meanings of these terms in a mathematical sense.

When you think of transformation, perhaps you think of the Incredible Hulk who transforms when provoked or Optimus Prime who transforms from a truck.

Mathematically speaking, that is not quite what transformation means.

Transformation in the mathematical sense means to change the graph of a relation so that it is shifted to a new position and/or has been altered in size and/or shape.

For example, consider the parabolic graph of a second degree polynomial function. The bowl-shaped graph can be transformed to sit in a different spot, it can be made wider or more narrow, or it can be flipped. All of these changes of position or shape are called transformations.

When you think of a translation, you may think of words expressed in one language as being changed into another language.

In math, a translation means to shift the graph of a relation to a new position without changing the size or shape of the graph. A slide, or shift, of the graph results in a new position, but the shape is congruent to the original graph.

Vertical and Horizontal Translations

If a function is written in the form «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»y«/mi»«mo»=«/mo»«mi»f«/mi»«mfenced»«mrow»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»§#8722;«/mo»«mi»h«/mi»«/mrow»«/mfenced»«mo»+«/mo»«mi»k«/mi»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math», a vertical translation will occur when the value of «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»k«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» is changed, and a horizontal translation will occur when the value of «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»h«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» is changed.

A vertical translation of «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»k«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» units has occurred when the graph of «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»y«/mi»«mo»=«/mo»«mi»f«/mi»«mfenced»«mi»x«/mi»«/mfenced»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math» is transformed to «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»y«/mi»«mo»§#8722;«/mo»«mi»k«/mi»«mo»=«/mo»«mi»f«/mi»«mfenced»«mi»x«/mi»«/mfenced»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math» or «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»y«/mi»«mo»=«/mo»«mi»f«/mi»«mfenced»«mi»x«/mi»«/mfenced»«mo»+«/mo»«mi»k«/mi»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math». If «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»k«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» is positive, the shift is up «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»k«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» units, and if «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»k«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» is negative, the shift is down «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»k«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» units.

A horizontal translation of «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»h«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» units has occurred when the graph of «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»y«/mi»«mo»=«/mo»«mi»f«/mi»«mfenced»«mi»x«/mi»«/mfenced»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math» is transformed to «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mrow»«mi»y«/mi»«mo»=«/mo»«mi»f«/mi»«mfenced»«mrow»«mi»x«/mi»«mo»§#8722;«/mo»«mi»h«/mi»«/mrow»«/mfenced»«/mrow»«/mstyle»«/math». If «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»h«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» is positive, the shift is right «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»h«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» units, and if «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»h«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» is negative, the shift is left «math style=¨font-family:Verdana¨ xmlns=¨http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML¨»«mstyle mathsize=¨14px¨»«mi»h«/mi»«/mstyle»«/math» units.

Watch the following video Translations for additional examples on vertical and horizontal translations.