How Do You Translate a Function?

How Do You Translate a Function?

Note:

Think about sliding a penny on a table. All you're doing is moving the penny to a new location on the table. That's basically all that's happening when you translate a function! When you translate a function, you're just sliding it to a new location on the coordinate plane!

Keywords:

  • problem
  • translate
  • translation
  • vertical
  • horizontal
  • up
  • down
  • left
  • right
  • slide
  • function
  • move
  • graph

Background Tutorials

  • Function Definitions and Notation

      • What's a Function?What's a Function?

      What's a Function?

      You can't go through algebra without learning about functions. This tutorial shows you a great approach to thinking about functions! Learn the definition of a function and see the different ways functions can be represented. Take a look!

      • What is Function Notation?What is Function Notation?

      What is Function Notation?

      Every see 'f(x)' in your math? That's function notation! It's a way to indicate that an equation is a function. Learn about function notation by watching this tutorial.

  • Transformation Definitions

      • What is a Transformation?What is a Transformation?

      What is a Transformation?

      Transformations can be really fun! They allow you to change or move a figure. In this tutorial, learn about all the different kinds of transformations!

  • Quadratic Functions

      • What is a Quadratic Function?What is a Quadratic Function?

      What is a Quadratic Function?

      You can't go through algebra without seeing quadratic functions. The graphs of quadratic functions are parabolas; they tend to look like a smile or a frown. In this tutorial, get introduced to quadratic functions, look at their graphs, and see some examples of quadratic functions!

  • Absolute Value Functions

      • What Does the Constant 'h' do in y = |x-h|?What Does the Constant 'h' do in y = |x-h|?

      What Does the Constant 'h' do in y = |x-h|?

      When you're learning about translating absolute value equations, learning about horizontal translations is a MUST! Check out this tutorial and see what it takes to translate an absolute value equation horizontally.

      • What is an Absolute Value Function?What is an Absolute Value Function?

      What is an Absolute Value Function?

      An absolute value function is just a function that contains absolute values. This tutorial gives a great introduction to this very useful function!

  • Absolute Value

      • What Does Absolute Value Mean?What Does Absolute Value Mean?

      What Does Absolute Value Mean?

      In this tutorial you'll see how you can think of absolute value in a very intuitive way. Let us know if you have any questions about it!

  • Translations

Further Exploration

  • Translations

      • How Do You Graph a Translation of a Function?How Do You Graph a Translation of a Function?

      How Do You Graph a Translation of a Function?

      A great way to better understand how to translate a function is to practice! This tutorial takes you through the steps of graphing a function that's been translated up and to the right.