Aninvestigationontheeffectconstants

a
,
b
,
c
,and
d
haveonfunctions:
f (x) = a + bsin[c(x d)] and g(x) = a + bcos[c(x d)] .
Thesetwofunctionsarerelatedbecause sin(x) alsoequals cos(x 2 ) while cos(x) alsoequals
sin(x + 2 ) .Thisisevidentinthegraphsbelowwherethereisanobvioushorizontalshiftbetween
thetwofunctionsinallgraphsbelow.

EffectofChanging
a

As
a
ischanged,theyinterceptofthefunctionischangedbythesameamount.Forexample,if
y=a+sin(x)has
a=1
,itwouldtranslatethefunctionofy=sin(x)oneunitupwards.Whatchanging
1

the
a
constantessentiallydoes,isaffectthefinalycoordinatebythatamount.E.g.y=cos(2x)is
changedtoy=3+cos(2x),withanoutcomeoftheoriginalequationsgraphbeingshifted3units
ontheyaxis.

EffectofChanging
b

As
b
ischanged,theamplitudeofthetrigonometricfunctionisalteredbyascalefactorof
b
.The
amplitudeisthedistancebetweenthemaximumorminimumofasineorcosinefunctionandits
centerline.Thiscanbeseenonthegraphsabove,withtheblackcurverepresentingy=sin(x)in
thefirstoneandy=cos(x)inthesecond.Theredcurvesrepresenttheequationswhenb=2and
2

b=3,andtheycanbedistinguishedsincetheoneswithb=2haveanamplitudeof2whilethe
oneswithb=3haveamplitudesof3.Anegativeamplitudewouldflipthegraphoverits
centerline.Notethatthemaximumandminimumofasineorcosinefunctionwouldthenbe
y+a+b
and
y+ab
respectively(with
y
beingtheyvalueatthecenterlineofthefunction).

EffectofChanging
c

Changing
c
dividestheperiodofthetrigonometricfunctionbythatvalue,whichisthesameas
multiplyingbythereciprocalof
c
.Forexample,y=sin(2x)wouldhalvetheperiodofthegraphof
y=sin(x).Thesameappliesforthecosinefunction.E.g.ifgiveny=sin(4x),thenthegraphwould
3

bethegraphofy=sin(x)butwithafourtimesshorterperiod,thoughtheamplitudeandcenterline
willremainconstant.

EffectofChanging
d

Changing
d
shiftsthegraphhorizontallyalongthecenterline.Apositivevalueof
d
shiftsthe
graphthatmanyunitstotheright,whileanegativevalueof
d
shiftsthegraphtotheleft.Note
thatthevalueof
d
isbeingsubtractedfrom
x
iny=sin(xd).Therefore,ifgiveny=sin(x+d),you
wouldntshiftthegraphofy=sin(x)
d
unitstotheright,butrathertotheleft,asitisequivalentto
y=sin(x(d)).
4


NoteOnDomain&Range

Changing f (x) = sin(x) to f (x) = a + bsin[c(x d)]

or
f (x) = cos(x) to g(x) = a + bcos[c(x d)]
,
changesthecenterlinebyavalueof
a
andtheamplitudebyafactorof
b
,resultingin
range = [a b, a + b] .Thedomainsofsin(x)andcos(x)dontchangeandcontainallreal
numbers.

FindingTheDerivativeofTheSineFunctionByBestFit

WhengraphedinAutograph, y = sin(x) istheredcurveinthescreenshotabove.Afterfindingthe

gradientofthetangentsat x = , 23 , 2 , 6 , 0, 6 , 4 , 2 ,andplottingtheresultsaspointsof
theform
(xvalue
,
gradientoftangent)
,thereseemstobeafunctionthatfitsthesepointsandwill
continuetodosoasthesinefunctionspreadsontothexaxis.Thisfunctionisthecosine
function.Sureenough,aftergraphingit,the
(xvalue
,
gradientoftangent)
pointslieonit
perfectly.Hence,itcanbeconcludedthatthederivativeofthesinefunctionisthecosine
function.Ifgivenanequationoftheform y = sin(2x) ,whatwouldthederivativebe?When
usingthesametechniqueexplainedearlier,itappearsthat y = 2cos(2x) fitsthepoints.Aftermore
trialsitbecomesevidentthatthederivativeof y = sin(bx) is y = bcos(bx) .Belowisagraphthat
confirmsthis.


ProvingTheDerivativeofTheSineFunctionWithFirstPrinciples

Wecanusefirstprinciples:

Inthesecondlineweusetheadditionidentityofthesinefunctiontoexpand.Thereasonsin(x)
andcos(x)arefactoredoutinfrontofthelimitinthelastlineisbecausetheydonotcontainthe
variable
h
andhencedonotgetaffectedbythelimitas
h
approaches0.
When y = (cos(x) 1) x and y = sin(x) x aregraphedinAutograph:


itisdeduciblethatas
x
approaches0inEquation1, y = 1 ,whileas
x
approaches0inEquation2,
y = 0 .Wecansubstitutetheselimitsintooursimplifiedfirstprinciplesworktoachieve:

Thus,thederivativeofthesinefunctionis,infact,thecosinefunction.
Howcanthisbeappliedonthederivativeof f (x) = asin(bx) ?
Thecoefficient,
a
,canbebroughtoutofthederivative,while
bx
isdifferentiatedtobecome
b
usingthepowerruleandismultipliedto
sin(bx)
.
Hence,thederivativeof f (x) = asin(bx) wouldbe f (x) = abcos(bx) .

ApplicationofGraphingConcepts

Wecaneasilydeterminethevaluesof
a
,
b
,
c
,and
d
byrecognizingthatitisintheformatof
f (x) = a + bsin[c(x d)] .
Inthiscase:

a = 2

Thegraphwillhaveitscenterlineat y = 2 .

b = 3

Thegraphwillhaveanamplitudeof3.Therefore,itsmaximumsand
minimumswilloccurwithycoordinatesat5and1,respectively,oncefor
everyperiodofthefunction.
7

c = 2

Theperiodofthisfunctionwillbetheperiodof y = sin(x) dividedby

c
.Thus,
theperiodis 2 2 = .

d = 4

Thegraphofthisfunctionisshifted 4 unitsfromtheoriginonthexaxis.

ExampleofSineFunctionDerivative

Inlinetwo,thecoefficientinfrontof
sin(2x)
isseparatedfromthederivative.Inlinethree,the
chainruleisapplied(knowingthatthederivativeofsin(x)iscos(x)).Inlinefour,linethreeis
simplifiedtoobtainthefinalanswer.