Quadratic Transformer: FAQ

Q. To change the X or Y axis, I clicked the corresponding button, got a two-headed arrow and a gray screen, and dragged to change the scale. But how do I make the screen white again and have the arrow disappear?

A. Click the gray Change X (or Y) Scale button again to return to the original white graph and regular operating mode.

Q. When I try to create a trace of a change in the vertex by dragging a parabola, the trace dots are far apart and hard to see. How can I make it show up better?

A. If you drag the parabola slowly, the trace dots are close together and more visible. If you drag quickly, they are widely spaced and less visible. If a slow drag does not give you the result you want, try using one of the symbolic expressions. That will yield an even set of trace dots, one per “click” on the arrows.

Q. I need to make a very fine adjustment to the symbolic expression of a function. But I can only change it in whole numbers. Can I change the values in a finer amount, such as tenths?

A. Yes. Click the button labeled Step: 0.1. You can adjust the increment of change to whole numbers, tenths, or hundredths.

Q. Help! I dragged the graph window to view a part of a parabola but when moving it back I lost sight of the parabola—and both the (0) X and (0) Y axes. I can’t find my way “back” to the (0,0) center of the grid. What can I do?

A. Unfortunately, if you used the hand cursor to move the plane to a point where you cannot see either the (0) X axis or the (0 )Y axis, you may not be able to relocate the center of your graph and your parabola. Try increasing the X or Y scale. That may bring the axes into the visible part of the graph.

Q. In the Function Transformer, I was dragging a parabola in the Graph Window under the Dilation of af(x). I accidentally let it go when it was lying fully along the X axis. Now, I can’t move it any more and I get an error message. How can I move it?

In this position, you are in the zero function, y=0 for all x. Dilation (multiplying the function by a constant) always yields zero for this function. To change, you must vertically translate or change the coefficient of to get another function. Go to the symbolic representation and change the value there. The parabola will move off the x-axis and you will be able to drag it again.