Objective

The goal is to provide an environment in which students are able to visualize how the three parameters affect the graph of the general form y = A sin B(x-C).

                A: amplitude
                B: number of cycles the graph makes in 360° (period = 2/B)
                C: phase shift

User´s Guide

1. Drag the slider "amplitude parm" (parameter A) to change the amplitude of the graph.
2. Drag the slider "period parm" (parameter B) to change the period of the graph.
3. Drag the slider "phase shift parm" (parameter C) to change the phase shift of the graph.

1. Click the button "Keep Curve" to keep a copy of the default graph y = sin x.

   Use the slider "amplitude parm" to change the amplitude to 2. Do you see that the value of y at each x is vertically enlarged by a factor of 2 (stretched out)?

   Change the amplitude to 3 or 4 to see if the same effect results.

2. Click the button "Reset" to start a new experiment.

   Click the button "Keep Curve" to keep a copy of the default graph y = sin x.

   Drag the slider "period parm" to 2. Does the number of cycles the graph makes in 360° change from 1 to 2?

   What happens if you drag the slider "period parm" to 0.5?

3. Click the button "Reset" to start a new experiment.

   Click the button "Keep Curve" to keep a copy of the default graph y = sin x.

   Drag the slider "phase shift parm." Do you see any phase shift?