Description/Aim

Graphing technology comes into its own here as students plot pairs of functions where one is a transformation of the other. By plotting them together they are asked to describe the transformation and spot the links between them and the Algebra. The activity leads to a general summary on the topic.

Please find the digital worksheet below

Time - 2hrs, Age - 14+

Why we like this activity ….

The technology saves a huge amount of time and allows students to concentrate on the patterns. The
result is that students are more likely to experiment and speculate! This activity makes for a gentle
introduction to a difficult topic!

How this activity be used ….

Whilst students may confer, this one is better done on their own. Students are better off making the
graphs and comparing them themselves. Actually entering the functions into Autograph prompts
thinking.

The pairs of functions can easily be edited to tweak the difficulty of the task.

What to expect when using this activity – from our experience

Students, as ever, need help putting their observations into words.

Extra Notes

Can follow on from 'Spotting properties of graphs' and 'Quadratic links' or any function related topic