Chapter 3. Basic graphing
This chapter covers
- How to graph functions and solve problems with graphs on your calculator
- Finding minima, maxima, values, intercepts, zeroes, and more
- Zooming, panning, and adjusting graph styles
- Using Table to examine graphed functions
Your graphing calculator’s most noticeable difference from a regular calculator is the large LCD screen. Whereas a simple calculator only needs to display numbers, your graphing calculator needs its big screen to display graphs. Its graphing features are a big deal, and in this chapter you’ll learn all about using them.
A graph is a curve or line drawn from a mathematical function, sketched over a coordinate plane. What does all that mean? Say you want to graph a function, as if you were your calculator. You start with a two-dimensional (2D) plane, like a piece of paper that stretches out to infinity in all four directions. You take a mathematical function, such as y = x2. You plug every possible x value into the equation, get out a y value, and plot (draw) those (x,y) points on the plane. If you plot enough of them, you’ll have so many little dots that it looks like one continuous line. This is essentially what your calculator does when you graph.