Unit 6 MCR 3U1

Lesson 1: Periodic Functions and Their Properties

A function is periodic if it has a pattern of y-values that repeats at regular intervals.

One complete pattern of a periodic function is called a cycle.

The horizontal distance from the beginning of one cycle to the beginning of the next is called
the period.

peak cycle
The minimum point on a periodic
graph is called a trough.

The maximum point on a periodic

graph is called a peak.

The equation of the axis is the

equation of the horizontal line
halfway between the maximum and period
trough
the minimum determined by:

max value + min value

y=
2

The amplitude of a periodic function is half of the difference between the maximum value of
the function and the minimum value of the function. The amplitude is always positive.

Example 1: For the periodic function shown, find the period, maximum, minimum and amplitude.
Unit 6 MCR 3U1

Example 2: Which of the following are periodic functions?

Example 4: The motion of an automated device for attaching bolts to a household appliance on
an assembly line can be modelled by the graph shown at the left.
a) What is the period of one complete cycle?

b) What is the maximum distance between the device

and the appliance?

c) What is the range of this function?

d) If the device can run for five complete cycles only before it must be turned off,
determine the domain of the function.

e) Determine the equation of the axis.

f ) Determine the amplitude.

 Unit 6 MCR 3U1

Lesson 2: Investigating the Properties of Sinusoidal Functions

Sine and cosine functions are also called sinusoidal functions.

Sinusoidal function : a periodic function whose graph looks like a SMOOTH symmetrical wave, where any
portion of the wave can be horizontally translated onto another portion of the curve;

Ex. #1 – Determine whether the graph represents a periodic function. If it does, determine whether it
represents a sinusoidal function.

Sine
Function

Amplitude:

Period:

Min:

Max:

Range:

Domain:

The Zeros
 Unit 6 MCR 3U1

Cosine Function

Amplitude:

Period:

Min:

Max:

Range:

Domain:

The Zeros
 Unit 6 MCR 3U1

Lesson 3: Interpreting Sinusoidal Functions

Example 1: Olivia was swinging back and forth in front of

a motion detector when the detector was activated. Her
distance from the detector in terms of time can be
modeled by the graph shown.

a) What is the equation of the axis, and what does it

represent in this situation?

b) What is the amplitude of this function?

c) What is the period of this function, and what does it represent in this situation?

d) How close did Olivia get to the motion detector?

e) At t = 7 s, would it be safe to run between Olivia and the motion detector? Explain.

f) If the motion detector was activated as soon as Olivia started to swing from at rest, how would the
graph change? Would the resulting graph be sinusoidal? Why or why not?
Unit 6 MCR 3U1

Example 2: Two students are

riding their bikes. A pebble is
stuck in the tire of each bike.
The two graphs show the heights
of the pebbles above the ground
in terms of time.

Analyze the graphs and explain

how Bike A and Bike B are
different.

• Comparing Peaks of a Sinusoidal Function (Diameter)

• Comparing Periods

• Comparing the Equation of the Axes

• Comparing Speeds. (s = d/t)

Example 3: Sketch a height vs. time graph of the sinusoidal function that models each
situation. Draw at least three cycles. Assume that the first point plotted on each graph is at
the lowest possible height.

a) A Ferris wheel with a radius of 8 m, whose axle is 9 m above the ground, and that rotates
once every 40 s.
b) A water wheel with a radius of 5 m, whose centre is at water level, and that rotates once
every 20 seconds.
Unit 6 MCR 3U1

Lesson 4: Exploring Transformations of Periodic Functions

The transformations that apply to algebraic functions also apply to trigonometric functions.

Vertical Stretches and Compressions

The graphs of y = a sin x and y = a cos x can be summarized as follows.

If a  1 , vertical stetch by a factor of a occurs.

If 0  a  1 , a vertical compression by a factor of a occurs.

***For both functions the amplitude of the function is represented by a.***

Horizontal Stretches and Compressions

The graphs of y = sin kx and y = cos kx can be summarized as follows.

1
If k  1 , then a horizontal compression by a factor of occurs.
k
1
If 0  k  1 , then a horizontal stretch by a factor of occurs.
k

360
***For both functions, the period is .***
k

Vertical Translations
The graphs of y = sin x + c and y = cos x + c can be summarized as follows.

If c  0 , a vertical translation of c units upwards occurs.

If c  0 , a vertical translation of c units downwards occurs.

Vertical translations affect the range of the function.

***The equation of the axis is y = c .***

Horizontal Translations
For trigonometric functions, a horizontal translation is called the phase shift. The graphs of
y = sin( x − d ) and y = cos( x − d ) can be summarized as follows.

If d  0 , a horizontal translation of d units to the left occurs.

If d  0 , a horizontal translation of d units to the right occurs.

Reflections

If a  0 , then the function is reflected in the x-axis.

If k  0 , then the function is reflected in the y-axis.
Unit 6 MCR 3U1

Ex. # 1: State the transformation to the graph.

1
a) y = 4sin x b) y = 2 sin 3(𝑥 − 45°) − 4 c) 𝑦 = 3 sin(𝑥 + 35°)

Ex. #2: Each sinusoidal function below has undergone one transformation that has
affected with the period, amplitude or equation of the axis. Determine the
characteristic that has been changed.

a) y = sin x + 3

b) y = (0.5)cos x

c) y = sin (2x + 90º)

Unit 6 MCR 3U1

Lesson 5: Using Transformations to Sketch Graphs of Sinusoidal Functions

Sketching Sine and Cosine Functions – KEY POINTS:

y = sin x

y = cos x

Remember order of transformations --> horizontal and vertical transformations first,

reflections second, and translations third.

Example 1: For each of the following:

i) Describe the transformations that occur.
ii) Sketch one cycle of the graph.
iii) State the period, amplitude, maximum, minimum and domain and range of one cycle for
each function.

a) y = 2 cos x + 2

b) y = 3 sin 2 x

c) y = 0.5 sin (2x - 60º)

d) y = 2 sin(0.5 x + 90) − 1

e)
Unit 6 MCR 3U1

Example 2: Determine the equation of the sine function shown.

Example 3: Write the equation of each sine function described.

a) amplitude 7, period 90o.

b) amplitude 0.5, period 270o.

 Unit 6 MCR 3U1

Lesson 6: Investigating Models of Sinusoidal Functions

If you are given a set of data and the corresponding graph or you have a description of an event that can
be modeled by a sinusoidal function, then you can determine the equation by calculating the following
features of the graph:
i) its period
ii) its amplitude
iii) its equation of the axis

This information will help you determine the values of k, a, and c in the equations g ( x) = a sin k ( x − d ) + c
and h( x) = a cos k ( x − d ) + c . The value of d is determined by estimating the required phase shift
compared with the graph of the sine or cosine curve.

If the graph begins at a maximum value, it may be easier to use the cosine function as your model.

Example 1: A sinusoidal function has an amplitude of 2 units, a period of 180º, and a maximum at (0,3).
Represent the function with an equation.

Example 2: A cosine function has the following features. Write an equation:

Amplitude = 3, Period 180º, Equation of the Axis y = -3, and horizontal translation -60º.

Example 3: The moon is always half illuminated by the sun. How much of the moon we see depends on
where it is in its orbit around Earth. The table shows the proportion of the moon that was visible from
Southern Ontario on days 1 to 74 in the year 2006.

Day of 1 4 7 10 14 20 24 29 34 41 44 48 53 56 59 63 70 74
Year
Proportion 0.02 0.22 0.55 0.83 1.00 0.73 0.34 0.00 0.28 0.92 1.00 0.86 0.41 0.12 0.00 0.23 0.88 1.00
of Moon
Visible
a) Determine the equation of the sinusoidal function that models the proportion of visible moon in terms
of time.

b) Use the equation to determine the proportion of the moon that is visible on day 110.
Unit 6 MCR 3U1

Example 2: A sinusoidal function has an amplitude of 4 units, a period of 120°, and a maximum at (0, 9).
Determine the equation of the function. Use a diagram to help you determine the function.

Lesson 7: Solving Problems Using Sinusoidal Models

Now that we fully understand how the equations g ( x) = a sin k ( x − d ) + c and h( x) = a cos k ( x − d ) + c
work, we can solve any problem that can be represented with a sinusoidal model.

Example 1: The water depth in a harbour is 8 m at low tide and 20 m at high tide. One cycle is
completed approximately every 12 h.
a) Find an equation for the water depth, d(t) meters as a function of the time, t hours, after
high tide, which occurred at 03:00.
b) How high is the water after 8 hours?

Example 2: Megan is sitting in a rocking chair. The distance between the wall and the rear of
the chair varies sinusoidally with time t. At t =1 s, the chair is closest to the wall and d(1)=18 cm.
At t =1.75 s, the chair is farthest from the wall and d(1.75) = 34 cm.
a) Write an equation to model this situation.
b) What is the distance between the wall and the chair at t = 8 s?
Unit 6 MCR 3U1

Example 3: The centre of a bicycle wheel is 33 cm above the ground. A reflector mounted on the
spoke is located 17.5 cm from the centre of the wheel that turns at a constant rate of one
revolution per second. Assume that y is the height of the reflector in cm, and x represents the
time in seconds.
a) Write an equation to model the height of the reflector from the ground as a function of time.
b) What is the height of the height of the reflector at 4.3 sec?