Pre-Calculus 12

Sinusoidal Equations

Sinusoidal equations can be written in a general form that looks like:

y = a sin b(x − c) + d

We need all the parameters because rarely, if ever, do we have real-world functions that are
perfect sine functions.
We can relate this general form to a form previously seen in the graph transformations unit:

y = a f ( b(x − c)) + d

The difference in these two general equations is simply that we have replaced f(x) with the
actual function, sine. When writing your equation and making your graph, consider these
parameters.

**Hint: |a| represents the amplitude of the function, and the sign indicates if there is a vertical
reflection or not.

Sometimes it makes more sense to use cosine instead of sine! (this is still called “sinusoidal”
since the cosine graph is just the sine graph translated)

Integer Periods
Often, in real-world situations, the period of sinusoidal functions doesn’t relate to pi. In the
original graph of sine the period is 2 π , so to have a period that is an integer, you must remove,
or “cancel”, pi from the equation by using a horizontal compression. The period equation is as
follows:

2π
p = b

2π
which can be rearranged to: b = p where b is our horizontal compression factor in the
equation.

*therefore, an equation with an integer period will always have a pi in it!