By this we mean that the transformation has moved point on the green graph to be at on the red graph. In the image above, the point on the green curve “corresponds” to point on the red curve. Transformations are often easiest to analyze by focusing on how the location of specific points on the curve have changed. You can think of a dilation as the result of drawing a graph on rubberized paper, stapling an axis in place, then either stretching the graph away from the axis in both directions, or squeezing it towards the axis from both sides. A dilation is a stretching or shrinking about an axis caused by multiplication or division. It has been “dilated” (or stretched) horizontally by a factor of 3.

The red curve in the image above is a “transformation” of the green one. – Dilations change the shape of a graph, often causing “movement” in the process – Translations move a graph, but do not change its shape Even if you are, reading Function Transformations: Translation may be a useful introduction, as it uses this same approach to understanding transformations. This post assumes you already familiar with analyzing function translations.

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