Question

How do you graph `y=(x+1)^2 - 4`?

Answer 1

Evaluate `y` for several values of `x`; plot the corresponding coordinate points; joint the points with as smooth a line as you can.

Explanation:

For `color(black)(y=(x+1)^2-4` I picked the points:

#{: (color(black)(x),"|",color(white)("X")color(black)(y)), ("----",,"----"), (-1,"|",-4), (color(white)("X")0,"|",-3), (-2,"|",-3), (color(white)("X")1,"|",color(white)("X")0), (-3,"|",color(white)("X")0), (color(white)("X")2,"|",color(white)("X")5), (-4,"|",color(white)("X")5) :}#