How do you graph f(x) = |x + 3| - 1?

1 Answer
Mar 12, 2016

See graph and explanation.

Explanation:

Consider for a moment |x+3|. This produces a graph in the shape of V where the bottom part of the V is on the x-axis

Ok, now look at |x+3|-1. The minus 1 lowers the V by 1 below the x-axis.

Now suppose we had just |x|. This would produce a V where the y-axis was central. So the left side of the V would be to the left of the y-axis and the right side of the V to the right of the y-axis. Now think about what happens when we change it to |x+3|. This moves the whole graph to the left by 3.

So we have:
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