This applet shows how the computer recognizes a function. You can use it to plot simple functions by typing in the algebraic expression and the limits.
Type in a function, making sure all the parentheses are placed correctly. Select some x-axis values, and how many points you want to plot.
The computer will draw a graph, made of straight lines connecting the points it has developed from your data, when you click the "plot it" button.
Note: this applet uses only functions which Java recognizes. Java is a language used mostly for interactive display purposes, and not necessarily for calculations, so the mathematical expressions are very limited. All the applets you use in this course have been developed using this language.

Some expressions which will work, are

For example, if you click in the "function" text box, and type sin(x/10)

in the "Number of Points" put 200
in the "minimum x Value" put -100.0
in the "maximum x Value" put +100.0

you will get a nice sine wave plotted when you click on the Plot it! green button.

If you put in 2 for the number of points, you will get a straight line!!! Try different values of points (5, 7,10, 20), and see how the appearance of the function changes.

The nice thing about taking data is, if you know enough, you can make it look like anything you want. Unfortunately, if you don't know anything about your data, you can accidentally make it look like something else, just by sampling!!