Grapher tutorials?

IIRC, everything you need is contained in the Help files. Alternatively, search these forums and google for grapher.

Then your search has proven that there's not much out there. Maybe, if you posted exactly what you're trying to do, but can't, you'd get some help. Sorry, but I know about as much as you do.

I know that "Graphing Calculator" could do this, an awesome program (see http://www.pacifict.com/), but potentially pricey depending on you situation.

In Grapher, though, I have only been able to get close:

(1) This will honor one boundary, but I'm unable currently to figure out how to incorporate a second condition:

y=x>3:3x-b,b={1....5}

(2) There is also in the "Operators" part of the "Equation Palette" a "Condition" operator. This could be promising. I was able to get close with two equations, first:

b={1...5}

and second a three part condition:

x ≤ 3 0
x > 9 0
x >0 3x-b

This, though, leaves unsightly lines plotted on top of the x axis outside the 3>x≥9 range.

If I come up with something better, I'll post again.

When I paste y=3x-b, b={1...5} into Grapher, I get a syntax error. Not having played with, I'm out of my depth. Good luck.

Jason-

Your link was just the ticket. Here are two ways, now, to solve your problem:



I'm not sure, exactly, how to tell explain how each was created. The second one is pretty straight forward to type as you see it. The "hat" symbol, as indicated in your link, must be entered from the "Symbol" panel of the "Equation Palette".

The first one is using the "Conditional" operator from the palette with a single condition. This creates the curly left brace with two seed locations. In the left seed location you enter the condition, just like the second one, "hat" and all. In the second seed goes the line equation and the b value set. Actually, the b value set and its preceding comma separator can go after the second seed location, if you like. The difference is subtle and there is no difference in the resulting graph.

In the case of the second one, this is a degenerate form of notation I'm familiar with: a piece-wise function. Normally there are two or more conditional phrases. Each phrase specifies a range of values for which the subsequent expression is defined. In this degenerate case, it is saying that 3x-b is only defined for the values in the range [3..9).

The stumbling block here was how to express 3≤x<9 in the condition. Your link held the key in that it must be expressed as the intersection of the two conditions, intersection being a standard meaning of the "hat" symbol.

When I enter either of those equations into Grapher, using the equation palette and keyboard, I get a syntax error. Very confusing using the conditional operator. Get a bracket and two vertical lines, but don't know where to type anything, and nothing closes the bracket. There's no rhyme or reason to using the palette. Thoughts?

For the conditional operator, the bracket doesn't close... see my screen shot above. When you create a conditional operator with a single condition (by entering 1 into the resulting dialog box), you get a bracket and "two vertical lines", as you said. These vertical lines are actually narrow gray boxes that indicate where additional input is required (I referred to them as "seeds", above). You can click on each one separately and enter the require "phrases" as I have tried to explain above. Doing so replaces the seeds. Does this help?

Every little bit helps, because the usage is arcane; however, I don't have time to pursue this further today. I sort of understand the seed bit, but then how do you close the conditional and put in the actual equation? When I tried using x>3^x<9 3x+5 after the conditional, I kept getting the syntax error. More experimenting is in order.

Thanks for getting back so soon. A tutorial and useful Help files would make the app a lot more user friendly. Any thoughts on where to look for details, since the OP has come up short?