Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Amplitude
Amplitude refers to the maximum height of a wave from its midline. In the context of trigonometric functions like cosine, it indicates how far the graph reaches above and below the midline (y=0). For the function y = cos(x - π/2), the amplitude is 1, as the coefficient of the cosine function is 1, meaning the graph oscillates between 1 and -1.
Recommended video:
Amplitude and Reflection of Sine and Cosine
Period
The period of a trigonometric function is the length of one complete cycle of the wave. For the cosine function, the standard period is 2π. In the function y = cos(x - π/2), there is no coefficient affecting the x variable, so the period remains 2π, indicating that the graph will repeat every 2π units along the x-axis.
Recommended video:
Period of Sine and Cosine Functions
Phase Shift
Phase shift refers to the horizontal shift of the graph of a function. It is determined by the value subtracted from the x variable inside the function. In y = cos(x - π/2), the phase shift is π/2 units to the right, as the function is shifted from the standard cosine function, which starts at (0, 1), to the new starting point at (π/2, 1).
Recommended video: