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How the Action Figure Applets Work

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There are a number of different "action figure" applets throughout the modules, but for the most part they all have the same features and perform in the same way. Here is a list of some of their common features: The purpose of most of the "action figure" applets is to graph a specific conic section and to allow the user to transform the conic by varying the coefficients in its equation. In each instance of these applets, the most general form of the relevant equation is displayed above the action figure, and the specific equation being graphed, with the real number coefficients, is displayed below the grid in the action figure. In each applet you can vary the values of the coefficients either by clicking the appropriate "up" or "down" button, or by entering the desired value into the appropriate text box. The coefficients' text boxes and arrow buttons are labelled with the same letters as appear in the equation above the action figure. Most of the applets allow you to zoom in or zoom out on the graph just by clicking on the appropriate buttons located at the top right corner of the action figure's grid. Clicking the "reset" button at any time will return you to the original focus of the graph. Many of the applets allow you to move the grid in order to view a different section of the conic section. To do this, just click and hold any mouse button anywhere on the grid and move the mouse in some direction (i.e. if you need to see a part of the graph to the left of the your viewing area, move the mouse to the right). The applets in the Conics Laboratory section have a feature that is not seen in the rest of the modules. If you move the grid so that the domain and/or range do not include the x-axis and/or the y-axis, the values of the graph can still be determined because a light grey axis remains on the grid. This is not the actual axis but is just there for reference. Once again, clicking the "reset" button at any time will return you to the original viewing area. NOTE: The "reset" button does not change the conic section being plotted in action figure, only the viewing area. (That is, "reset" does not change the values of the coefficients.) Sometimes, there are small coloured squares at the bottom right side of the grid. If these buttons are clicked, a same-coloured conic section will appear somewhere on the graph (you may have to zoom out to see it). If this coloured button is clicked again, the conic section will disappear from the graph. NOTE: Applets may take some time to load, depending on the speed of your computer and the demands on its memory at any given time. Please be patient. If you feel something is taking too long, or if you see an error message in your browser's status bar, then refer to the Trouble Shooting section for some possible solutions.

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