In mathematics, vertical shifts refer to the movement of a graph up or down on the coordinate plane. For the function \( f(x) = |x| + c \), the constant \( c \) determines this vertical shift.
If \( c \) is positive, the graph moves up by \( c \) units, and if \( c \) is negative, it shifts down by the same number of units.
Vertical shifts do not change the shape of the graph but simply move it along the y-axis.
In our exercise, we have three different values for \( c \): -3, 1, and 3:
- When \( c = -3 \), the graph is shifted 3 units down.
- When \( c = 1 \), it moves 1 unit upwards.
- Finally, for \( c = 3 \), the graph is shifted 3 units upwards.
This understanding helps in accurately sketching the graphs on a shared coordinate plane.