A default has been set for bounds on coordinates for each of the choices on the Plot 2D submenu. The default bounds are somewhat arbitrary, and you will often want to change them. You can reset limits on the coordinates and change other aspects of the view using the Plot Properties tabbed dialogs as described later in this chapter.
You can change the Domain Intervals from the Plot Components page of the Plot Properties dialog. The default is -5≤x≤5 for rectangular coordinates and -5≤x≤5, -5≤y≤5 for polar coordinates and implicit plots. The default View Intervals are determined by the Domain Intervals and the graph. To reset the View Intervals you first click the Default box to clear it.
The following views of the plot y = sin x demonstrate the relationship between the Domain and View intervals on the x-axis for Rectangular plots. The Domain intervals determine the limits of the graph and the View intervals determine the limits of the view.
When the View interval is smaller than the Domain interval, the system is plotting points in the domain outside the view, and consequently plotting fewer points inside the view than would normally be the case. Large differences in this direction can lead to some distorted graphs.
In the following sections, you will see examples of the default domain and view for different types of 2D plots.