Colin Hodel
Math 326
Mobile App Assignment
1. Identify & Describe
Name: Quick Graph
Programmed by: Ales Restrepo, Alejandro Montoya.
Testing / Documentation: Jose Betancur
Graphic Design: Giovanni Mojica
Produced by: KZLabs
Website: http://kzlabs.me/quick-graph/
Cost: Free for basic version, $1.99 for full version
Availability: iPhone, iPad
Purpose: To display 2D and 3D graphs of functions.
Intended Audience: Pretty much every high school and college student in a math
class can find a large benefit from using this app.
What it does: This app does a very good job of visually displaying 2D and 3D
functions by their graphs. It is an interactive, colorful graph that looks significantly better
than any graph that a TI-83,TI-84, or TI-89 can produce. As I said, it is interactive which
lets users move around the graph and specifically in a 3D app, the user can rotate the graph
around to get different views of the graph.
2. Critique
First off, everything that I mention, unless otherwise stated, is in the free version of
the app. I figured that would be all that most students would get, so I didn’t bother paying
the two dollars for the full version. The full version adds a few functions such as VGA
output, implicit graphs, 2D explicit tracing, inequalities, and unlimited graphs pictured at
one time.
This app’s main strength is the visuals it brings. The color of the graphs makes it
much easier to view functions than a low-resolution black-and-white calculator screen.
Users have the option to change the color of the graphs, which makes it easier to see. Also,
another strength of the app is the ability to rotate the 3D graph. Users can touch and slide
their finger around the screen to rotate the image. Also, the user can tap one of the axis,
which locks that axis, so when they rotate the image, it rotates around that axis. The ability
to move the image around like this makes it much easier to see what the graph actually
looks like. Also, the user can use a two-finger pinch to zoom in and out on the graph. This
allows them to see the big picture or to zoom in to take a closer look at a portion of the
graph. I think that these strengths are things that would be very helpful for teaching and
learning mathematics as it helps show very clearly what functions look like. I know that I
struggled with comprehending 3D graphs, and that this app makes things look a lot clearer.
Colin Hodel
Math 326
A final strength that is only on the paid version is the aspect of VGA output. This would be
more for a teacher than for students as a teacher could plug in their phone or other device
and have it displayed on a projector for the students to see. That actually would be a great
feature for this app as it could definitely be used as a visual during class to help students
comprehend 3D graphs.
The biggest weakness I found is substantial. I looked for a long time to try to find a
way to calculate extrema or other points and failed. This app does not have any calculation
functionalities. Therefore, this app is almost entirely eye candy and doesn’t help with
calculating anything! That is a huge downfall for most math classes as quite often, we use
graphing calculators to find the coordinates of zeroes, minimums, or maximums.
Overall, I think this app is worth the free download as it does do a really good job of
visualizing different functions. I wouldn’t bother paying for the full version unless you plan
on projecting your phone over the class and you don’t have a document camera, but the
free version is definitely worth it. I wish that I had had this app during Calculus III when
learning about 3D graphs.