In the context of the function \(y = f(x)\) being translated to \(y = f(x) + k\), the constant \(k\) represents the vertical shift of the function.
- If \(k > 0\), the graph of the function \(f(x)\) shifts upward by \(k\) units.
- If \(k < 0\), the graph shifts downward by \(|k|\) units.
- If \(k = 0\), there is no vertical shift.
To summarize, \(k\) is the value that determines how much the function is shifted vertically from its original position.