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P.1 Functions

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10 views

P.1 Functions

Uploaded by

mrtoyotacamry2003
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

Functions

Functions are often denoted by letters such as f, F, g, and so on. A common


function notation is:

We say "f of x equals x squared"

Sometimes a function has no name, and we see something like:


y = x2.

 The variable x is called the independent variable. It can be


assigned any value from the domain.
 The variable y is called the dependent variable. Its value depends
on x.
_____________________________________________________________

Question: How to evaluate a function?


Answer: Everywhere we see an x on the right side we will substitute
whatever is in the parenthesis on the left side.

Example 1 Given f ( x)  2 x 2  3x , find each of the following:


f ( x  h)  f ( x )
(a) f (5) (b) f ( x  h) (c) f ( x  h)  f ( x) (d)
h
SOLUTION

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Question: How to find the domain of a function?
Answer: If the domain is not specified, we take it to be the set of all real
numbers except:
 We can’t get divided by 0.
 We can’t take the square root of a negative number.
 We can’t take the logarithm of 0 or a negative number.

In "Interval Notation" we just write the beginning and ending numbers of the
interval, and use:
 [ ] a square bracket when we want to include the end value, or
 ( ) a round bracket when we don't

The set with no elements is called the empty set or the null set,  .
 We use a “  ” to mean Union (the joining together of two sets).
The union of two sets contains every element that appears in the first
set or the second.
 We use a “  ” to mean Intersection (or overlap). The intersection of two
sets contains every element that appears in the first set and the second.

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Example 2 Find the domain of each of the following functions. (Write your
answer using interval notation.)
3x 5u
(a) f ( x)  5 x  3 (b) g ( x)  4  7 x (c) h( x)  2 (d) F (u ) 
x 4 u2 1
SOLUTION

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Piecewise-Defined Functions: When a function is defined by different
equations on different parts of its domain, it is called a piecewise-
defined function.

(a solid dot means "including",


an open dot means "not including")

Example 3 The function f is defined as

2 x  2, if 5  x  0,

f ( x)   3  5 x, if 0  x  5
 x, x5
 if

(a) Evaluate f(–2), f(1), and f(5).


(b) Find the domain of f. (Write your answer using interval notation.)
SOLUTION

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The graph of a function provides a great deal of information about the
function. Reading and interpreting graphs is an essential skill for calculus.

Example 4 Use the graph of the function f to answer the following


questions.
(a) What is the domain of f?
(Write your answer using interval notation.)

(b) What is the range of f?


(Write your answer using interval notation.)


(c) Find f(0), f(  ), and f( ).
2

(d) What are the x-intercepts?

(e) What are the y-intercept?

(f) For what values of x is f(x)=0?

(g) For what values of x does f(x)= –1?

(h) For what values of x does f(x) > 0?

(i) For what values of x does f(x) < 0?

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x 1
Example 5 Consider the function f ( x)  .
x2
(a) What is the domain of f? (Write your answer using interval notation.)
1
(b) Is the point (1, ) on the graph of f?
2
(c) If x=2, what is f(x)? What is the corresponding point on the graph of f?
(d) If f(x)=2, what is x? What is the corresponding point on the graph of f?
(e) What are the x-intercepts of the graph of f (if any)? What point(s) on
the graph of f correspond(s) to the x-intercept(s)?
SOLUTION

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