FUNCTIONS

AND THEIR GRAPHS

Functions are major objects we deal with in
calculus because they are the key to describing
the real world in mathematical terms. This
section reviews the ideas of functions, their
graphs, and ways of representing them.
Definition:
In everyday life, many quantities depend on one or
more changing variables eg:

a) The interest paid on a cash investment

depends on the length of time the
investment is held.
b) The area of a circle depends on the radius
of the circle.
c) The distance an object travels from an
initial location along a straight line path
depends on its speed.
d) test marks depend on attitude, listening in
lectures and doing tutorials
In each case, the value of one variable quantity,
which we might call y, depends on the value of
another variable quantity, which we might call
x.
Since the value of y is completely determined
by the value of x, we say that y is a function of
x.
Often the value of y is given by a rule or
formula that says how to calculate it from the
variable x.
For instance the equation A   r 2 is a rule that
calculates the area A of a circle from its radius
r. A symbolic way to say y is a function of x is
by writing

y  f ( x) ("y equals f of x ")

In this notation, the symbol f represents the

function. The letter x, called the independent
variable, represent the input value of f , and y,
the dependent variable, represents the
corresponding output value of f at x.
Definition : Function
A function from a set X to a set Y is a rule that
assigns a unique (single) element f ( x)  Y to
each element x  X
A function is a rule that relates how one quantity
depends on other quantities.

The set X of all possible input values is called

the domain of the function. The set of all
values of f ( x) as x varies throughout X is called
the range of the function. The range may not
include every element in the set Y.
x f f(x
Input Output )
(Domain) (range)

A Function f

f(x)
x
Domain Range

Figure 1 :Functions Described by Formulas

The simplest way to describe a function is by

use of a formula. A formula tells explicitly how
to find the image of a number by carrying out
arithmetic operations.
Example :

State in words the rule given by each of the

following formulas:

(a) f ( x)  2 x  1 (b)g ( x)  2  x

Solution :

(a) The function f assigns to x the number 1

more than twice x. That is, to find the image
of x, multiply x by 2 and adds 1.

(b) To find the image of x under g, subtract x

from 2 and find the square root of the
difference.
Example :
In the equation
y = 3x + 1,
y is a function of x, since for each value of x,
there is only one value of y.
If we substitute x = 5, we get y = 16 and no
other value. The values of y we get depend on
the values chosen for x.
Therefore, x is the independent variable and y is
the dependent variable.
Example :

For each of the following functions, find f(0),

f(-2), f(p) and f ( p 2 )

1
(a ) f ( x)  (b) f ( x)  x
x

Solution :
1 1 1
(a) f (0) is not defined ; f (2)   ; f ( p)  ; f ( p2 ) 
2 p p2
(b) f (0)  0 ; f (2) is not defined ; f ( p)  p ; f ( p2 )  p2  p

Note: Numbers that you should remember to

exclude from the domain are those values that
would cause division by zero or the square root
of a negative number
Example :

Find the domains for

1 1
(a) f ( x)  (b) g ( x)  x 2  4 (c) g (t )  9  t 2
(d )h( w) 
x 3 9  w2

Solution :

(a) We must exclude 3 from the domain

because it would require division by zero.
Thus the domain is x : x  3 This may be read
“the set of x’s such that x is not equal to 3 “ .

(b) For g, there is no restriction on the values of

x, since x  4 is a real number no matter
2

what real number x is. Thus, the domain of g

is all of R.
(c) To avoid the square root of a negative
number, we must choose t so that 9  t 2  0 .
That is, we must have
9  t2  0
t2  9
t 3
 3  x  3  [3,3]

(d) Now we must avoid division by zero and

square roots of negative numbers, so we must
exclude -3 and 3 from the domain. The
domain is therefore the interval (-3,3).
THE GRAPH OF A FUNCTION
Definition : The graph of a function f is the
set of all points (x , f(x)) in the coordinate plane,
with x in the domain of f .Thus, if the function f
has domain X, then

Graph of f = {(x, y): y = f(x) and x  X }

y

y=f(x)
x
 The Vertical Line Test

If f : A  B is a function that assigns the

element in A with an element in B, then f can be
denoted by any curve of graph. Using by the
vertical line test, we can define either f is a
function or not. Since each number x in the
domain of a function f has just one image, no
two points on the graph of f can have the same
first coordinate. This means that no vertical
line can meet the graph of f more than once.
Example:
function
Not a
function

Figure 3 : The Vertical Line Test

 Some Types of Functions

1. A constant function is defined by a

formula of the form f(x) = c, c a constant.

Example : f ( x)  8

8 f(x) = 8

x
Figure 4 : Function f ( x)  8
2. A linear function is defined by a formula
of the form f(x) = mx+ b, with m and b
constant, and m  0 . (m is the slope of a
line)

Example : f ( x)  4 x  1
y f ( x)  4 x  1

x
Figure 5 : Function f ( x)  4 x  1
3. A quadratic function is defined by a
formula of the form

f ( x)  ax 2  bx  c, a, b and c constants, and a  0

Example : f ( x)  x 2

f ( x)  x 2

0 x
Figure 6 : Function f ( x)  x 2
4. A polynomial function is defined by a
formula of the form

f ( x)  an x n  an 1 x n 1  ........  a1 x  a0

with n a nonnegative integer and a0 , a1,..., an

constants. The degree of a polynomial is
the largest exponent that occurs in its
formula

Example :
f ( x)  2 x 7  9 x 5  2 x 4  6 x 2  2
5. A power function, defined by a formula of
the form
f ( x)  x n (n a positive integer)

6. A rational function is the ratio of two

polynomial functions. That is, if p and q are
polynomial functions, then the function
p ( x)
f ( x)  is a rational function.
q( x)

2 x 4  x 2  3x
Example : f ( x)  5
5x  2 x3  2
 7. A root function is defined by a formula of
1

the form f ( x)  x  n x , with n a positive

n

integer.
The domain of a root function is the set of all
real numbers if n is odd and the set of
nonnegative real numbers if n is even.

Example : f ( x)  3 x
8. The absolute value function is defined by a
formula of the form
x if x  0
f ( x)  x  
 x if x  0

f(x) = -x f(x) = x
x

Figure 7: Function f ( x)  x
9. The greatest integer function is defined to
be the greatest integer not exceeding x, and
is denoted by  x  .
If x is an integer, then [x] = x. Then,
observe that if n is an integer and
n  x  n  1, then [x] = n .

y
2 

1 

-2 -1 0 1 2 3 x
-1

Figure 8 : Function f ( x)  x

Example : Sketch the graph of function
f ( x)  2 x

Solution :