CHAPTER 1: FUNCTIONS

1.1 Functions and Their Graphs Real Numbers - Most applications of mathematics use real numbers. For purposes of such applications, it suffices to think of a real number as a decimal. A rational number is one that may be written as a finite or infinite repeating decimal, such as -5/2 = -2.5, 1, 13/3 = 4.3333 (rational numbers). An irrational number has an infinite decimal representation whose digits from no repeating pattern, such as - 2 = -1.414214 numbers ) The real numbers are described geometrically by a number line, as in Fig.1. Each number corresponds to one point on the line, and each point determines one real numbers. = 3.14159 ( irrational

Fig 1: Number line We use four types of inequalities to compare real numbers x<y xy x>y xy x is less than y x is less that or equal to y x is greater than y x is greater than or equal to y

The double inequality a < b < c is shorthand for the pair of inequality a <b and b < c. Geometrically, the inequality x b means that either x equals to b or x lies to the left of b on the number line. The set of real numbers that satisfy the double inequality a x b corresponds to the line segment between a and b, including the endpoints. This set is sometimes denoted by [a, b] and is called the closed interval from a to b. If a and b are removed from the set, the set is written as(a, b) and is called the open interval from a to b. The notation for various line segment is listed in Table 1. Table 1 Intervals on the Number Line Inequality axb a<x<b ax<b a<xb ax a<x xb x<b Geometric Description a a a a a a Interval Notation [a,b] (a,b) [a,b) (a,b] [a,) (a,) ( - , b ] ( - , b )

b b b b

b b

The symbol (infinity) and -(minus infinity) do not represent actual real numbers. Rather, they indicate that the corresponding line segment extends infinitely far to the right or left. An inequality that describes such an infinite interval may be written in two ways. For instance, a x is equivalent to x a. Functions - A function of a variable x is a rule f that assigns to each value of x a unique number f(x), called the value of the function at x. [ We read f(x) as f of x] The variable x is called the independent variable. The set of values that the independent
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variable is allowed to assume is called the domain of the function. The domain of a function may be explicitly specified as part of the definition of a function or it may be understood from context. The range of a function is set of values that the function assumes. More About the Domain of a Function When defining a function, it is necessary to specify the domain of the functions, which is the set of acceptable values of the variable. Graph of Functions Often it is helpful to describe a function f geometrically , using a rectangular xy-coordinate system. Given any x in the domain of f , we can plot the point (x, f(x)). This is the point in the xy-plane whose y- coordinate is the value of the function at x. The set of all such points (x, f(x)) usually forms a curve in the xy-plane and is called the graph of the function f(x). The Vertical Line Test A curve in the xy-plane is the graph of the function if and only if each vertical line cuts or touches the curve at no more than one point. Three Views of a Function 1. Giving a formula for the functions along with any limitation on the values of the independent variable. A function specified in terms of a formula is said to be defined analytically. 2. By drawing a graph. Such a function is said to be defined graphically. 3. By giving a table of function values. A function described in this way is said to be defined numerically. Graph of Equations The equations arising in connection with functions are all of the form y = [an expression in x]. However, not all equations connecting the variables x and y are of this sort. For eg. 2x + 3y = 5, x2 + y2 = 1 and etc.

1.2 Some Important Functions Linear Functions Every straight line is the graph of a linear equation of the form cx + dy = e, where c, d and e are given constants. If d 0, then we may solve the equation for y to obtain an equation of the form y = mx + c, (1)

for an appropriate numbers m and b. If d = 0, then we may solve the equation x to obtain an equation of the form x = a, (2)

for an appropriate number a. The graph of an equation of form (1) is a nonvertical line, whereas the graph of (2) is a vertical line. The straight line of (1) is the graph of a function f(x)=mx + b. Such a function, which is defined for all x, is called a linear function. The straight line of (2) is not the graph of a function, since the vertical line test is violated. An important special case of a linear function occurs if the value of m is zero, that is, f(x) = b for some number b. In this case, f(x) is called a constant function, since it assigns the same number b to every value of x. It is graph horizontal line whose equation is y = b. Quadratic Functions - A quadratic function is a function of the form f(x) = ax2 + bx + c, where a, b and c are constant and a 0. The domain of such a function consist of all numbers. The graph of a quadratic function is called a parabola. Two typical parabolas are drawn in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Quadratic function

Polynomial and Rational Functions A polynomial function f(x) is one of the form f(x) = anxn + a n-1 x n-1 + + ao where n is a nonnegative integer and ao, a1,,an are given numbers. A function expressed as the quotient of two polynomials is called a rational function. Eg. k(x) = x + 3 x-4 The domain of a rational function excludes all values of x for which the denominator is zero. Power Functions - Functions of the form f(x) = xr are called power functions. The Absolute Value Function The absolute value of a number x is denoted by |x| and is defined by x if x is positive or zero -x if x is negative

|x| =

The function defined for all numbers x by f(x) = |x| is called the absolute value function. Its graph coincides with the graph of the equation y = x for x 0 and with the graph of the equation y = -x for x < 0. (See Fig. 3)

Figure 3: Absolute value function

1.3 The Algebra of Functions Its all can be viewed as combinations of other functions. The algebraic technique needed to combine functions by addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Composition of Functions Another important way of combining two functions f(x) and g(x) is to substitute the functions g(x) for every occurrence of the variable x in f(x). The resulting function is called the composition ( or composite) of f(x) and g(x) and is denoted by f(g(x)). Measuring Change in a Variable Consider a variable x whose value is changing. Suppose that it starts from the value x = a and moves to the value x = b. We say that x = a is the initial value and that x = b is the terminal value of x. The change that x undergoes is just the terminal value minus the initial value and is denoted x( read delta x). That is we have
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x = [ terminal value ] [initial value] = b a Greek letter means change

1.4 Zeros of Functions The Quadratic Formula and Factoring A zero of function f(x) is a value of x for which f(x) = 0. The Quadratic Formula Consider the quadratic function f(x) = ax2 + bx + c, a 0. The zeros of this function are precisely the solutions of the quadratic equation ax2 + bx + c = 0, One way of solving such an equation is via the quadratic formula. The solutions of the equation ax2 + bx + c = 0 are

b b 2 4ac x= 2a
The sign tells us to form two expressions, one with + and one with -. The quadratic formula implies that the quadratic equation has at most two roots. It will have none if the expression b2 4ac is negative and one if b2 4ac equals 0. Factoring If f(x) is a polynomial, we can often write f(x) as a product of linear factors(i.e., factors of the form ax + b). If this can be done, then the zeros of f(x) can be determined by setting each of the linear factors equal to zero and solving for x.

1.5 Exponents and Power Functions We begin with the definition of br for various types of number b and r. For any nonzero number b and any positive integer n, we have by definition that bn = b.b.bb
n times

n b n = b= bn

and

b0 = 1

Finally, let us consider numbers of the form b m/n where m and n are positive integers. We may assume that the fraction m/n is in lowest terms ( so that m and n have no common factor). Then we define b m/n = (b1/n)m Law of Exponents 1. 2. 3. b rb s = b r+s b r = 1/br b r = b r . b s = b r - s bs 4. (b r)s = b r s 5. (a b) r = a r b r 6. a b
r

= ar br