Calculus MTH 3100

Chapter 1 : Intro. To Calculus

L1 1.2 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.

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 Calculus MTH 3100
Chapter 1 : Intro. To Calculus

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 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

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.

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Definition : Function
A function from a set X to a set Y is a rule that
assigns a unique (single) element to
each element

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 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)

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Chapter 1 : Intro. To Calculus

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:

Solution :

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 Calculus MTH 3100
Chapter 1 : Intro. To Calculus

(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.

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 Calculus MTH 3100
Chapter 1 : Intro. To Calculus

Example :

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

f(-2), f(p) and

Solution :

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 :

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 Calculus MTH 3100
Chapter 1 : Intro. To Calculus

Find the domains for

Solution :

(a) We must exclude 3 from the domain

because it would require division by zero.
Thus the domain is 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 is a real number no matter
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 .
That is, we must have

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 Calculus MTH 3100
Chapter 1 : Intro. To Calculus

(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 }

y

y=f(x)
x
The Vertical Line Test

If 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

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 Calculus MTH 3100
Chapter 1 : Intro. To Calculus

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 :

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 Calculus MTH 3100
Chapter 1 : Intro. To Calculus

8 f(x) = 8

x
Figure 4 : Function

2. A linear function is defined by a formula

of the form f(x) = mx+ b, with m and b
constant, and . (m is the slope of a
line)

Example :
y

x
Figure 5 : Function

3. A quadratic function is defined by a

formula of the form

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Chapter 1 : Intro. To Calculus

Example :

0 x
Figure 6 : Function

4. A polynomial function is defined by a

formula of the form

with n a nonnegative integer and

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

Example :

5.A power function, defined by a formula of

the form

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 Calculus MTH 3100
Chapter 1 : Intro. To Calculus

(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
is a rational function.

Example :

7.A root function is defined by a formula of

the form , with n a positive 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 :

8. The absolute value function is defined by a

formula of the form

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 Calculus MTH 3100
Chapter 1 : Intro. To Calculus

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

Figure 7: Function

9. The greatest integer function is defined to

be the greatest integer not exceeding x, and
is denoted by .
If x is an integer, then [x] = x. Then,
observe that if n is an integer and
, then [x] = n .

y
2

-2 -1 0 1 2 3 x
-1

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 Calculus MTH 3100
Chapter 1 : Intro. To Calculus

Figure 8 : Function

Example : Sketch the graph of function

Solution :

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