Lecture 01
Lecture 01
Lecture 01
Lecture-01
Dr. Soumen Kundu
Department of Mathematics
School of Advanced Sciences (SAS)
VIT-AP University
Function
The idea of a function was introduced in the early
seventeenth century when Rene Descartes (1596-
1650) used the concept in his
book Geometry (1637) to model mathematical
problems.
Fifty years later, after the publication of Geometry,
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) introduced
the term “function.” Later, Leonhard Euler (1707-
1783) played a big role by introducing the
technique of function notion, y = f (x).
Function
Function
Application of Function
• Circumference of a circle
• A shadow: The length of the shadow of an object is a function of its height
• The position of a moving object: The location of a moving object such as a car is a
function of time.
• Temperature: The temperature of a body is based on several factors and inputs.
• Height of an object: The height of an object is a function of his/her age and body
weight.
• Money: The compound or simple interest is a function of the time, principal, and
interest rate.
How to Find the Domain and Range of a
Function?
Example 5: Find the domain and range of the following function f(x) = 2/ (x + 1)
Function
How to the domain for a function with a
variable inside a radical sign?
To find the domain of the function, the terms inside the radical are set the inequality of > 0 or ≥
0. Then, the value of the variable is determined.
Example 6: Find the domain of f(x) = √ (6 + x – x2)
• Solution To avoid the square roots of negative numbers, we set the expression inside the radical
sign to ≥ 0. 6 + x – x2 ≥ 0 ⟹ x 2 – x – 6≤ 0
• ⟹ x 2 – x – 6= (x – 3) (x +2) = 0
• Therefore, the function is zero if x = 3 or x = -2
• Hence the domain: [−2, 3]
Example 7
Find the domain of f(x) =x/√ (x2 – 9)
Solution
Set the expression within the radical sign to x2 – 9 > 0
Solve for the variable to get;
x = 3 or – 3
Therefore, Domain: (−∞, −3) & (3, ∞)
Example 8
Find the domain of f(x) = 1/√ (x2 -4)
Solution
By factoring the denominator, we get x ≠ (2, – 2).
Test your answer by plugging -3 into the expression within the radical sign.
⟹ (-3)2 – 4 = 5
also try with zero
⟹ 02 – 4 = -4, therefore number between 2 and -2 are invalid
Try number above 2
⟹ 32 – 4 = 5. This one is valid.
Hence, the domain = (-∞, -2) U (2, ∞)
How to find the domain of a function using
the natural logarithm (ln)?
To find the domain of a function using natural log, set the terms within the
parentheses to >0 and then solve.
Example 9: Find the domain of the function f(x) = ln (x – 8)
• Solution ⟹ x – 8 > 0
⟹x–8+8>0+8
⟹x>8
Domain:(8, ∞)
Composite Function
Function
Function