Lecture 1

Functions and
Models
Four Ways to Represent
1.1 Functions
Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Definition of a Function
Four Ways to Represent a Function
 verbally (by a description in words)

 numerically (by a table of values)
 visually (by a graph)
 algebraically (by an explicit formula)
Verbally (with words)
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Publishing as Pearson Addison-Wesley
Numerically: using Tables -
Visually: using Graphs -
Algebraically: using Formulas – There are several Categories of Functions:
Theorem: Vertical Line Test
x4
(a) f  x   2
x  2x  3
(b) g  x   x 2  9
(c) h  x   3  2 x
Piecewise-defined Functions:
Example:
Example:
The function f is defined as

 x2 if x < 0

f  x  2 if x = 0
 x  2 if x > 0

(a) Find f (-2), f (0), and f (3). (b) Determine the domain of f .
(c) Graph f . (d) Use the graph to find the range of f .
(e) Is f continuous on its domain?
A common Piecewise Defined Function:
Absolute value function: f (x) = |x|
x if x  0
f(x) = |x| =
–x if x < 0
Symmetry
• If a function f satisfies f (–x) = f (x) for every number x in
its domain, then f is called an even function.
The graph of an even function is
symmetric with respect to the y-axis
• If f satisfies f (–x) = –f (x) for every number x in its

domain, then f is called an odd function.
The graph of an odd function is symmetric
about the origin
An even function
Figure 19
f x   3 x  x  2
4 2
g  x  5 x  1
3
h  x  2 x  x
3
Increasing and Decreasing Functions
Where is the function
increasing?
decreasing?
constant?
Average rate of change of a Function
1 2
Find the average rate of change of f  x   x :
2
From 0 to 1
1.2
Essential Functions
Linear
When we say that y is a linear function of x, we mean that
the graph of the function is a line, so we can use the
slope-intercept form of the equation of a line to write a
formula for the function as
y = f (x) = mx + b
where m is the slope of the line and b is the y-intercept.
Example:
Polynomial
A function P is called a polynomial if
P (x) = anxn + an–1xn–1 + . . . + a2x2 + a1x + a0
where n is a nonnegative integer and the numbers

a0, a1, a2, . . ., an are constants called the coefficients of the polynomial.
The domain of any polynomial is If the leading coefficient an

 0, then the degree of the polynomial is n.
Example: the function
is a polynomial of degree 6.
A polynomial of degree 1 is of the form P (x) = mx + b and so it is a linear
function.
A polynomial of degree 2 is of the form P (x) = ax2 + bx + c and is called a

quadratic function.
Graph is a parabola obtained by shifting the parabola y = ax2. The parabola

opens upward if a > 0 and downward if a < 0. Examples:
A polynomial of degree 3 is of the form
P (x) = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d a0
and is called a cubic function.
Examples: the graph of a cubic function in part (a) and graphs of polynomials of
degrees 4 and 5 in parts (b) and (c).
Figure 8
Power Functions
A function of the form f(x) = xa, where a is a constant, is called a power
function. We consider several cases.
(i) a = n, where n is a positive integer

The graphs of f(x) = xn for n = 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are shown below. (These are
polynomials with only one term.)
Power Functions – cont.
(ii) a = 1/n, where n is a positive integer
The function is a root function.

For n = 2 it is the square root function whose domain is [0, ) and
whose graph is the upper half of the parabola x = y2.
For other even values of n, the graph of is similar to that of
Graph of root function

Figure 13(a)
For n = 3 we have the cube root function whose domain is and

whose graph is shown below.
The graph of for n odd (n > 3) is similar to that of
Graph of root function

Figure 13(b)
(iii) a = –1
The graph of the reciprocal function f (x) = x –1 = 1/x is shown below.
Its graph has the equation y = 1/x, or xy = 1, and is a hyperbola with the
coordinate axes as its asymptotes.
The reciprocal function

Figure 14
Rational Functions
A rational function f is a ratio of two polynomials:
where P and Q are polynomials. The domain consists of all values of x such
that Q(x)  0.
A simple example of a rational

function is the function f (x) = 1/x,
whose domain is {x | x  0}; this
is the reciprocal function.
The reciprocal function
Figure 14
Example:
is a rational function with domain {x | x  2}. Its graph is:
Figure 16
Algebraic Functions
A function f is called an algebraic function if it can be constructed using
algebraic operations (such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division,
and taking roots) starting with polynomials. Any rational function is
automatically an algebraic function.
Here are two more examples:

Examples:
The graphs of algebraic functions can
assume a variety of shapes. Figure 17
illustrates some of the possibilities.
Figure 17
Trigonometric Functions
In calculus the convention is that radian measure is always
used (except when otherwise indicated).
For example, when we use the function f (x) = sin x, it is

understood that sin x means the sine of the angle whose
radian measure is x.
Graphs of Sine and Cosine:
Thus the graphs of the sine and cosine functio
shown in Figure 18.
Figure 18
Notice that for both the sine and cosine functions the domain is ( , )
and the range is the closed interval [–1, 1].
Thus, for all values of x, we have
or, in terms of absolute values,
| sin x |  1 | cos x |  1
Also, the zeros of the sine function occur at the integer
multiples of  ; that is,
sin x = 0 when x = n n an integer
An important property of the sine and cosine functions is

that they are periodic functions and have period 2 .
This means that, for all values of x,

Trigonometric Functions – cont.
The tangent function is related to the sine and cosine
functions by the equation:
and its graph is shown here ->

It is undefined
whenever cos x = 0, that is,
when x =  /2, 3 /2, . . . .
y = tan x
Its range is ( , ). Figure 19
Notice that the tangent function has period  :
tan (x + ) = tan x for all x
The remaining three trigonometric functions (cosecant, secant, and cotangent)

are the reciprocals of the sine, cosine, and tangent functions.
Values of Trig functions:
Refer to the review lecture on the class
website:
Review of Trigonometry for

Math 207
Solving Trig. Equations
Exponential Functions
The exponential functions are the functions of the form
f (x) = ax, where the base a is a positive constant.
The graphs of y = 2x and y = (0.5)x are shown below.

In both cases the domain is ( , ) and the range is (0, ).
Exponential functions are useful for modeling many natural phenomena,

such as population growth (if a > 1) and radioactive decay (if a < 1).
Logarithmic Functions
The logarithmic functions f (x) = logax, where the base a is a
positive constant, are the inverse functions of the exponential
functions.
This graph shows four logarithmic

functions with various bases.
In each case the domain is (0, ),

the range is ( , ),
and the function increases slowly
when x > 1.
Figure 21
Practice
Classify the following functions as one of the types of
functions that we have discussed.
(a) f(x) = 5x
(b) g (x) = x5
(c)
(d) u (t) = 1 – t + 5t 4
– Solution
(a) f(x) = 5x is an exponential function.
(The x is the exponent.)
(b) g (x) = x5 is a power function. (The x is the base.)

We could also consider it to be a polynomial of degree 5.
(c) is an algebraic function.
(d) u (t) = 1 – t + 5t 4 is a polynomial of degree 4.

Recap - Categories of Functions:
1) Polynomial functions (nth degree, coefficient, up to n zeros or roots)

2) Rational Functions: P(x)/Q(x) – Define domain.
3) Algebraic functions: contain also roots. Ex: f(x)=Sqrt(2x^3-2) or
f(x)=x^2/3(x^3+1)
4) Trig. Functions and their inverses.
5) Exponential functions: f(x)=b^x ; b: base, positive, real.
6) Logarithmic functions: related to exponentials (inverse), log bx – b: base, positive
and not 1.
Most common: Exponential base e (2.718…) and inverse: Natural Log.
1.3
New function graphs from old ones:

Using Transformations
Remember how to graphs the
following basic functions:
Transformation on
functions:
Getting new graphs
from old ones.
Use the graph of f  x   x 2 to obtain the graph of the following:
(a) g  x   x 2  2
(b) h  x   x 2  2
Graph the function f  x   x  2   3
2
Combinations of Functions
Two functions f and g can be combined to form new
functions f + g, f – g, fg, and f/g in a manner similar to the
way we add, subtract, multiply, and divide real numbers.
The sum and difference functions are defined by
(f + g)(x) = f (x) + g (x) (f – g)(x) = f (x) – g (x)
If the domain of f is A and the domain of g is B, then the

domain of f + g is the intersection A ∩ B because both
f (x) and g(x) have to be defined.
For example, the domain of is A = [0, ) and the

domain of is B = ( , 2], so the domain of
is A ∩ B = [0, 2].
Another way of combining two functions is: composition
For example, suppose that y = f (u) =

and u = g (x) = x2 + 1.
Since y is a function of u and u is, in turn, a function of x, it

follows that y is ultimately a function of x. We compute
this by substitution:
y = f (u) = f (g (x)) = f (x2 + 1) =
.
Practice
If f (x) = x2 and g (x) = x – 3, find the composite functions
f  g and g  f.
Solution:
(f  g)(x) = f (g (x)) = f (x – 3) = (x – 3)2
= g (x2) = x2 – 3
(g  f)(x) = g (f (x))
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Publishing as Pearson Addison-Wesley
Exponent rules
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education,

Inc. Publishing as Pearson Addison-
Wesley

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Functions and

Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

 verbally (by a description in words)

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

The function f is defined as

Absolute value function: f (x) = |x|

• If f satisfies f (–x) = –f (x) for every number x in its

P (x) = anxn + an–1xn–1 + . . . + a2x2 + a1x + a0

where n is a nonnegative integer and the numbers

The domain of any polynomial is If the leading coefficient an

Example: the function

A polynomial of degree 2 is of the form P (x) = ax2 + bx + c and is called a

Graph is a parabola obtained by shifting the parabola y = ax2. The parabola

P (x) = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d a0

and is called a cubic function.

(i) a = n, where n is a positive integer

The function is a root function.

For other even values of n, the graph of is similar to that of

Graph of root function

For n = 3 we have the cube root function whose domain is and

The graph of for n odd (n > 3) is similar to that of

Graph of root function

The reciprocal function

A simple example of a rational

is a rational function with domain {x | x  2}. Its graph is:

Here are two more examples:

For example, when we use the function f (x) = sin x, it is

Thus, for all values of x, we have

or, in terms of absolute values,

sin x = 0 when x = n n an integer

An important property of the sine and cosine functions is

This means that, for all values of x,

and its graph is shown here ->

tan (x + ) = tan x for all x

The remaining three trigonometric functions (cosecant, secant, and cotangent)

Review of Trigonometry for

The graphs of y = 2x and y = (0.5)x are shown below.

Exponential functions are useful for modeling many natural phenomena,

This graph shows four logarithmic

In each case the domain is (0, ),

(b) g (x) = x5 is a power function. (The x is the base.)

(c) is an algebraic function.

(d) u (t) = 1 – t + 5t 4 is a polynomial of degree 4.

1) Polynomial functions (nth degree, coefficient, up to n zeros or roots)

New function graphs from old ones:

(f + g)(x) = f (x) + g (x) (f – g)(x) = f (x) – g (x)

If the domain of f is A and the domain of g is B, then the

For example, the domain of is A = [0, ) and the

For example, suppose that y = f (u) =

Since y is a function of u and u is, in turn, a function of x, it

y = f (u) = f (g (x)) = f (x2 + 1) =

(f  g)(x) = f (g (x)) = f (x – 3) = (x – 3)2

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education,

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