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Asymptotes of A Rational Function

In this PDF I am presenting all the methodology needed to find the asymptotes of a rational function.

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Charalampidis Dimitris
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© © All Rights Reserved
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105 views4 pages

Asymptotes of A Rational Function

In this PDF I am presenting all the methodology needed to find the asymptotes of a rational function.

Uploaded by

Charalampidis Dimitris
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Charalampidis Dimitris charalampidisdimitris.

com YouTube: haraldim1

Equations of Vertical and Horizontal Asymptotes of a rational function


We will begin this topic with some very useful definitions.
Definition 1: Rational function

P( x)
A rational function is a function in the form f ( x) = , where both P( x), Q( x) are
Q( x)
polynomials.
Definition 2: Degree of a polynomial
Degree of a polynomial is the highest exponent that can be seen in the polynomial. Given a
polynomial P(x), we symbolize its degree as deg P( x) .

Example

P( x) = 3x + 5 deg P ( x) = 1

P( x) = 3x 2 − 5 x + 6 deg P( x) = 2

P( x) = 5 x3 − x 2 + 4 x − 3 deg P( x) = 3
Special case: Have in mind than any constant number can be considered as a polynomial of 0
degree.
Definition 3: Highest degree term of a polynomial
The highest degree term of a polynomial is that term of the polynomial that contains the
variable with the highest exponent.
Example

P( x) = 3x 2 − 5 x + 6 3x 2

P( x) = −3x + 7 −3x

P( x) = 4 x3 − 6 x 2 + 10 x − 20 4 x3
Definition 4: Asymptote of a graph
An asymptote of a graph is a line at which the graph tends infinitely close to, but never crosses.
Charalampidis Dimitris charalampidisdimitris.com YouTube: haraldim1

Considering our Syllabus, we will be given a rational function and we will be asked to find the
equations of the Vertical and the horizontal asymptotes.

Vertical Asymptote VA
A vertical asymptote will be a perpendicular to the x-axis straight line in the form x = c .
To find the value of c, one must: take the function’s denominator
make it equal to 0 and
solve for x.
Example: Find the vertical asymptote of the given rational function in each case

5
i) f ( x) =
x

deno min ator : x VA : x = 0


4
ii ) f ( x) =
x −8

deno min ator : x − 8  VA : x − 8 = 0 → x = 8

3x + 10 A graph can
iii ) f ( x) =
2x − 6 have more than
one VA or even
none
deno min ator : 2 x − 6  VA : 2 x − 6 = 0 → 2 x = 6 → x = 3

7x − 4
iv) f ( x) =
x2 − 1

deno min ator : x 2 − 1 = 0 VA : x 2 − 1 = 0 → ( x − 1)( x + 1) = 0 → x − 1 = 0 or x +1 = 0


x = 1 or x = −1

5x
v) f ( x) =
x +12

deno min ator : x 2 + 1  VA : x 2 + 1 = 0 → x 2 = −1 Im possible


Charalampidis Dimitris charalampidisdimitris.com YouTube: haraldim1

Horizontal Asymptote HA
A Horizontal asymptote is a parallel to the x-axis straight line in the form .
To find the value of c we need to discriminate cases regarding the degrees of the function’s
numerator and denominator.

P( x)
For a given rational function f ( x) = ,
Q( x)
Case 1: If deg P( x)  deg Q( x) , then the horizontal asymptote will be the line with equation
y=0
Case 2: If deg P( x)  deg Q( x) , then there is no horizontal asymptote.

Case 3: If deg P( x) = deg Q( x) , then we have to take the highest terms of numerator and

denominator and divide them. The result of this division is


the value c we need.
Example: Calculate the horizontal asymptote of the given rational function in each case

4x − 6
i) f ( x) =
3x + 8

4x 4
deg P( x) = deg Q( x) Case 3 : HA : y = →y=
3x 3

4 x5 + 3x 2 − 6 x + 7
ii ) f ( x) =
3x − 6

deg P( x)  deg Q( x) Case 2 : HA : not any

4 x 2 − 3x + 6
iii ) f ( x) =
−2 x 2 + 4

4x2 4
deg P( x) = deg Q( x) Case 3 : HA : y = → y = → y = −2
−2 x 2 −2
Charalampidis Dimitris charalampidisdimitris.com YouTube: haraldim1

14 x − 6
iv) f ( x) =
3x 2 + 8

deg P( x)  deg Q( x) Case 1: HA : y = 0

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