You can think of a function as being a box with a special rule...

stuff goes in the

box... and stuff comes out of the box.

Let's start with a movie title box:

THE RULE: Spit out the first letter of the movie title.
(Only movie titles can go in.)

What if we tried this?

Hmm... 101 Dalmations starts with a number, not a letter... So, we can't even put it
in the box!

(Think about it... Where would they have this movie at the video store? Before the
A's!)

Here are some official math terms:

The stuff that goes IN the box (the INPUT)

is called the DOMAIN.
The stuff that spits OUT of the box (the OUTPUT)
is called the RANGE.

Domain guys go in... Range guys spit out.

(If you forget the order, it's alphabetical D R.)

So, for this box...

domain = all movies that start with a letter

(101 Dalmations is not in the domain.)

range = the alphabet

And, yes, there are movies for each letter. Here are some for the weird letters:
 Q = Queen Elizabeth (art film)

X = Xanadu (bad disco movie)

Z = Zulu Warriors (pure action!)

Let's try a box with some numbers in it:

THE RULE: Add 1

What can we put in this box?

We can put anything in this box -- even goofy irrational numbers like ! So...

domain = all real numbers

range = all real numbers
Try this box:

THE RULE: Square it!

(You figure out the outputs.)

What's the domain? ________________

What's the range? ________________

One last box:

THE RULE: Triple the input, then subtract 5

What's the domain and range for this function?

domain = all real numbers

= interval notation

range =

TRY IT:
What's the domain and range for this function?
THE RULE: Take the square root, then add 4
 *We're only dealing with real numbers -- no imaginary guys!

Instead of drawing boxes all the time, we need a way to talk about functions with
math symbols.

Let's take a look at a couple of the boxes in our last lesson:

THE RULE: Add 1

If we use x to represent our domain guys, here's the official notation:

(You read this guy, f(x), as "f of x.")

x guys go in... and x + 1 guys spit out.

But, ...
So...

x guys go in... and f(x) guys spit out!

( f(x) is just the official output name. )
So, this guy...

Is officially written as

What if our input is -5?

Here's another way to look at it:

We started with ...

f(-5) is like saying "let x = -5."

What about this box?

The official notation would be

So,

like letting x =9
If we've got the picture of a critter (i.e. the graph), there's an easy way to tell if it's a
function or not.

It's called THE VERTICAL LINE TEST:

If you can draw a vertical line anywhere on

a graph so that it hits the graph in more
than one spot, then the graph is NOT a function.

Check out Standard Parabola Guy:

No matter where
we drop a vertical
line, it only hits the
parabola in one
spot.

So, Standard Parabola Guy is a function!

What about a parabola lying on its side?

(I'll teach you about these later.)

Ouch! This guy

hits in two spots!

So, Sideways Parabola Guy is not a function.

The only problem with this method is that you don't always have a picture to look
at.

(There are other ways to tell that I'll show you later.)

Which of these are functions?

The first two are... The first guy is just a line. He's officially called a linear function.

What's the only type of line that isn't a function? ________________

The second guy passes the vertical line test, so it's a function.

The last guy fails the vertical line test and is not a function.
Which of these are functions? Draw rough sketches of the
graphs so you can do the vertical line test:

What about these?

Sometimes we (math geeks) like to mess around with sets of points like

This set is a rule -- just like our boxes were.

Rule
These guys in the set are just like ( x , y ) points on a graph...
So, we can actually graph this thing:

* Don't connect the dots!

These are isolated points and
this isn't a coloring book!
Just like before, the x guys are our input guys -- the domain:

And remember that y guys are really f(x) guys -- range guys:

OK, so how can I tell if this guy is a function or not? There are two ways: The
vertical line test (which we'll stick with) and another way that uses cool domain and
range blobs (which you'll probably see if you go on to take some harder courses in
math.)

Here's the vertical line test way -- but, now I want to be sophisticated and use the
official definition:

Yes, R is a function since each

element in the domain goes to
exactly one element in the range.
(It passes the vertical line test.)
Here's the official definition:

A rule is a function if
each element in the domain
goes to
exactly one element in the range.

Check out this guy:

Let's graph those points:

R is NOT a function since one element in

the domain (1) goes to two elements in
the range
(2 and 4.)
Or, you can just say that R is not a function
since 1 goes to 2 AND 1goes to 4.

So, it fails the vertical line test!

Remember that domain guys are all the x's that you are allowed to put into a
function... and the range guys are all the guys that get spit out of the function:
 And remember that

f(x) is just another name for y!

Now, I want to look more at graphs, so let's look at this like

Let's look at Standard Parabola Guy:

Before we look at the graph, let's think about it again...

What x guys are we allowed to put into this thing?

We can square anything!

So, what kind of y guys come out?

Squares are never negative!

Let's use this to make a connection with the graph of Standard Parabola Guy:

Notice that this parabola gets wider and wider... Eventually, if we kept
drawing, ALL x's would be involved in the graph.
And notice that the y guys go from zero up.
This matches up with our function box thinking!

domain

range
Let's look at another one:

Let's find the domain and range of this guy:

Hmm... Well, I can't THINK of any x's that can't be put into this thing... But, what
about the range?

We really need to graph it.

Again, the domain will be all x's (since he spreads out forever). And the range goes
from 3 down...

domain range

Now that you get the idea, can you figure out the domain and range of this thing?

What x guys are involved?

So, the domain is

What y guys are involved?

So, the range is

OK, so suppose we don't have the graph of a function to look at like in the last
section...

Can we still find the domain and range?

Domains: Yes (as long as the algebra doesn't

get too hairy... and it won't for us.)

Ranges: Not really (you usually need the

picture -- unless it's something
really basic.)
So, we'll just be doing domains on these -- which is really where the action is
anyway.

Asking for the domain of a function is the same as asking

"What are all the possible x guys

that I can stick into this thing?"
Sometimes, what you'll really be looking for is

"Is there anything I CAN'T stick in?"

Check it out:

Let's find the domain of

Do you see any x guys that would cause a problem here?

What about ?

So, x = 3 is a bad guy! Everyone else is OK, though.

The domain is all real numbers except 3.

What would the interval notation be?

When in doubt, graph it on a number line:

Do the interval notation in two pieces:

domain
Sometimes, you can't find the domain with a quick look.

Check it out:

Let's find the domain of

Hmm... It's not so obvious!

BUT, we are still looking for the same thing:

The bad x that makes

the denominator 0!
How do we find it? Easy!

Set the denominator = 0 and solve!

The domain is
How about this one?

Square roots -- what do we know about square roots?

... So, 16 is OK to put in.

... So, 0 is OK.

... Yuck! But, 3.2 is OK.

... Nope! Can't do it!

*We only want real numbers!

No negatives are OK!

The inside of a radical cannot be negative if we want real answers only (no i guys).
So, the inside of a radical has to be 0 or a positive number.

Set and solve it!

Now, let's find the domain of

So, the domain of is .

Here's a messier one:

Let's find the domain of

Set and solve!

The domain is .

OK, so we're cool with the easy notation like

So

These ( ) are killer important!

What if we let x = k?

We'd get

That wasn't so bad... but, they get worse!

 What would be?
Let's get your brain thinking the right way... Then it will be easy!

Think of it as

This function guy takes any blob... squares it... then adds 5! So...

Whoa, dude! You just got tricked into doing one of the hardest things in Algebra!

If

What about this one?

If
Find f(blob):
Find f(zebra):

Find f(x+h):

Always do the blob thing and use ( ) and you'll never go wrong!
OK, so why did I get such a charge out of finding f(x+h) in the last lesson?

Because it shows up in a formula that is super important in Calculus!

The Difference Quotient:

So, you're going to be given a function like

and you'll need to work out that big mess. It's not that bad once you get the hang of
it.
It's just three pieces:

Which we can now

do!

Easy - just
remember to use ( )!

Piece of cake!

Let's start working this thing out. Here's the original function:

Here are the pieces:

Do the blob thang!

This is just subtracting the original function

 Just stick an h under everything and clean up that bad boy!

Here we go!

Let's do another one:

Given find the difference quotient:

Do the blob thang:
* If you do these correctly,
this h will reduce out at the end!