GCSE/IGCSE-FM Functions

Dr J Frost ([email protected])
@DrFrostMaths
www.drfrostmaths.com

Last modified: 2nd October 2019

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OVERVIEW

#1: Understanding of functions #2: Inverse Functions

GCSE IGCSEFM GCSE

#3: Composite Functions

GCSE
OVERVIEW

#4: Piecewise functions #5: Domain/Range of common functions

(particularly quadratic and trigonometric)
IGCSEFM
IGCSEFM

#6: Domain/Range of other #7: Constructing a function based

functions IGCSEFM on a given domain/range. IGCSEFM
What are Functions?
A function is something which provides a rule on how to map inputs to outputs.
From primary school you might have seen this as a ‘number machine’.

Input Output

𝑥 f 2𝑥

Input Output
Name of the function
(usually 𝑓 or 𝑔)
?
𝑓(𝑥) = 2𝑥
Check Your Understanding

𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥2 + 2
Q1 What does this function do?
It squares the input?then adds 2 to it.

Q2 What is 𝑓(3)?
𝒇 𝟑 = 𝟑𝟐 + 𝟐 = 𝟏𝟏
?
Q3 What is 𝑓(−5)?
𝒇 −𝟓 = −𝟓 𝟐 + ?𝟐 = 𝟐𝟕
This question is asking
the opposite, i.e. “what
Q4 If 𝑓 𝑎 = 38, what is 𝑎? input 𝑎 would give an
𝒂𝟐 + 𝟐 = 𝟑𝟖 output of 38?”
So 𝒂 = ±𝟔 ?
Algebraic Inputs
If you change the input of the function (𝑥), just replace each
occurrence of 𝑥 in the output.

If 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 + 1 what is: If 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 − 1 what is:

𝑓 𝑥 − 1 = 𝒙 − 𝟏 ?+ 𝟏 = 𝒙 𝑓 𝑥−1 = 𝒙−𝟏 𝟐−𝟏

?
𝑓 𝑥 2 = 𝒙𝟐 + 𝟏 ? 𝟐
= 𝒙 − 𝟐𝒙
𝑓 𝑥 2 = 𝒙 + 𝟏 𝟐? 𝑓 2𝑥 = 𝟐𝒙 𝟐 − 𝟏
𝑓 2𝑥 = 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟏 ? 𝟐 ?
= 𝟒𝒙 − 𝟏
2 𝟐 𝟐
𝑓 𝑥 + 1 = 𝒙 + 𝟏? − 𝟏
If 𝑓 𝑥 = 2𝑥 what is: = 𝒙𝟒 + 𝟐𝒙𝟐
𝑓 𝑥−1 = 𝟐 𝒙−𝟏
?
= 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟐
𝑓 𝑥 2 = 𝟐𝒙𝟐 ?
𝑓 𝑥 2 = 𝟐𝒙 𝟐 ?= 𝟒𝒙𝟐
Test Your Understanding
A If 𝑔 𝑥 = 3𝑥 − 1, determine:
(a) 𝑔 𝑥 − 1 = 𝟑 𝒙 − 𝟏 − ?𝟏 = 𝟑𝒙 − 𝟒
(b) 𝑔 2𝑥 = 𝟑 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟏 = ? 𝟔𝒙 − 𝟏
(c) 𝑔 𝑥 3 = 𝟑𝒙𝟑 − 𝟏 ?

B If 𝑓 𝑥 = 2𝑥 + 1, solve 𝑓 𝑥 2 = 51
2𝑥 2 + 1 = 51
𝑥 = ±5 ?
 Exercise 1 (exercises on provided sheet)

2
1 If 𝑓 𝑥 = 2𝑥 + 5, find: 4 [AQA Worksheet] 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 + 𝑎𝑥 − 8.
a) 𝑓 3 = 𝟏𝟏 ? If 𝑓 −3 = 13, determine the value of 𝑎.
𝟗 − 𝟑𝒂 − 𝟖 = 𝟏𝟑
b) 𝑓 −1 = 𝟑 ? 𝒂 = −𝟒 ?
1
c) 𝑓 2
=𝟔 ?
2 If 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 + 5, find 5 If 𝑓 𝑥 = 5𝑥 + 2, determine the
a) 𝑓 −1 = 𝟔 ? following, simplifying where possible.
b) the possible values of 𝑎 such that a) 𝑓 𝑥 + 1 = 𝟓 𝒙 + 𝟏 +?𝟐 = 𝟓𝒙 + 𝟕
𝑓 𝑎 = 41 𝒂 =?±𝟔 b) 𝑓 𝑥 2 = 𝟓𝒙𝟐 + 𝟐 ?
c) The possible values of 𝑘 such that
𝟏
𝑓 𝑘 = 5.25 𝒌 =?± 𝟐
6 [AQA IGCSEFM June 2012 Paper 2]
𝑓 𝑥 = 3𝑥 − 5 for all values of 𝑥. Solve
𝑓 𝑥 2 = 43
3 [AQA Worksheet] 𝑓 𝑥 = 2𝑥 3 − 250.
Work out 𝑥 when 𝑓 𝑥 = 0 𝟑𝒙𝟐 − 𝟓 = 𝟒𝟑
𝒙 = ±𝟒 ?
𝟐𝒙𝟑 − 𝟐𝟓𝟎 = 𝟎 → 𝒙=𝟓
?
 Exercise 1 (exercises on provided sheet)

2 9 [Edexcel Specimen Papers Set 1, Paper

7 [AQA Worksheet] 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 + 3𝑥 − 10 2H Q18]
Show that 𝑓 𝑥 + 2 = 𝑥 𝑥 + 7 𝑓 𝑥 = 3𝑥 2 − 2𝑥 − 8
𝒇 𝒙 + 𝟐 = 𝒙 + 𝟐 𝟐 + 𝟑 𝒙 + 𝟐 − 𝟏𝟎 Express 𝑓 𝑥 + 2 in the form 𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥
? 𝟑𝒙 + 𝟔 − 𝟏𝟎
= 𝒙𝟐 + 𝟒𝒙 + 𝟒 + 𝟑𝒙𝟐 + 𝟏𝟎𝒙
?
= 𝒙𝟐 + 𝟕𝒙 = 𝒙 𝒙 + 𝟕
N [Senior Kangaroo 2011 Q20] The
polynomial 𝑓 𝑥 is such that
8 If 𝑓 𝑥 = 2𝑥 − 1 determine: 𝑓 𝑥 2 + 1 = 𝑥 4 + 4𝑥 2 and
(a) 𝑓 2𝑥 = 𝟒𝒙 −?𝟏 𝑓 𝑥 2 − 1 = 𝑎𝑥 4 + 4𝑏𝑥 2 + 𝑐. What is
(b) 𝑓 𝑥 2 = 𝟐𝒙𝟐 ?−𝟏 the value of 𝑎2 + 𝑏2 + 𝑐 2 ?
(c) 𝑓 2𝑥 − 1 = 𝟐 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟏 −?𝟏 = 𝟒𝒙 − 𝟑
𝒇 𝒙𝟐 + 𝟏 = 𝒙𝟐 (𝒙𝟐 + 𝟒)
(d) 𝑓 1 + 2𝑓 𝑥 − 1
By letting 𝒚 = 𝒙𝟐 + 𝟏:
= 𝒇 𝟒𝒙 − 𝟓 =?𝟖𝒙 − 𝟏𝟏
𝒇 𝒚 = (𝒚 − 𝟏)(𝒚 + 𝟑)
(e) Solve 𝑓 𝑥 + 1 + 𝑓 𝑥 − 1 = 0
Thus 𝒇 𝒙𝟐 − 𝟏 = 𝒇 𝒚 − 𝟐
𝟐 𝒙+𝟏 −𝟏+𝟐 𝒙−𝟏 −𝟏= 𝟎 = 𝒚 −? 𝟑 𝒚+𝟏
𝟏 = 𝒙𝟐 − 𝟐 𝒙𝟐 + 𝟐
𝟒𝒙 − 𝟐 = 𝟎 → ?𝒙 =
𝟐 = 𝒙𝟒 − 𝟒
𝒂 = 𝟏, 𝒃 = 𝟎, 𝒄 = −𝟒
𝒂𝟐 + 𝒃𝟐 + 𝒄𝟐 = 𝟏𝟕
Inverse Functions
A function takes and input and produces an output.
The inverse of a function does the opposite: it describes how we get from the
output back to the input.

Input Output

×3
2 6
÷?3 Bro-notation: The -1 notation
means that we apply the
function “-1 times”, i.e. once
backwards! You’ve actually
seen this before, remember
So if 𝑓 𝑥 = 3𝑥, then the inverse function is : sin−1 (𝑥) from trigonometry
−𝟏
𝒙 to mean “inverse sin”?
𝒇 𝒙 =
𝟑 ? It’s possible to have 𝑓 2 (𝑥),
we’ll see this when we cover
composite functions.
Quickfire Questions
In your head, find the inverse functions, by thinking what the original
functions does, and what the reverse process would therefore be.

𝑓 𝑥 =𝑥+5 𝑓 −1 𝑥 = 𝒙 −?𝟓

𝒙+𝟏
𝑓 𝑥 = 3𝑥 − 1 𝑓 −1
𝑥 = ?
𝟑
𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥+3 𝑓 −1 𝑥 = 𝒙 −?𝟑 𝟐

1 −1
𝟏
𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑓 𝑥 = ?
𝑥 𝒙
Bro Fact: If a function is the same as its inverse, it is known
as self-inverse. 𝑓 𝑥 = 1 − 𝑥 is also a self-inverse function.
Full Method
𝑥
If 𝑓 𝑥 = + 1, find 𝑓 −1 (𝑥).
5

𝑥 STEP 1: Write the output 𝑓(𝑥) as 𝑦

𝑦 =? + 1
5 This is purely for convenience.

𝑥
𝑦−1 = STEP 2: Get the input in terms of
5 the output (make 𝑥 the subject).
?5=𝑥
5𝑦 − This is because the inverse function is the
reverse process, i.e. finding the input 𝑥 in
terms of the output 𝑦.

𝑓 −1 𝑥 ?= 5𝑥 − 5 STEP 3: Swap 𝑦 back for 𝑥 and 𝑥

back for 𝑓 −1 𝑥 .
This is because the input to a function is
generally written as 𝑥 rather than 𝑦.
But technically 𝑓 −1 𝑦 = 5𝑦 − 5 would be
correct!
Harder One
𝑥+1
If 𝑓 𝑥 = , find 𝑓 −1 (𝑥).
𝑥−2

𝑥+1
𝑦=
𝑥−2
𝑥𝑦 − 2𝑦 = 𝑥 + 1
𝑥𝑦 − 𝑥 = 1 + 2𝑦
𝑥 𝑦 ?− 1 = 1 + 2𝑦
1 + 2𝑦
𝑥=
𝑦−1
−1
1 + 2𝑥
𝑓 𝑥 =
𝑥−1
Test Your Understanding
2𝑥+1 𝑥
If 𝑓 𝑥 = , find 𝑓 −1
(4). If 𝑓 𝑥 = , find 𝑓 −1 (𝑥).
3 2𝑥−1

𝟐𝒙 + 𝟏 𝒙
𝒚= 𝒚=
𝟑 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟏
𝟑𝒚 = 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟏 𝟐𝒙𝒚 − 𝒚 = 𝒙
𝟑𝒚 − 𝟏 = 𝟐𝒙 𝟐𝒙𝒚 − 𝒙 = 𝒚
𝟑𝒚 − 𝟏 𝒙 𝟐𝒚 − 𝟏 = 𝒚
𝒙= ? ?
𝒚
𝟐 𝒙=
−𝟏
𝟑𝒙 − 𝟏 𝟐𝒚 − 𝟏
𝒇 𝒙 =
𝟐
𝟏𝟏 𝒙
𝒇−𝟏 𝟑 = 𝒇−𝟏 𝒙 =
𝟐 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟏
Exercise 2 (exercises on provided sheet)

1 Find 𝑓 −1 (𝑥) for the following functions. 3 Find 𝑓 −1 (𝑥) for the following functions.
𝑥 𝟑𝒙
a 𝑓 𝑥 = 5𝑥 𝒇−𝟏 𝒙? = 𝟓
𝒙 a 𝑓 𝑥 =
𝑥+3
𝒇−𝟏 𝒙 = ?𝟏 − 𝒙
b 𝑓 𝑥 =1+𝑥 𝒇−𝟏 𝒙 ?=𝒙−𝟏 𝑥−2 𝟐
c 𝑓 𝑥 = 6𝑥 − 4 𝒇−𝟏 𝒙 ?=
𝒙+𝟒 b 𝑓 𝑥 =
𝑥
𝒇−𝟏 𝒙 = ? 𝟏−𝒙
𝟔
𝑥+7
𝒇−𝟏 𝒙 ? 2𝑥 − 1 𝒙−𝟏
d 𝑓 𝑥 = 3
= 𝟑𝒙 − 𝟕
c 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝒇 𝒙 ?
−𝟏 =
𝒙−𝟏 𝟐
𝑥−1 𝒙−𝟐
e 𝑓 𝑥 =5 𝑥+1 𝒇−𝟏 𝒙 = ?𝟓 1−𝑥 𝟏−𝒙
f 𝑓 𝑥 = 10 − 3𝑥
𝟏𝟎−𝒙
𝒇−𝟏 𝒙 = 𝟑
d 𝑓 𝑥 = −𝟏
𝒇 𝒙 = ?
? 3𝑥 + 1 𝟑𝒙 + 𝟏
3𝑥 𝟑𝒙
2 [Edexcel IGCSE Jan2016(R)-3H Q16c] e 𝑓 𝑥 =
3 + 2𝑥
−𝟏
𝒇 𝒙 = ? 𝟑 − 𝟐𝒙
2𝑥
𝑓 𝑥 =
𝑥−1
−1
Find 𝑓 𝑥 N Find the value of 𝑎 for which 𝑓 𝑥 =
𝑥
𝒙 is a self inverse function.
= 𝑥+𝑎
𝒙 −?𝟐 −𝟏
𝒂𝒙
𝒇 𝒙 =
𝟏−𝒙
𝒙 𝒂𝒙
If self-inverse: 𝒙+𝒂? ≡ 𝟏−𝒙
𝒂𝒙𝟐 + 𝒂𝟐 𝒙 ≡ 𝒙 − 𝒙𝟐
For 𝒙𝟐 and 𝒙 terms to match, 𝒂 = −𝟏.
Composite Functions

𝑓 𝑥 = 3𝑥 + 1
2
𝑔 𝑥 =𝑥
Have a guess! (Click your answer)

𝑓𝑔 2 = 49? 13?

𝑓𝑔(2) means 𝑓 𝑔 2 , i.e. “𝑓 of 𝑔 of 2”.

We therefore apply the functions to the
input in sequence from right to left.
Examples

𝑓 𝑥 = 3𝑥 + 1
2
𝑔 𝑥 =𝑥
Bro Tip: I highly encourage you to write this first. It will
Determine: help you when you come to the algebraic ones.

𝑓𝑔 5 = 𝒇 𝒈 𝟓 = 𝒇? 𝟐𝟓 = 𝟕𝟔
𝑔𝑓 −1 = 𝒈 𝒇 −𝟏 =?𝒈 −𝟐 = 𝟒
? 𝟏𝟑 = 𝟒𝟎
𝑓𝑓 4 = 𝒇 𝒇 𝟒 = 𝒇 Bro Note: This can also be written as
𝑓 2 (𝑥), but you won’t encounter this
notation in GCSE/IGCSE FM.
𝑔𝑓 𝑥 = 𝒈 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝒈 𝟑𝒙 + 𝟏
= 𝟑𝒙 + 𝟏 𝟐
?
More Algebraic Examples

𝑓 𝑥 = 2𝑥 + 1
1
𝑔 𝑥 =
Determine:
𝑥
𝟏
𝑓𝑔 𝑥 = 𝒇 𝒈 𝒙 ?= 𝒇
𝒙
𝟏 𝟐
=𝟐 +𝟏? = +𝟏
𝒙 𝒙
𝟏
𝑔𝑓 𝑥 = 𝒈 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟏 ?=
𝟐𝒙 + 𝟏
𝑓𝑓 𝑥 = 𝒇 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟏 = 𝟐 𝟐𝒙 ?+ 𝟏 + 𝟏 = 𝟒𝒙 + 𝟑
𝟏 𝟏
𝑔𝑔 𝑥 =𝒈 = =𝒙
𝒙 ? 𝟏
𝒙
Test Your Understanding
2
1 If 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥+1 and 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 − 1, 2
determine 𝑓𝑔(𝑥).
𝟐
𝟐 𝟐
𝒇 𝒙 − 𝟏 = ?𝟐 =
𝒙 − 𝟏 + 𝟏 𝒙𝟐

3 A function 𝑓 is such that

𝑓 𝑥 = 3𝑥 + 1
The function 𝑔 is such that
𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑘𝑥 2 where 𝑘 is a constant.

Given that 𝑓𝑔 3 = 55, determine

the value of 𝑘.

𝒇𝒈 𝟑 = 𝒇 𝟗𝒌 = 𝟑 𝟗𝒌 + 𝟏
= 𝟐𝟕𝒌 + 𝟏 ?= 𝟓𝟓
𝒌=𝟐 𝒇𝒈 −𝟑 = 𝒇 𝒈 −𝟑
?
= 𝒇 −𝟏
=𝟗
 Exercise 3 (exercises on provided sheet)

1 If 𝑓 𝑥 = 3𝑥 and 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑥 + 1, determine: 6 Let 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 + 1 and 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 + 1.

𝑓𝑔 2 = 𝟗 ? 𝑔𝑓 4 = 𝟏𝟑 ? If 𝑔𝑓 𝑥 = 17, determine the possible values of 𝑥.
𝑓𝑔 𝑥 = 𝟑𝒙 + 𝟑 ? ?
𝑔𝑓 𝑥 = 𝟑𝒙 + 𝟏 𝒈𝒇 𝒙 = 𝒙 + 𝟏 𝟐 + 𝟏 = 𝟏𝟕
𝑔𝑔 𝑥 = 𝒙 + 𝟐 ? 𝒙𝟐 + 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟐 = 𝟏𝟕

2 If 𝑓 𝑥 = 2𝑥 + 1 and 𝑔 𝑥 = 3𝑥 + 1
?
𝒙𝟐 + 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟏𝟓 = 𝟎
𝒙+𝟓 𝒙−𝟑 =𝟎
determine: 𝒙 = −𝟓 𝒐𝒓 𝒙 = 𝟑
𝑓𝑔 𝑥 = 𝟔𝒙 + 𝟑 ? ?
𝑔𝑓 𝑥 = 𝟔𝒙 + 𝟒
𝑓𝑓 𝑥 = 𝟒𝒙 + 𝟑 ? 2
7 Let 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 + 3𝑥 and 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑥 − 2.
If 𝑓𝑔 𝑥 = 0, determine the possible values of 𝑥.
2
3 If 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 − 2𝑥 and 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑥 + 1, find ?
𝒙 = −𝟏 𝒐𝒓 𝒙 = 𝟐
𝑓𝑔(𝑥), simplifying your expression.
𝒇 𝒙+𝟏 = 𝒙+𝟏 𝟐−𝟐 𝒙+𝟏 N [Based on MAT question]
?
= 𝒙𝟐 + 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟏 − 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟐 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 + 1 and 𝑔 𝑥 = 2𝑥
= 𝒙𝟐 − 𝟏 Let 𝑓 𝑛 (𝑥) means that you apply the function 𝑓 𝑛
times.
4 If 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 + 𝑘 and 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 and a) Find 𝑓 𝑛 (𝑥) in terms of 𝑥 and 𝑛.
𝑔𝑓 3 = 16, find the possible values of 𝑘. =𝒙+𝒏
𝒈𝒇 𝟑 = 𝒈 𝟑 + 𝒌 = 𝟑 + 𝒌 𝟐 = 𝟏𝟔 b) Note that 𝑔𝑓 2 𝑔 𝑥 = 4𝑥 + 4. Find all other
𝒌 = 𝟏, −𝟕 ? ways of combining 𝑓 and 𝑔 that result in the
function 4𝑥 + 4.
5 If 𝑓 𝑥 = 2(𝑥 + 𝑘) and 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 − 𝑥 and 𝒈𝟐 𝒇, 𝒇𝟐 𝒈𝒇𝒈, 𝒇𝟒 𝒈𝟐
𝑓𝑔 3 = 30, find 𝑘. ?
𝒇 𝒈 𝟑 = 𝒇 𝟔 = 𝟐 𝟔 + 𝒌 = 𝟑𝟎
𝒌=𝟗 ?
 This be ye end of GCSE
functions content.
Beyond this point there
be IGCSE Further Maths.
Yarr.
#4 :: Piecewise Functions
Sometimes functions are defined in ‘pieces’, with a different function for
different ranges of 𝑥 values.

Sketch >
Sketch >
Sketch >

(2, 9)

(0, 5)

(-1, 0) (5, 0)
Test Your Understanding
𝑥2 0≤𝑥<1 Sketch

𝑓 𝑥 =ቐ 1 1≤𝑥<2 Sketch

3−𝑥 2≤𝑥<3 Sketch

This example
was used on the
specification
itself!

(1, 1) (2, 1)

(3, 0)
 Exercise 4 (Exercises on provided sheet)

1 [Jan 2013 Paper 2] A function 𝑓(𝑥) is defined as: 2 [June 2013 Paper 2] A function 𝑓(𝑥) is
defined as:
4 𝑥 < −2
𝑓 𝑥 = ቐ 𝑥2 −2 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 2 𝑥+3 −3 ≤ 𝑥 < 0
12 − 4𝑥 𝑥>2
𝑓 𝑥 =ቐ 3 0≤𝑥<1
(a) Draw the graph of 𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥) for 5 − 2𝑥 1≤𝑥≤2
−4 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 4
Draw the graph of 𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥) for
(b) Use your graph to write down how many −3 ≤ 𝑥 < 2
solutions there are to 𝑓 𝑥 = 3 b?
3 sols
(c) Solve 𝑓 𝑥 = −10 c?
𝟏𝟐 − 𝟒𝒙 = −𝟏𝟎 → 𝒙 =
𝟏𝟏
𝟐

?
a?
 Exercise 4 (Exercises on provided sheet)

3 [Set 1 Paper 1] A function 𝑓(𝑥) is defined as: 4 [Specimen 1 Q4] A function 𝑓(𝑥) is
defined as:
3 0≤𝑥<2
𝑓 𝑥 = ቐ𝑥 + 1 2 ≤ 𝑥 < 4 3𝑥 0≤𝑥<1
9−𝑥 4 ≤𝑥 ≤9 𝑓 𝑥 =ቐ 3 1≤𝑥<3
12 − 3𝑥 3≤𝑥≤4
Draw the graph of 𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥) for 0 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 9.
Calculate the area enclosed by the
graph of 𝑦 = 𝑓 𝑥 and the 𝑥 −axis.

? Sketch ?

Area = 𝟗
?
Exercise 4 (Exercises on provided sheet)

5 [AQA Worksheet Q9] 6 [AQA Worksheet Q10]

−𝑥 2 0≤𝑥<2 2𝑥 0≤𝑥<1
𝑓 𝑥 = ቐ −4 2≤𝑥<3 3−𝑥 1≤𝑥<4
𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥−7
2𝑥 − 10 3 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 5 4≤𝑥≤7
3
Draw the graph of 𝑓(𝑥) from 0 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 5.

1 2 3 4 5 3 7
-1 -1
?
-2 Show that 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝐴: 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝐵 =
3: 2
-3 𝟏
Area of 𝑨 = × 𝟑 × 𝟐 = 𝟑
𝟐
-4 𝟏 ?
Area of 𝑩 = × 𝟒 × 𝟏 = 𝟐
𝟐
 Domain and Range
Inputs

-1 1 Outputs

0 0

1.7 𝑓 𝑥 2.89
2 = 𝑥2 4

3.1 9.61
... ...

! The domain of a function is the set of ! The range of a function is the set of
possible inputs. possible outputs.
Example
𝑦

𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥2 Sketch:
𝑥
Bro Note: By ‘suitable’, I mean the largest possible set of values that could be input into the function.

Suitable ? 𝑥
for all
Domain: We can use any real number as the input!
In ‘proper’ maths we’d use 𝑥 ∈ ℝ to mean “𝑥 can be any element in
the set of real numbers”, but the syllabus is looking for “for all 𝑥”.

Range: 𝑓 𝑥? ≥ 0
Look at the 𝑦 values on the graph.
The output has to be positive, since it’s been squared.

B Bro Tip: Note that the domain is in terms of 𝑥 and the range in terms of 𝑓 𝑥 .
Test Your Understanding
𝑦

𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 Sketch: ?
𝑥

Suitable 𝑥 ?≥ 0
Domain: Presuming the output has to be a real number, we
can’t input negative numbers into our function.

Range: 𝑓 𝑥? ≥ 0
The output, again, can only be positive.
 Mini-Exercise
In pairs, work out a suitable domain and the range of each function.
A sketch may help with each one.
3
1 2 Function 1
Function 𝑓 𝑥 = 2𝑥 Function 𝑓 𝑥 = 2𝑥 𝑓 𝑥 =
𝑥
Domain For all 𝑥 Domain For all 𝑥
Range
?
For all 𝑓(𝑥) Range
?
𝑓 𝑥 >0
Domain For all 𝑥 except 0
?
Range For all 𝑓 𝑥 except 0
4 5 6
Function 𝑓 𝑥 = sin 𝑥 Function 𝑓 𝑥 = 2 cos 𝑥 Function 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥3 + 1
Domain For all 𝑥 Domain For all 𝑥 Domain For all 𝑥
Range
?
−1 ≤ 𝑓 𝑥 ≤ 1 Range
?
−2 ≤ 𝑓 𝑥 ≤ 2 Range
?
For all 𝑓(𝑥)

7
1
8
Function 𝑓 𝑥 = +1 Function 𝑓 𝑥 = 2cos 𝑥+1
𝑥−2
Domain For all 𝑥 except 2 Domain 𝑥 > −1
?
Range ?
For all 𝑓 𝑥 except Range −2 ≤ 𝑓 𝑥 ≤ 2
1
 Range of Quadratics
A common exam question is to determine the range of a quadratic.

The sketch shows the function 𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥)

𝑦
where 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 − 4𝑥 + 7.
Determine the range of 𝑓(𝑥).

We need the minimum point, since

from the graph we can see that 𝒚
3 (i.e. 𝒇(𝒙)) can be anything greater
than this.
𝑥
𝒇 𝒙 = 𝒙?− 𝟐 𝟐 +𝟑

The minimum point is (𝟐, 𝟑) thus

the range is:
𝒇 𝒙 ≥𝟑
(note the ≥ rather than >)

An alternative way of thinking about it, once you’ve completed the square, is that anything
squared is at least 0. So if 𝑥 − 2 3 is at least 0, then clearly 𝑥 − 2 2 + 3 is at least 3.
Test Your Understanding
𝑦
The sketch shows the function 𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥) where
𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥+2 𝑥−4 .
Determine the range of 𝑓(𝑥).

𝑥 + 2 𝑥 − 4 = 𝑥 2 − 2𝑥 − 8
𝑥 = 𝑥−1 2−9
?
1, −9 Therefore 𝑓 𝑥 ≥ −9

𝑦
The sketch shows the function 𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥) where
2,25 𝑓 𝑥 = 21 + 4𝑥 − 𝑥 2 .
Determine the range of 𝑓(𝑥).

− 𝑥 2 − 4𝑥 − 21 = − 𝑥 − 2 2 − 4 − 21
𝑥 = 25 − 𝑥 − 2 2
Therefore 𝑓 𝑥 ≤ 25 ?
Range for Restricted Domains
Some questions are a bit jammy by restricting the domain. Look out for this, because
it affects the domain!

𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 + 4𝑥 + 3, 𝑥≥1
Determine the range of 𝑓(𝑥).

𝑦
Notice how the domain is 𝒙 ≥ 𝟏.
𝒇 𝒙 = (𝒙 + 𝟏)(𝒙 + 𝟑)
When 𝒙 = 𝟏, 𝒚 = 𝟏𝟐 + 𝟒 + 𝟑 = 𝟖
Sketching the graph, we see that
? when 𝒙 = 𝟏, the function is
increasing.
𝑥 Therefore when 𝒙 ≥ 𝟏,
−3 −1 1 𝒇 𝒙 ≥𝟖
Test Your Understanding

𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 − 3, 𝑥 ≤ −2 𝑓 𝑥 = 3𝑥 − 2, 0≤𝑥<4
Determine the range of 𝑓(𝑥). Determine the range of 𝑓(𝑥).

When 𝑥 = 0, 𝑓 𝑥 = −2
When 𝑥 = 4, 𝑓 𝑥 = 10

Range:
−𝟐 ≤ 𝒇 𝒙 < 𝟏𝟎
? 𝑥 ?
−2

When 𝑥 = −2, 𝑓 𝑥 = 1
As 𝑥 decreases from -2, 𝑓(𝑥)
is increasing. Therefore:
𝑓 𝑥 ≥1
Range of Trigonometric Functions

90° 180° 270° 360°

Suppose we restricted the domain in different ways.

Determine the range in each case (or vice versa). Ignore angles below 0 or above 360.

Domain Range
For all 𝑥 (i.e. unrestricted) −1 ≤ 𝑓? 𝑥 ≤ 1
180 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 360 −1 ≤ 𝑓? 𝑥 ≤ 0
0 ≤ 𝑥?≤ 180 0≤𝑓 𝑥 ≤1
Range of Piecewise Functions
It’s a simple case of just sketching the full function.

The sketch shows the graph of 𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥) with the domain 0 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 9

3 0≤𝑥<2
𝑓 𝑥 = ቐ𝑥 + 1 2 ≤ 𝑥 < 4
9−𝑥 4≤ 𝑥 ≤9
Determine the range of 𝑓(𝑥).

Range:
Graph ? 𝟎≤ 𝒇 𝒙 ?≤ 𝟓
Range
Test Your Understanding
The function 𝑓(𝑥) is defined for all 𝑥:
4 𝑥 < −2
𝑓 𝑥 = ቐ 𝑥2 −2 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 2
12 − 4𝑥 𝑥>2
Determine the range of 𝑓(𝑥).

Range:
Graph ? 𝒇 𝒙 ≤? 𝟒
Range
Exercise 5 (exercises on provided sheet)

1 Work out the range for each of these 4 [Set 1 Paper 2] (a) The function 𝑓(𝑥) is
functions. defined as:
(a) 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 + 6 for all 𝑥 𝑓 𝑥 = 22 − 7𝑥, −2 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝑝
𝒇 𝒙 ≥?𝟔 The range of 𝑓(𝑥) is −13 ≤ 𝑓 𝑥 ≤ 36
(b) 𝑓 𝑥 = 3𝑥 − 5, −2 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 6 Work out the value of 𝑝.
−𝟏𝟏 ≤ 𝒇?𝒙 ≤ 𝟏𝟑 𝒑=?𝟓
(c) 𝑓 𝑥 = 3𝑥 4 , 𝑥 < −2
𝒇 𝒙 > (b) The function 𝑔(𝑥) is defined as
? 𝟒𝟖 𝑔 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 − 4𝑥 + 5 for all 𝑥.
𝑥+2
2 (a) 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥−3 (i) Express 𝑔(𝑥) in the form 𝑥 − 𝑎 2 + 𝑏
𝒈 𝒙 = 𝒙?− 𝟐 𝟐 + 𝟏
Give a reason why 𝑥 > 0 is not a suitable
(ii) Hence write down the range of 𝑔(𝑥).
domain for 𝑓(𝑥).
𝒈 𝒙?≥ 𝟏
It would include 3, for which 𝒇(𝒙) is
undefined. ?
5 [June 2012 Paper 1] 𝑓 𝑥 = 2𝑥 2 + 7 for
(b) Give a possible domain for
all values of 𝑥.
𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥−5 𝒙 ≥ 𝟓?
(a) What is the value of 𝑓 −1 ?
𝒇 −𝟏? = 𝟗
𝑓 𝑥 = 3 − 2𝑥, 𝑎<𝑥<𝑏
3 (b) What is the range of 𝑓(𝑥)?
The range of 𝑓(𝑥) is −5 < 𝑓 𝑥 < 5
𝒇 𝒙?≥ 𝟕
Work out 𝑎 and 𝑏.
𝒂 = −𝟏,?𝒃 = 𝟒
Exercise 5 (exercises on provided sheet)

6 [Jan 2013 Paper 2] 8

𝑓 𝑥 = sin 𝑥 180° ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 360°
𝑔 𝑥 = cos 𝑥 0° ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝜃
(a) What is the range of 𝑓(𝑥)?
−𝟏 ≤ 𝒇?𝒙 ≤ 𝟎
(b) You are given that 0 ≤ 𝑔 𝑥 ≤ 1.
Work out the value of 𝜃.
𝜽 =?𝟗𝟎° Here is a sketch of
𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 + 6𝑥 + 𝑎 for all 𝑥,
where 𝑎 is a constant. The range
7 By completing the square or otherwise, of 𝑓(𝑥) is 𝑓 𝑥 ≥ 11. Work out
determine the range of the following
functions: the value of 𝑎.
(a) 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 − 2𝑥 + 5, for all 𝑥 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝒙+𝟑 𝟐−𝟗+𝒂
= 𝒙−𝟏 𝟐+𝟒 −𝟗 + 𝒂 = 𝟏𝟏 ?
Range: 𝒇?𝒙 ≥ 𝟒 𝒂 = 𝟐𝟎
(b) 𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑥 2 + 6𝑥 − 2, for all 𝑥
= 𝒙 + 𝟑 𝟐 − 𝟏𝟏
Range: 𝒇 ?
𝒙 ≥ −𝟏𝟏
Exercise 5 (exercises on provided sheet)

9 10

The straight line shows a sketch of 𝑦 =

𝑓(𝑥) for the full domain of the function. 𝑓(𝑥) is a quadratic function with domain
(a) State the domain of the function. all real values of 𝑥. Part of the graph of
𝟐 ≤ 𝒇 𝒙 ≤ 𝟏𝟒 𝑦 = 𝑓 𝑥 is shown.
? of the line.
(b) Work out the equation (a) Write down the range of 𝑓(𝑥).
𝒇 𝒙 = −𝟐𝒙 + 𝟏𝟎 𝒇 𝒙?≤ 𝟒
? (b) Use the graph to find solutions of the
equation 𝑓 𝑥 = 1.
𝒙 = −𝟎.? 𝟕, 𝟐. 𝟕
(c) Use the graph to solve 𝑓 𝑥 < 0.
𝒙 < −𝟏 ? 𝒐𝒓 𝒙 > 𝟑
Exercise 5 (exercises on provided sheet)

11 The function 𝑓(𝑥) is defined as: 13

𝑥 2−4 0≤𝑥<3
𝑓 𝑥 =ቊ
14 − 3𝑥 3 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 5
Work out the range of 𝑓 𝑥 .
?≤𝟓
𝒇(𝒙)

12 The function 𝑓(𝑥) has the domain

−3 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 3 and is defined as: [June 2012 Paper 2] A sketch of 𝑦 =
𝑔(𝑥) for domain 0 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 8 is shown.
𝑥 2 + 3𝑥 + 2 −3 ≤ 𝑥 < 0
𝑓 𝑥 =ቊ The graph is symmetrical about 𝑥 = 4.
2+𝑥 0≤𝑥≤3 The range of 𝑔(𝑥) is 0 ≤ 𝑔 𝑥 ≤ 12.
Work out the range of 𝑓 𝑥 . Work out the function 𝑔(𝑥).
𝟏
− ≤ 𝒇? 𝒙 ≤ 𝟓 𝑔 𝑥 =ቊ
? 0≤𝑥≤4
𝟒 ? 4<𝑥≤8

𝟑𝒙 𝟎≤𝒙≤𝟒
𝟐𝟒 − ?
𝒈 𝒙 =ቊ
𝟑𝒙 𝟒<𝒙≤𝟖
Constructing a function from a domain/range
June 2013 Paper 2

What would be the simplest

function to use that has this
𝑦 domain/range?
A straight line! Note, that
11
could either be going up or
down (provided ? it starts and
ends at a corner)

What is the equation of this?

𝟖
3 𝒎= =𝟐
𝟒
𝒚 − 𝟑 = 𝟐?𝒙 − 𝟏
𝒚 = 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟏
𝑥 𝒇 𝒙 = 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟏
1 5
Constructing a function from a domain/range
Sometimes there’s the additional constraint that the function is ‘increasing’ or
‘decreasing’. We’ll cover this in more depth when we do calculus, but the meaning of
these words should be obvious.

𝑓 𝑥 is a decreasing function with domain 4 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 6 and range 7 ≤ 𝑓 𝑥 ≤ 19.

𝑦
𝟏𝟐
19 𝒎=− = −𝟔
𝟐
𝒚 − 𝟕 = −𝟔 𝒙 − 𝟔
𝒚 = −𝟔𝒙 + 𝟒𝟑
𝒇 𝒙 = 𝟒𝟑 − 𝟔𝒙
7 ?

𝑥
4 6
Exercise 6 (exercises on provided sheet)

1 Domain is 1 ≤ 𝑥 < 3. Range 1 ≤ 𝑓 𝑥 ≤ 3. 𝑓(𝑥) is an increasing function.

𝒇 𝒙 =𝒙
?
2 Domain is 1 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 3. Range 1 ≤ 𝑓 𝑥 ≤ 3. 𝑓(𝑥) is a decreasing function.
𝒇 𝒙 = ?𝟐𝟒 − 𝒙

3 Domain is 5 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 7. Range 7 ≤ 𝑓 𝑥 ≤ 11. 𝑓(𝑥) is an increasing function.

𝒇 𝒙 = 𝟐𝟒𝒙 − 𝟑
?
4 Domain is 5 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 7. Range 7 ≤ 𝑓 𝑥 ≤ 11. 𝑓(𝑥) is a decreasing function.
𝒇 𝒙 = 𝟐𝟏 − 𝟐𝒙
?
5 Domain is −4 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 7. Range 4 ≤ 𝑓 𝑥 ≤ 8. 𝑓(𝑥) is a decreasing function.
𝟕𝟐 𝟒
𝒇 𝒙 = ?− 𝒙
𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏