Week 1 Study Guide

Functions
If a variable y depends on a variable x such that each value of x determines exactly
one value of y, then y is a function of x. We can use the vertical line test to determine
whether a graph is a function or not.

The Vertical Line Test: A curve is the graph of a function f if and only if NO
vertical line intersects the curve more than once.

A function Not a function

Below are the graphs of some basic functions.

Absolute Value Function

The absolute value function y = |x| is defined as

x, if x ≥ 0
|x| =
−x, if x < 0.

The graph of y = |x| is given below:

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 Figure 1: Graph of y = |x|

Example: Write the function y = |x − 1| as a piecewise function.

Solution:

x − 1, if x − 1 ≥ 0
|x − 1| =
−(x − 1), if x − 1 < 0.

x − 1, if x ≥ 1
=
−x + 1, if x < 1.

Properties of Absolute Value

• |-a| = |a|.
• |ab| = |a||b|.
• |a/b| = |a|/|b| provided b 6= 0.
• |a + b| ≤ |a| + |b| (The Triangle Inequality)

Domain and Range of a Function

• Domain of f : The set of all allowable inputs (x-values)

• Range of f : The set of outputs (y-values) that result when x varies over the
domain.

Examples: Find the natural domain of the following functions:

(a) y = x2 + 2x + 1.
√
(b) y = 3 − x
x+2
(c) y =
x−2
x+2
(d) y =
x2 − 3

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Solution:

(a) y = x2 + 2x + 1 is a quadratic polynomial which is defined for all real x values.Thus

its domain is {x|x ∈ R}. Remark: For any polynomial the domain is {x|x ∈ R}.
√
(b) y = 3 − x is defined if 3 − x ≥ 0 ⇒ x ≤ 3. Thus its domain is {x|x ≤ 3, x ∈ R}.
x+2
(c) y = is defined if x − 2 6= 0 ⇒ x 6= 2. Thus its domain is {x|x 6= 2, x ∈ R}.
x−2
x+2 √
(d) y = 2 is defined if x2 − 3 6= 0 ⇒ x 6= ± 3. Thus its domain is {x|x 6=
√ x −3
± 3, x ∈ R}.

Arithmetic Operations on Functions

Two functions, f and g, can be added, subtracted, multiplied or divided in a natural
way to form new functions.
(f + g)(x) = f (x) + g(x)
(f − g)(x) = f (x) − g(x)
(f g)(x) = f (x)g(x)
 
f f (x)
(x) =
g g(x)
The domain of f + g, f − g and f g is the intersection of the domains of f and g. The
domain of fg is the intersection of the domains of f and g but the points where g(x) is
zero is excluded.

√ √
Example Let f (x) = x and g(x) = x − 2. Find f + g, f − g, f g, f /g and state
their domain.

√ √
Solution:
√ f +√g = x + x − 2;
f − g√= √x − x −√2;
f g = √x x√− 2 = xp 2 − 2x
x
f /g = x/ x − 2 = x−2

The domain of f + g, f − g and f g is {x|x ≥ 2, x ∈ R} (which is the intersection of the

domain of f and g) while the domain of f /g is {x|x > 2, x ∈ R} (excluding the point
where g(x) = 0).

Composition of Functions Given the functions f and g, the composition of f with

g, denoted by f ◦ g, is given by
(f ◦ g)(x) = f (g(x)).
The domain of f ◦ g is defined to consist of all x in the domain of g for which g(x) is
in the domain of f .

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 √
Example: Let f (x) = x2 + 3 and g(x) = x. Find (f ◦ g)(x) and (g ◦ f )(x) and state
their domain.

Solution:

(f ◦ g)(x) = f (g(x))
= (g(x))2 + 3
√
= ( x)2 + 3
= x+3

The domain of (f ◦ g)(x) is {x|x ≥ 0, x ∈ R} (which consist of all x in the domain of

g for which g(x) is in the domain of f ).

(g ◦ f )(x) = g(f (x))

p
= f (x)
√
= x2 + 3

The domain of (g ◦ f )(x) is {x ∈ R} (which consist of all x in the domain of f for

which f (x) is in the domain of g)

Even and Odd Functions

• A function, f , is said to be an even function if

f (−x) = f (x).
• A function, f , is said to be an odd function if

f (−x) = −f (x).

Example
Determine whether the given function is even, odd or neither.

(a) f (x) = x2 . (b) f (x) = |x|.

(c) f (x) = x3 . (d) f (x) = 2.

Solution:

(a) f (−x) = (−x)2 = (−1)2 x2 = x2 = f (x). Since f (−x) = f (x), the function
f (x) = x2 is an even function.

(b) f (−x) = | − x| = | − 1||x| = |x| = f (x). Since f (−x) = f (x), the function
f (x) = |x| is an even function.

(c) f (−x) = (−x)3 = (−1)3 x3 = −x3 = −f (x). Since f (−x) = −f (x), the function
f (x) = x3 is an odd function.

(d) f (−x) = 2 = f (x). Since f (−x) = f (x), the function f (x) = 2 is an even
function.

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Inverse functions

If the functions f and g satisfy the two conditions:

g(f (x)) = x for every x in the domain of f and f (g(y)) = y for every y in the domain
of g, then we say that f and g are inverses. Moreover, we call f an inverse function
for g and g an inverse function for f .

The inverse of a function f is commonly denoted by f −1 . If f and f −1 are composed

in either order, they cancel out the effect of one another; that is,
(f ◦ f −1 ) (x) = f (f −1 (x)) = x, for all x in the domain of f −1 .
(f −1 ◦ f ) (x) = f −1 (f (x)) = x for all x in the domain of f .

Example
1
If f (x) = x3 + 1, then f −1 (x) = (x − 1) 3 . Therefore,
1 3


 1
  
f ◦f −1
(x) = f f −1
(x) = f (x − 1) = (x − 1)
3 3 + 1 = x − 1 + 1 = x.

1
1
f −1 ◦ f (x) = f −1 (f (x)) = f −1 x3 + 1 = x3 + 1 − 1 3 = x3 3 = x.

Example
2x+3
Show that f (x) = 4x−2
is its own inverse. What does this tell you about the graph of
f?

Solution: We need to show that f (f (x)) = x.

2 2x+3
4x−2
+3 4x + 6 + 12x − 6 16x
f (f (x)) = 2x+3

= = = x.
4 4x−2 − 2 8x + 12 − 8x + 4 16

The graph of f is symmetric about the line y = x.

Domain and Range

Domain of f −1 = Range of f.
Range of f −1 = Domain of f.

Method of Finding f −1

• Write down the function as y = f (x).

• Solve the equation for x as a function of y.

• The resulting equation is of the form x = f −1 (y).

Example
√
Find a formula for f −1 (x) if f (x) = 3x − 2.

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 √
Solution: Let y = 3x − 2, then

y 2 = 3x − 2
y 2 + 2 = 3x
y2 + 2
= x
3

y 2 +2 x2 +2
Thus f −1 (y) = 3
which implies that f −1 (x) = 3
.

Existence of inverse functions

Not every function function has an inverse. In general, f has an inverse if it is one-to-
one (as defined below).

Defintion: A function f is called a one-to-one function if it never takes on the same

value twice; that is f (x1 ) 6= f (x2 ) whenever x1 6= x2 .

The Horizontal Line test (Geometric Test)

A function f is one-to-one if and only if no horizontal line intersects its graph more
than once.

Graphs of Inverse Functions If f has an inverse, then the graph of y = f (x) and
y = f −1 (x) are reflections of one another about the line y = x.

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