Calc 1000A 002 Week 1 (September 5 and 6) Page 1

1.1. Review of Functions

Example 1. Which of the following is not a function?

7t3 + 2t2 + 5
(a) h = .
t−1
(b) y = x2 − 1.
(c) x2 + y 2 = 1.
(d) xx for x > 0.
(
x2 + 1 x>3
(e) g(x) = √ .
x x≤3
A function, often denoted abstractly as y = f (x) or just f (x), expresses a certain dependence
between two quantities: the independent variable x and the dependent variable y.

A function f consists of a set of inputs, a set of output, and a rule for assigning each
input to output.

1. The set of inputs is called .

2. The set of outputs is called .

BOOK-READER Page 8

√
Example 2. What are the domain and range of x2 + 4?

To evaluate a function f (x) at x = a means to

Page 2

Let’s talk a little bit about study skills.

1. Remember

2. Ask

3. Practice

Example 3. Let’s practise these study skills by playing with the concept of increasing functions.
COMMENTS Which function(s) is (are) increasing on the interval [1, 3]?
y y y
3 f (x) 3 g(x) 3 h(x)

2 2 2

1 1 1
x x x
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3

Example 4. Review piecewise-defined functions by reading page 50 and 51 of the textbook pdf.
What questions did you ask yourself? Bring these questions to class next Monday.
 Page 3

Let’s more or less follow the textbook order and review linear functions and slopes.
Example 5. Describe the following line L in words in two different ways.

y
L
3

x
−2 −1 1 2

−1

The point-slope form of a line is an equation .

The slope-intercept form of a line is an equation .

The standard form of a line is an equation .

Exclamation-Triangle Note that the textbook has a typo in the definition of the standard form.

COMMENTS Is the standard form of a line unique?

Page 4

We review some common functions (nouns) and operations (verbs) because functions that describe
natural phenomena are often created by “putting together” basic functions.
Example 6. For each class of basic functions below, write down one or two examples and its general
form.
Examples General Form
Power
functions

Polynomials

Trigonometric
functions

Inverse
trigonometric
functions

Exponential
functions

Inverse
exponential
functions

x2 − 1
COMMENTS Is √ a rational function?
x−1
 Page 5

Common operations on functions are

+ − × ÷ ◦

Exclamation-Triangle Note f · g and f ◦ g are not (always) the same function!

√ x2 − 1
Example 7. Suppose f (x) = x and g(x) = √ . Write down f ◦ g and g ◦ f .
x−1

COMMENTS What does Example 7 teach us about function composition?

Page 6

Review of some terminologies.

√
• A root function is a power function of the form x1/n or n
x where n is a positive integer.

• A rational power is a power function of the form xp/q where p, q are integers but q 6= 0.

• Functions that involve +, −, ×, ÷, roots and rational powers are called algebraic functions.

• If a function is not algebraic, then it is called a transcendental function.

• A zero of a function f (x) is a number r (in its domain) so that f (r) = 0. Graphically, zeros of
a function are also called its intercept or .

Let’s take a short break and chat a bit about philosophy. COMMENTS Why learn mathematics when computers
seem capable of all sorts of computations? COMMENTS What separates human understanding of mathematics
from software computations?
 Page 7

Shifting (aka translation) and scaling are two basic types of transformation on functions.
Shift: f (x + a) + b creates a new function from f (x) by moving the axes so that the new origin is at
the point (a, b).

Scale: βf (αx) creates a new function from f (x) by scaling by α but

by β.
Page 8

Example 8. Sketch f (x) = tan−1 (−2x) + π/4 without using any software or calculators.
y

3π/4

π/2
tan−1 (x)
π/4

x
−5 −4 −3 −2 −1 1 2 3 4 5
−π/4

−π/2

−3π/4

3π/4

π/2

π/4

x
−5 −4 −3 −2 −1 1 2 3 4 5
−π/4

−π/2

−3π/4

Why is sketching “manually” useful? Consider evaluating lim tan−1 (−2x) + π/4 (which is a


x→∞
common question). The sketch above tells you the answer immediately!
 Page 9

x 2
Example 9. Sketch f (x) = −2 +3 without using any software or calculators.
2
This question is a bit tricky.