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Four Ways to Represent a Function

Functions arise whenever one quantity depends on
another. Consider the following four situations.

Four Ways to Represent a A. The area A of a circle depends on the radius r of the
1.1 Function circle. The rule that connects r and A is given by the
equation A =  r 2. With each positive number r there is
associated one value of A, and we say that A is a
function of r.

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Four Ways to Represent a Function Four Ways to Represent a Function

B. The human population of the world P depends on the C. The cost C of mailing a large envelope depends on the
time t. The table gives estimates of the world population weight w of the envelope. Although there is no simple
P(t) at time t, for certain years. For instance, formula that connects w and C, the post office has a rule
for determining C when w is known.
P(1950)  2,560,000,000
D. The vertical acceleration a of the ground as measured
But for each value of the time t by a seismograph during an earthquake is a function of
there is a corresponding value the elapsed time t.
of P, and we say that P is a
function of t.

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Four Ways to Represent a Function Four Ways to Represent a Function

Figure 1 shows a graph generated by seismic activity
during the Northridge earthquake that shook Los
Angeles in 1994. For a given value of t, the graph
provides a corresponding value of a.
We usually consider functions for which the sets D and E
are sets of real numbers. The set D is called the domain of
the function.

The number f(x) is the value of f at x and is read “f of x.”

The range of f is the set of all possible values of f(x) as x
varies throughout the domain.

Vertical ground acceleration during the A symbol that represents an arbitrary number in the domain
Northridge earthquake of a function f is called an independent variable.
Figure 1
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Four Ways to Represent a Function Four Ways to Represent a Function

A symbol that represents a number in the range of f is If x is in the domain of the function f, then x enters the
called a dependent variable. In Example A, for instance, r machine, it’s accepted as an input and the machine
is the independent variable and A is the dependent produces an output f(x) according to the rule of the
variable. function.

It’s helpful to think of a function as a machine Thus we can think of the domain as the set of all possible
(see Figure 2). inputs and the range as the set of all possible outputs.

Machine diagram for a function f

Figure 2

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Four Ways to Represent a Function Four Ways to Represent a Function

Another way to picture a function is by an arrow diagram as in The most common method for visualizing a function is its
Figure 3. graph. If f is a function with domain D, then its graph is the
set of ordered pairs
{(x, f(x)) | x  D}

In other words, the graph of f consists of all points (x, y)

in the coordinate plane such that y = f(x) and x is in the
domain of f.
Arrow diagram for f
Figure 3 The graph of a function f gives us a useful picture of the
behavior or “life history” of a function.
Each arrow connects an element of D to an element of E. The
arrow indicates that f(x) is associated with x, f(a) is associated
with a, and so on. 9 10

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Four Ways to Represent a Function Four Ways to Represent a Function

Since the y-coordinate of any point (x, y) on the graph is The graph of f also allows us to picture the domain of f on
y = f(x), we can read the value of f(x) from the graph as the x-axis and its range on the y-axis as in Figure 5.
being the height of the graph above the point x
(see Figure 4).

Figure 4 Figure 5

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Example 1 Example 1 – Solution

The graph of a function f is shown in Figure 6. (a) We see from Figure 6 that the point (1, 3) lies on the
graph of f, so the value of f at 1 is f(1) = 3. (In other
(a) Find the values of f(1) and f(5).
words, the point on the graph that lies above x = 1 is 3
(b) What are the domain and range of f ? units above the x-axis.)

When x = 5, the graph lies about 0.7 unit below the

x-axis, so we estimate that f(5)  –0.7.

(b) We see that f(x) is defined when 0  x  7, so the

domain of f is the closed interval [0, 7]. Notice that f
takes on all values from –2 to 4, so the range of f is

Figure 6
The notation for intervals is given in Appendix A.
{y | –2  y  4} = [–2, 4]
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Representations of Functions
There are four possible ways to represent a function:

 verbally (by a description in words)

 numerically (by a table of values)

Representations of Functions  visually (by a graph)

 algebraically (by an explicit formula)

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Representations of Functions Representations of Functions

The graph of a function is a curve in the xy-plane. But the If each vertical line x = a intersects a curve only once, at
question arises: Which curves in the xy-plane are graphs of (a, b), then exactly one functional value is defined by
functions? This is answered by the following test. f(a) = b.

But if a line x = a intersects the curve twice, at (a, b) and

(a, c), then the curve can’t represent a function because a
function can’t assign two different values to a.
The reason for the truth of the Vertical Line Test can be
seen in Figure 13.

Figure 13 17 18

17 18

Representations of Functions Representations of Functions

For example, the parabola x = y2 – 2 shown in Figure 14(a) Notice that the equation x = y2 – 2 implies y2 = x + 2, so
is not the graph of a function of x because, as you can see, .
there are vertical lines that intersect the parabola twice.
The parabola, however, does contain the graphs of two Thus the upper and lower halves of the parabola are the
functions of x. graphs of the functions and
[See Figures 14(b) and (c).]

x = y2 – 2
Figure 14(a)
Figure 14(b) Figure 14(c)

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Representations of Functions
We observe that if we reverse the roles of x and y, then the
equation x = h(y) = y2 – 2 does define x as a function of y
(with y as the independent variable and x as the dependent
variable) and the parabola now appears as the graph of the
function h.
Piecewise Defined Functions

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Example 7 Example 7 – Solution cont’d

A function f is defined by On the other hand, if x > –1, then the value of f(x) is x2.

1 – x if x  –1 Since (–2  –1, we have f(–2) = 1 – (–2) = 3.

f(x) =
x2 if x > –1 Since –1  –1, we have f(–1) = 1 – (–1) = 2.

Evaluate f(–2), f(–1), and f(0) and sketch the graph. Since 0 > –1, we have f(0) = 02 = 0.

Solution:
How do we draw the graph of f ? We observe that if x  –1,
Remember that a function is a rule. For this particular
then f(x) = 1 – x, so the part of the graph of f that lies to the
function the rule is the following:
left of the vertical line x = –1 must coincide with the line
y = 1 – x, which has slope –1 and y-intercept 1.
First look at the value of the input x. If it happens that
x  –1, then the value of f(x) is 1 – x.
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Example 7 – Solution cont’d

Piecewise Defined Functions
If x > –1, then f(x) = x2, so the part of the graph of f that lies The next example of a piecewise defined function is the
to the right of the line x = –1 must coincide with the graph absolute value function. Recall that the absolute value of a
of y = x2, which is a parabola. This enables us to sketch the number a, denoted by |a|, is the distance from a to 0 on the
graph in Figure 15. real number line. Distances are always positive or 0, so we
have

| a|  0 for every number a

For example,
Figure 15
|3| = 3 |– 3| = 3 |0| = 0 | – 1| = –1
The solid dot indicates that the point (–1, 2) is included on
the graph; the open dot indicates that the point (–1, 1) is |3 –  | =  – 3
excluded from the graph. 25 26

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Piecewise Defined Functions Example 8

In general, we have Sketch the graph of the absolute value function f(x) = |x|.

Solution:
From the preceding discussion we know that

x if x  0
(Remember that if a is negative, then –a is positive.) |x| =
–x if x < 0

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Example 8 – Solution cont’d

Example 10
Using the same method as in Example 7, we see that the In Example C at the beginning of this section we
graph of f coincides with the line y = x to the right of the considered the cost C(w) of mailing a large envelope with
y-axis and coincides with the line y = –x to the left of the weight w.
y-axis (see Figure 16).
In effect, this is a piecewise defined function

0.88 if 0 < w  1
1.05 if 1 < w  2
C(w) = 1.22 if 2 < w  3
1.39 if 3 < w  4

Figure 16

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Example 10 cont’d

The graph is shown in Figure 18.

Symmetry

Figure 18

You can see why functions similar to this one are called
step functions—they jump from one value to the next.
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Symmetry Symmetry
If a function f satisfies f(–x) = f(x) for every number x in its This means that if we have plotted the graph of f for x  0,
domain, then f is called an even function. For instance, we obtain the entire graph simply by reflecting this portion
the function f(x) = x2 is even because about the y-axis.

f(–x) = (–x)2 = x2 = f(x)

If f satisfies f(–x) = –f(x) for every number x in its domain,
then f is called an odd function. For example, the function
The geometric significance of an f(x) = x3 is odd because
even function is that its graph is
symmetric with respect to the y-axis f(–x) = (–x)3 = –x3 = –f(x)
(see Figure 19).

An even function
Figure 19

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Symmetry Example 11
The graph of an odd function is symmetric about the origin Determine whether each of the following functions is even,
(see Figure 20). odd, or neither even nor odd.
(a) f(x) = x5 + x (b) g(x) = 1 – x4 (c) h(x) = 2x – x2

Solution:
(a) f(–x) = (–x)5 + (–x) = (–1)5x5 + (–x)

= –x5 – x = –(x5 + x)
An odd function
Figure 20

= –f(x)
If we already have the graph of f for x  0, we can obtain
the entire graph by rotating this portion through 180 about Therefore f is an odd function.
the origin.
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Example 11 – Solution cont’d

Symmetry
(b) g(–x) = 1 – (–x)4 = 1 – x4 = g(x) The graphs of the functions in Example 11 are shown in
Figure 21. Notice that the graph of h is symmetric neither
So g is even. about the y-axis nor about the origin.

(c) h(–x) = 2(–x) – (–x)2 = –2x – x2

Since h(–x)  h(x) and h(–x)  –h(x), we conclude that h

is neither even nor odd.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 21

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Increasing and Decreasing Functions

The graph shown in Figure 22 rises from A to B, falls from
B to C, and rises again from C to D. The function f is said to
be increasing on the interval [a, b], decreasing on [b, c],
and increasing again on [c, d].

Increasing and Decreasing

Functions

Figure 22

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Increasing and Decreasing Functions Increasing and Decreasing Functions

Notice that if x1 and x2 are any two numbers between In the definition of an increasing function it is important to
a and b with x1 < x2, then f(x1) < f(x2). realize that the inequality f(x1) < f(x2) must be satisfied for
every pair of numbers x1 and x2 in I with x1 < x2.
We use this as the defining property of an increasing
function. You can see from Figure 23
that the function f(x) = x2 is
decreasing on the interval (– , 0]
and increasing on the interval
[0, ).

Figure 23

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Polynomials
A function P is called a polynomial if

P(x) = anxn + an–1xn–1 + . . . + a2x2 + a1x + a0

where n is a nonnegative integer and the numbers

a0, a1, a2, . . ., an are constants called the coefficients of
Polynomials (多項式函數) the polynomial.

The domain of any polynomial is If the leading

coefficient an  0, then the degree of the polynomial is n.
For example, the function

is a polynomial of degree 6.
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Polynomials Polynomials
A polynomial of degree 1 is of the form P(x) = mx + b and Its graph is always a parabola obtained by shifting the
so it is a linear function. parabola y = ax2. The parabola opens upward if a > 0 and
downward if a < 0. (See Figure 7.)
A polynomial of degree 2 is of the form P(x) = ax2 + bx + c
and is called a quadratic function (二次函數).

The graphs of quadratic functions are parabolas.

Figure 7
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Polynomials
A polynomial of degree 3 is of the form
P(x) = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d a0
and is called a cubic function (三次函數). Figure 8 shows
the graph of a cubic function in part (a) and graphs of
polynomials of degrees 4 and 5 in parts (b) and (c). Power Functions (冪函數)

Figure 8 47 48

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Power Functions Power Functions

A function of the form f(x) = xa, where a is a constant, is
called a power function. We consider several cases.

(i) a = n, where n is a positive integer

The graphs of f(x) = xn for n = 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are shown in
Figure 11. (These are polynomials with only one term.)

We already know the shape of the graphs of y = x (a line

through the origin with slope 1) and y = x2 (a parabola).

Graphs of f(x) = xn for n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

49 Figure 11 50

49 50

Power Functions Power Functions

The general shape of the graph of f(x) = xn depends on Notice from Figure 12, however, that as n increases, the
whether n is even or odd. graph of y = xn becomes flatter near 0 and steeper when
|x|  1. (If x is small, then x2 is smaller, x3 is even smaller,
If n is even, then f(x) = xn is an even function and its graph x4 is smaller still, and so on.)
is similar to the parabola y = x2.

If n is odd, then f(x) = xn is an odd function and its graph is

similar to that of y = x3.

Families of power functions

51 Figure 12 52

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Power Functions Power Functions

(ii) a = 1/n, where n is a positive integer For other even values of n, the graph of is similar
The function is a root function (根函數). to that of
For n = 2 it is the square root function whose domain is
For n = 3 we have the cube root function whose
[0, ) and whose graph is the upper half of the parabola
domain is (recall that every real number has a cube root)
x = y2. [See Figure 13(a).]
and whose graph is shown in Figure 13(b). The graph of
for n odd (n > 3) is similar to that of

Graph of root function Graph of root function

Figure 13(a) 53 Figure 13(b) 54

53 54

Power Functions
(iii) a = –1
The graph of the reciprocal function (倒數函數) f(x) = x –1
= 1/x is shown in Figure 14. Its graph has the equation y =
1/x, or xy = 1, and is a hyperbola with the coordinate axes
as its asymptotes.
Rational Functions (有理函數)

The reciprocal function

Figure 14
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Rational Functions Rational Functions

A rational function f is a ratio of two polynomials: The function

is a rational function with domain {x|x  2}. Its graph is

where P and Q are polynomials. shown in Figure 16.
The domain consists of all values
of x such that Q(x)  0.

A simple example of a rational

function is the function f(x) = 1/x,
whose domain is {x|x  0}; this
is the reciprocal function graphed
in Figure 14. The reciprocal function

Figure 14 57 Figure 16 58

57 58

Algebraic Functions
A function f is called an algebraic function if it can be
constructed using algebraic operations (such as addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division, and taking roots)
starting with polynomials. Any rational function is
automatically an algebraic function.
Algebraic Functions (代數函數)
Here are two more examples:

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Trigonometric Functions
In calculus the convention is that radian measure is always
used (except when otherwise indicated).

For example, when we use the function f(x) = sin x, it is

understood that sin x means the sine of the angle whose
Trigonometric Functions (三角函數) radian measure is x.

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Trigonometric Functions Trigonometric Functions

Thus the graphs of the sine and cosine functions are as Notice that for both the sine and cosine functions the domain
shown in Figure 18. is ( , ) and the range is the closed interval [–1, 1].

Thus, for all values of x, we have

(a) ƒ(x) = sin x

or, in terms of absolute values,

|sin x|  1 |cos x|  1
(b) g(x) = cos x

Figure 18 63 64

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Trigonometric Functions Trigonometric Functions

Also, the zeros of the sine function occur at the integer The tangent function is related to the sine and cosine
multiples of  ; that is, functions by the equation

sin x = 0 when x = n n an integer

An important property of the sine and cosine functions is

that they are periodic functions and have period 2. and its graph is shown in
Figure 19. It is undefined
This means that, for all values of x, whenever cos x = 0, that is,
when x =  /2, 3 /2, . . . .
y = tan x
Figure 19
Its range is ( , ).
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Trigonometric Functions
Notice that the tangent function has period  :

tan(x + ) = tan x for all x

The remaining three trigonometric functions (cosecant,

secant, and cotangent) are the reciprocals of the sine, Exponential Functions (指數函數)
cosine, and tangent functions.

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Exponential Functions Exponential Functions

The exponential functions are the functions of the form Exponential functions are useful for modeling many natural
f(x) = ax, where the base a is a positive constant. phenomena, such as population growth (if a > 1) and
radioactive decay (if a < 1).
The graphs of y = 2x and y = (0.5)x are shown in Figure 20.
In both cases the domain is ( , ) and the range is
(0, ).

(a) y = 2x (b) y = (o.5)x

Figure 20
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Logarithmic Functions
The logarithmic functions f(x) = logax, where the base a is a
positive constant, are the inverse functions of the exponential
functions. Figure 21 shows the graphs of four logarithmic
functions with various bases.

Logarithmic Functions (對數函數) In each case the domain is

(0, ), the range is ( , ),
and the function increases
slowly when x > 1.

Figure 21
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Example 5 Example 5 – Solution

Classify the following functions as one of the types of (a) f(x) = 5x is an exponential function.
functions that we have discussed. (The x is the exponent.)

(a) f(x) = 5x (b) g(x) = x5 is a power function. (The x is the base.)

We could also consider it to be a polynomial of degree 5.
(b) g(x) = x5
(c) is an algebraic function.
(c)

(d) u(t) = 1 – t + 5t 4 (d) u(t) = 1 – t + 5t 4 is a polynomial of degree 4.

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Transformations of Functions
By applying certain transformations to the graph of a given
function we can obtain the graphs of certain related
functions.

This will give us the ability to sketch the graphs of many

Transformations of Functions functions quickly by hand. It will also enable us to write
(函數轉換) equations for given graphs.

Let’s first consider translations (平移). If c is a positive

number, then the graph of y = f(x) + c is just the graph of
y = f(x) shifted upward a distance of c units (because each
y-coordinate is increased by the same number c).
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Transformations of Functions Transformations of Functions

Likewise, if g(x) = f(x – c), where c > 0, then the value of
g at x is the same as the value of f at x – c (c units to the left
of x).

Therefore the graph of

y = f(x – c), is just the Now let’s consider the stretching (伸縮) and reflecting (反射)
graph of y = f(x) shifted transformations. If c > 1, then the graph of y = cf(x) is the
c units to the right graph of y = f(x) stretched by a factor of c in the vertical
(see Figure 1). direction (because each y-coordinate is multiplied by the
same number c).
Translating the graph of ƒ
Figure 1
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Transformations of Functions Transformations of Functions

The graph of y = –f(x) is the graph of y = f(x) reflected about
the x-axis because the point (x, y) is replaced by the
point (x, –y).

(See Figure 2 and the

following chart, where the
results of other stretching,
shrinking, and reflecting
transformations are also
given.)
Stretching and reflecting the graph of f
Figure 2 79 80

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Transformations of Functions Transformations of Functions

Figure 3 illustrates these stretching transformations when For instance, in order to get the graph of y = 2 cos x we
applied to the cosine function with c = 2. multiply the y-coordinate of each point on the graph of
y = cos x by 2.

This means that the graph of y = cos x gets stretched

vertically by a factor of 2.

Figure 3

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Example 1 Example 1 – Solution cont’d

Given the graph of use transformations to graph

and

Solution:
The graph of the square root function , is shown in
Figure 4(a).

Figure 4

In the other parts of the figure we sketch by

shifting 2 units downward, by shifting 2 units to
the right, by reflecting about the x-axis,
by stretching vertically by a factor of 2, and by
Figure 4 83 reflecting about the y-axis. 84

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Transformations of Functions
Another transformation of some interest is taking the
absolute value of a function. If y = |f(x)|, then according to
the definition of absolute value, y = f(x) when f(x) ≥ 0 and
y = –f(x) when f(x) < 0.
Combinations of Functions
This tells us how to get the graph of y = |f(x)| from the graph
(函數組合)
of y = f(x): The part of the graph that lies above the x-axis
remains the same; the part that lies below the x-axis is
reflected about the x-axis.

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Combinations of Functions Combinations of Functions

Two functions f and g can be combined to form new Similarly, the product and quotient functions are defined by
functions f + g, f – g, fg, and f/g in a manner similar to the
way we add, subtract, multiply, and divide real numbers.
The sum and difference functions are defined by
(f + g)(x) = f(x) + g(x) (f – g)(x) = f(x) – g(x) The domain of fg is A ∩ B, but we can’t divide by 0 and so
the domain of f/g is {x  A ∩ B | g(x)  0}.
If the domain of f is A and the domain of g is B, then the
domain of f + g is the intersection A ∩ B because both
f(x) and g(x) have to be defined. For instance, if f(x) = x2 and g(x) = x – 1, then the domain of
the rational function (f/g)(x) = x2/(x – 1) is {x | x  1},
For example, the domain of is A = [0, ) and the
or ( , 1) U (1, ).
domain of is B = ( , 2], so the domain of
is A ∩ B = [0, 2].
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Combinations of Functions Combinations of Functions

There is another way of combining two functions to obtain a In general, given any two functions f and g, we start with a
new function. For example, suppose that y = f(u) = number x in the domain of g and find its image g(x). If this
and u = g(x) = x2 + 1. number g(x) is in the domain of f, then we can calculate the
value of f(g(x)).
Since y is a function of u and u is, in turn, a function of x, it
The result is a new function h(x) = f(g(x)) obtained by
follows that y is ultimately a function of x. We compute
substituting g into f. It is called the composition
this by substitution:
(or composite) of f and g and is denoted by f  g (“f circle g”).
y = f(u) = f(g(x)) = f(x2 + 1) =

The procedure is called composition because the new

function is composed of the two given functions f and g.
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Combinations of Functions Example 6

The domain of f  g is the set of all x in the domain of g such If f(x) = x2 and g(x) = x – 3, find the composite functions
that g(x) is in the domain of f. f  g and g  f.

In other words, (f  g)(x) is Solution:

defined whenever both We have
g(x) and f(g(x)) are defined. (f  g)(x) = f(g(x)) = f(x – 3) = (x – 3)2

Figure 11 shows how to

(g  f)(x) = g(f(x)) = g(x2) = x2 – 3
picture f  g in terms of machines.

The f  g machine is composed of

the g machine (first) and then
the f machine.
Figure 11
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Combinations of Functions Exponential Functions

Remember, the notation f  g means that the function g is One reason for the importance of the exponential function
applied first and then f is applied second. In Example 6, lies in the following properties.
f  g is the function that first subtracts 3 and then squares;
g  f is the function that first squares and then subtracts 3. If x and y are rational numbers, then these laws are well
known from elementary algebra. It can be proved that they
It is possible to take the composition of three or more remain true for arbitrary real numbers x and y.
functions. For instance, the composite function f  g  h is
found by first applying h, then g, and then f as follows:

(f  g  h)(x) = f(g(h(x)))

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Example 1 Example 1 – Solution cont’d

Sketch the graph of the function y = 3 – 2x and determine Then we shift the graph of y = –2x upward 3 units to obtain
its domain and range. the graph of y = 3 – 2x in Figure 5(c).

Solution:
First we reflect the graph of y = 2x in Figure 5(a) about the
x-axis to get the graph of y = –2x in Figure 5(b).

(c) y = 3 – 2x
Figure 5

y = 2x, x real (a) y = 2x (b) y = –2x

The domain is and the range is ( , 3).
Figure 2 Figure 5 95 96

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Inverse Functions and Logarithms Inverse Functions and Logarithms

Functions that share this property with f are called If a horizontal line intersects the
one-to-one functions. graph of f in more than one point,
then we see from Figure 2 that
there are numbers x1 and x2
such that f(x1) = f(x2).

This means that f is not one-to-one. This function is not one-to-one

because f(x1) = f(x2).
Figure 2

Therefore we have the following geometric method for

determining whether a function is one-to-one.

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Example 1 Inverse Functions and Logarithms

Is the function f(x) = x3 one-to-one? One-to-one functions are important because they are
precisely the functions that possess inverse functions
Solution 1: according to the following definition.
If x1 ≠ x2, then x13 ≠ x23 (two different numbers can’t have
the same cube).
Therefore, by Definition 1, f(x) = x3 is one-to-one.

Solution 2:
From Figure 3 we see that no
horizontal line intersects the
graph of f(x) = x3 more than once. This definition says that if f maps x into y, then f –1 maps y
back into x. (If f were not one-to-one, then f –1 would not be
Therefore, by the Horizontal f(x) = x3 is one-to-one. uniquely defined.)
Line Test, f is one-to-one. Figure 3
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Inverse Functions and Logarithms Inverse Functions and Logarithms

The arrow diagram in Figure 5 indicates that f –1 reverses For example, the inverse function of f(x) = x3 is f –1(x) = x1/3
the effect of f. because if y = x3, then

f –1(y) = f –1(x3) = (x3)1/3 = x

Caution
Do not mistake the –1 in f –1 for an exponent. Thus
Figure 5

f –1(x) does not mean

Note that
The reciprocal 1/f(x) could, however, be written as [f(x)] –1.

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Example 3 Example 3 – Solution cont’d

If f(1) = 5, f(3) = 7, and f(8) = –10, find f –1(7), f –1(5), and The diagram in Figure 6 makes it clear how f –1 reverses the
f –1(–10). effect of f in this case.

Solution:
From the definition of f –1 we have

f –1(7) = 3 because f(3) = 7

f –1(5) = 1 because f(1) = 5

The inverse function reverses inputs and outputs.

f –1(–10) =8 because f(8) = –10 Figure 6

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Inverse Functions and Logarithms Inverse Functions and Logarithms

The letter x is traditionally used as the independent The first cancellation equation says that if we start with x,
variable, so when we concentrate on f –1 rather than on f, apply f, and then apply f –1, we arrive back at x, where we
we usually reverse the roles of x and y in Definition 2 and started (see the machine diagram in Figure 7).
write

Figure 7

By substituting for y in Definition 2 and substituting for

x in (3), we get the following cancellation equations: Thus f –1 undoes what f does.

The second equation says that f undoes what f –1 does.

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Inverse Functions and Logarithms Inverse Functions and Logarithms

For example, if f(x) = x3, then f –1(x) = x1/3 and so the Now let’s see how to compute inverse functions.
cancellation equations become
If we have a function y = f(x) and are able to solve this
f –1(f(x)) = (x3)1/3 = x equation for x in terms of y, then according to Definition 2
we must have x = f –1(y).
f(f –1(x)) = (x1/3)3 = x
If we want to call the independent variable x, we then
These equations simply say that the cube function and the interchange x and y and arrive at the equation y = f –1(x).
cube root function cancel each other when applied in
succession.

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Inverse Functions and Logarithms Inverse Functions and Logarithms

The principle of interchanging x and y to find the inverse Therefore, as illustrated by Figure 9:
function also gives us the method for obtaining the graph of
f –1 from the graph of f.

Since f(a) = b if and only if f –1(b) = a, the point (a, b) is on

the graph of f if and only if the point (b, a) is on the graph
of f –1.

But we get the point (b, a)

from (a, b) by reflecting about
the line y = x. (See Figure 8.)

Figure 9
Figure 8 109 110

109 110

Logarithmic Functions
If b > 0 and b ≠ 1, the exponential function f(x) = bx is either
increasing or decreasing and so it is one-to-one by the
Horizontal Line Test. It therefore has an inverse function
f –1, which is called the logarithmic function with base b
and is denoted by logb.
Logarithmic Functions
If we use the formulation of an inverse function given by ,
f –1(x) = y f(y) = x
then we have

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Logarithmic Functions Logarithmic Functions

Thus, if x > 0, then logb x is the exponent to which the The logarithmic function logb has domain (0, ) and
base b must be raised to give x. range . Its graph is the reflection of the graph of y = bx
about the line y = x.
For example, log10 0.001 = –3 because 10–3 = 0.001.
Figure 11 shows the case
The cancellation equations (4), when applied to the where b > 1. (The most
functions f(x) = bx and f –1(x) = logb x, become important logarithmic functions
have base b > 1.)
The fact that y = bx is a very
rapidly increasing function
for x > 0 is reflected in the fact
that y = logb x is a very slowly Figure 11
increasing function for x > 1.
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Logarithmic Functions Logarithmic Functions

Figure 12 shows the graphs of y = logb x with various The following properties of logarithmic functions follow from
values of the base b > 1. the corresponding properties of exponential functions.
Since logb 1 = 0, the graphs of all logarithmic functions
pass through the point (1, 0).

Figure 12
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Example 6
Use the laws of logarithms to evaluate log2 80 – log2 5.

Solution:
Using Law 2, we have

log2 80 – log2 5 = log2 Inverse Trigonometric Functions

= log2 16

=4

because 24 = 16.

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Inverse Trigonometric Functions Inverse Trigonometric Functions

When we try to find the inverse trigonometric functions, we You can see from Figure 17 that the sine function y = sin x
have a slight difficulty: Because the trigonometric functions is not one-to-one (use the Horizontal Line Test).
are not one-to-one, they don’t have inverse functions.

The difficulty is overcome by restricting the domains of

these functions so that they become one-to-one.

Figure 17

But the function f(x) = sin x,

–/2  x  /2, is one-to-one
(see Figure 18).
y = sin x, x

119 Figure 18 120

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Inverse Trigonometric Functions Inverse Trigonometric Functions

The inverse function of this restricted sine function f exists Thus, if –1  x  1, sin–1x is the number between –/2 and
and is denoted by sin–1 or arcsin. It is called the inverse /2 whose sine is x.
sine function or the arcsine function.

Since the definition of an inverse function says that

f –1(x) = y f(y) = x

we have

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Example 12 Example 12 – Solution cont’d

Evaluate (a) sin–1 and (b) tan(arcsin ). (b) Let  = arcsin , so sin  = .

Solution: Then we can draw a right triangle with angle  as in

(a) We have Figure 19 and deduce from the Pythagorean Theorem that
the third side has length .

This enables us to read from the triangle that

because sin(/6) = and /6 lies between –/2 and /2.

Figure 19

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Inverse Trigonometric Functions Inverse Trigonometric Functions

The cancellation equations for inverse functions become, in The inverse sine function, sin–1, has domain [–1, 1] and
this case, range [–/2, /2], and its graph, shown in Figure 20, is
obtained from that of the restricted sine function (Figure 18)
by reflection about the line y = x.

y = sin x, x
y = sin–1 x = arcsin x
Figure 18
Figure 20

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Inverse Trigonometric Functions Inverse Trigonometric Functions

The inverse cosine function is handled similarly. The The cancellation equations are
restricted cosine function f(x) = cos x, 0  x   , is
one-to-one (see Figure 21) and so it has an inverse
function denoted by cos–1 or arccos.

The inverse cosine function, cos–1,

has domain [–1, 1] and range [0, ].
Its graph is shown in Figure 22.

y = cos –1 x = arccos x
y = cos x, 0  x  
Figure 22
Figure 21 127 128

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Inverse Trigonometric Functions Inverse Trigonometric Functions

The tangent function can be made one-to-one by restricting The remaining inverse trigonometric functions are
it to the interval (–/2, /2). Thus the inverse tangent summarized here.
function is defined as the inverse of the function
f(x) = tan x, –/2  x  /2. (See Figure 23.) It is denoted by
tan–1 or arctan.

y = tan x,

Figure 23 129 130

129 130