Asking Questions: Functions

What Questions do I have at the beginning of the Functions section?

What Questions do I have during the Functions section?

What questions do I have at the end of the Functions section?

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Introductory Example

In a certain city, sales tax is 9%. Write an expression to express the total cost of
purchasing an item with a selling price of x dollars, after tax is added.

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Class Notes and Examples

● What are the things you need to know about functions?

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Example 1
As you drive at a fairly constant speed of approximately 60 mph, from Tucson to Bisbee
(94 miles), you pass through Benson, which is 40 miles from Tucson. Sketch a graph of
your distance from Tucson against time. Indicate on your graph the time when you reach
Benson. What are the input, output, domain, and range of the function you have
graphed?

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Example 2
The following table shows market data that a sunglass manufacturer has gathered on a
particular pair of sunglasses:

Purchase price $46 $40 $37 $30 $27

Consumer demand
16,000 40,000 52,000 80,000 92,000
(quantity purchased)

Does this table represent the demand (# of units) as a function of the price? Why or why
not? Does it represent the price as a function of the demand (# of units)? Why or why
not?

Example 3
The following table shows a sampling of test scores from a midterm exam

Student 1 2 3 4 5

Midterm Grade 85% 90% 100% 100% 70%

Does this table represent midterm grades as a function of students? Why or why not?
Does it represent students as a function of midterm grades? Why or why not?

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Example 4
Per pediatric guidelines, the amount of a certain medication a child should receive is
directly proportional to their weight, in pounds. It is known that a 50-pound child should
get a 30 mg (milligram) dose of medicine.

(A) What is the proper dosage for a child who weighs 75 pounds?

(B) Create a function, 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥), that determines the correct dosage for a child, in
milligrams, as a function of 𝑥𝑥 pounds of weight.

(C) Using your function in part (B), evaluate 𝑓𝑓(75), and compare it with your answer
from part (A)

(D) If the suggested dosage is 36 mg, what is the weight of the child?

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Example 5
A chemist is making an acidic solution of a specific concentration using the formula:

Amount of Pure Acid

Concentration =
Total Volume of Solution

Currently, the chemist has a 100mL (milliliter) solution that has 20 mL of pure acid for a
concentration of 20/100 = 0.2 = 20%.

(A) If 60mL of pure acid is added to this 100mL solution, what is the new
concentration of the solution? Write your answer as a percent.

(B) Suppose 𝑥𝑥 mL of pure acid is added to the original 100mL solution. Create a
function, 𝐶𝐶(𝑥𝑥), that determines the new concentration as a function of 𝑥𝑥.

(C) Using your function in part (B), evaluate 𝐶𝐶(60) and compare it with your answer
from part (A).

(D) How much pure acid would need to be added to the original 100mL solution in
order to get a concentration of 75%?

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Example 6
On a steep Arizona highway, there is a 4% downgrade. This means that for every for
every 100 ft of horizontal run, the elevation goes down 4 feet.

4 ft
100 ft

(A) If the downgrade lasts for one mile (5280 feet) long, what is the total change
in elevation?

(B) Near the city of Flagstaff, you get in your car and start driving on a straight
road that has a 4% downgrade. A sign at the beginning of the downgrade
said you were at an elevation of 6000 feet. When you stop at the end of the
road, a sign tells you that you are now at an elevation of 5500 feet. How
many horizontal MILES have you traveled? Round to the nearest hundredth.

(C) Assume that you start at the top of the straight road with a 4% downgrade
and the elevation is 6000 feet. Create a function, 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥), that determines your
elevation when you have traveled a distance of 𝑥𝑥 horizontal feet toward the
bottom of the road.

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More Practice
1. For each of the following, determine the domain of the function, and evaluate
𝑔𝑔(2) and 𝑔𝑔(𝑎𝑎 + 3).

(A) 𝑔𝑔(𝑥𝑥) = 3𝑥𝑥 2 − 5𝑥𝑥

2𝑥𝑥−1
(B) 𝑔𝑔(𝑥𝑥) =
𝑥𝑥+3

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 (C) 𝑔𝑔(𝑥𝑥) = √2 − 5𝑥𝑥 − 1

2. Determine the domain and range of the following function.

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 𝑓𝑓(ℎ+4)−𝑓𝑓(4)
3. For the function 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = 3𝑥𝑥 2 − 5𝑥𝑥, find and simplify completely.
ℎ

4. Which of the following equations represent 𝑦𝑦 as a function of 𝑥𝑥? How do you

know?
3 + 𝑥𝑥𝑦𝑦 2 = 0
𝑥𝑥 2 + 𝑦𝑦 2 − 4 = 0
𝑥𝑥 2 + 5𝑦𝑦 4 = −2
4 + 𝑦𝑦 − 3𝑥𝑥 = 2
5𝑥𝑥 + 𝑦𝑦 2 = 10
3𝑦𝑦 3 + 2𝑥𝑥 = 7
4𝑥𝑥 2 = 9 + 𝑦𝑦

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Check Your Understanding: Functions

1. Which one of these equations represents 𝑦𝑦 as a function of 𝑥𝑥?

(A) 𝑥𝑥 2 + 𝑦𝑦 2 − 9 = 0
(B) −4 + 𝑥𝑥𝑦𝑦 4 = 1
5𝑥𝑥
(C) 𝑦𝑦 2
= 10

(D) 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 + 7𝑦𝑦 = −8

(E) 𝑥𝑥 − 2 = 𝑦𝑦 2

2. Which of these functions has a domain of all real numbers except 𝑥𝑥 = 7

(A) 𝑔𝑔(𝑥𝑥) = 𝑥𝑥 2 − 49
14
(B) 𝑔𝑔(𝑥𝑥) = 𝑥𝑥 2 −49

(C) 𝑔𝑔(𝑥𝑥) = √7 − 𝑥𝑥
14
(D) 𝑔𝑔(𝑥𝑥) =
√𝑥𝑥−7
𝑥𝑥+7
(E) 𝑔𝑔(𝑥𝑥) = 2𝑥𝑥−14

𝑓𝑓(ℎ+2)−𝑓𝑓(2)
3. Use the function 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = 3𝑥𝑥 2 − 5𝑥𝑥 + 1 to evaluate ℎ

(A) 3ℎ − 5
(B) 3ℎ + 7
20
(C) 3ℎ + 7 + ℎ
8
(D) 3ℎ − 5 − ℎ
2
(E) 3ℎ − 5 + ℎ

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4. A student did some research and found that a Cooper’s Hawk weighing 24 ounces ate
approximately 2.8 ounces of desert rodents every day. The student created a function
𝑓𝑓(𝑤𝑤) to determine the equivalent number of pounds of food a person weighing 𝑤𝑤
pounds would eat. (16 ounces = 1 pound). The function that student should create is:
2.8𝑤𝑤
(A) 𝑓𝑓(𝑤𝑤) = 24
24𝑤𝑤
(B) 𝑓𝑓(𝑤𝑤) = 2.8

(C) 𝑓𝑓(𝑤𝑤) = 2.8(24𝑤𝑤)

(D) 𝑓𝑓(𝑤𝑤) = 2.8(16𝑤𝑤)
16𝑤𝑤
(E) 𝑓𝑓(𝑤𝑤) = 24

5. According to the data table below, is the total cost a function of the number of gifts
purchased or is the number of gifts purchased a function of total cost?

Total cost $20.46 $50.00 $5.00 $40.50 $20.40

Number of gifts purchased 1 5 2 2 4

(A) The total cost is a function of the number of gifts purchased.

(B) The number of gifts purchased is a function of the total cost.
(C) Both are functions.
(D) Neither is a function.

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Additional Comments or Examples

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