Unit 4: FUNCTIONS.

CHARACTERISTICS

4.1.- DEFINITION OF A FUNTION

A function is a relation between two variables such that for every value of the
first, there is only one corresponding value of the second. We say that the
second variable is a function of the first variable.

The first variable is the independent variable (usually x), and the second
variable is the dependent variable (usually y).

The independent variable and the dependent variable are real numbers.

Examples:

1) You know the formula for the area of a circle A  r2 . This is a function as
each value of the independent variable r gives you one value of the dependent
variable A.

2) The force F required to accelerate an object of mass 5 kg by an acceleration

of a is given by: F  5a . Here, F is a function of the acceleration, a. The
dependent variable is F and the independent variable is a.

3) In the equation y  x2 , y is a function of x, since for each value of x, there is

only one value of y.

We normally write functions as f(x), and read this as “function f of x”.

For example, the function y  x2  5x  6 is also written as f(x)  x2  5x  6 .

(y and f(x) are the same).

The value of the function f(x) when x  a is f(a).

If f(x)  x2  5x  6 , then f(3)  32  5  3  6  9  15  6  0 .

A good way of presenting a function is by graphical representation. Graphs give

us a visual picture of the function.

F. Cano Cuenca 1 Mathematics 4º ESO

Normally, the values of the independent variable (generally the x-values) are
placed on the horizontal axis, while the values of the dependent variable
(generally the y-values) are placed on the vertical axis.

Examples:

Exercise 1

The melting point of the ice is 0°C (or 32°F) and the boiling point of the water is
100°C (or 212°F).

a) Write the linear function that converts any temperature from Celsius
degrees (°C) to Fahrenheit degrees (°F).
b) Draw the graph of this function.

Exercise 2

You have a square cardboard. The side of this square is 8 dm. You cut out four
equal squares from the corners that will allow you to fold up the edges to make a
box. The side of these squares is x dm. Express the volume of this box as a
function of x.

F. Cano Cuenca 2 Mathematics 4º ESO

4.2.- DOMAIN AND RANGE
The domain of a function is the complete
set of possible values of the independent
variable in the function.

The range (or image) of a function is the

complete set of all possible resulting
values of the dependent variable of a
function, after we have substituted the
values in the domain.

Domain of f = Domf Image of f = Imf

Example: Find the domain and the range of the function y  x  4 .

 4,   
Domain:  Range:  0,   

Exercise 3

Find the domain and the range of the following functions.

a) b) c)

d) e)

F. Cano Cuenca 3 Mathematics 4º ESO

Exercise 4

Imagine you have a rope that is 80 cm long. If you join both ends, you can make
countless rectangles. Let “x” be one side of the rectangle.

a) Express the area of these rectangles as a function of x.

b) Draw the graph of this function and find its domain and its range.

Exercise 5

Find the domain of the following functions.

1 x 1 1
a) y  b) y  c) y  3x  9 d) y 
x 3 x x6
2
x5
1 x2
e) y  3 2x  4 f) y  3x2  6x  9 g) y  h) y  3
x 4
2
x  2x2  8x

4.3.- CONTINUOUS AND DISCONTINUOUS FUNCTIONS

Consider the graph of y  cos x

We can see that there are no “gaps” in

the curve. Any value of “x” will give us a
corresponding value of “y”. We could
continue the graph in the negative and
positive directions, and we would never
need to take the pencil off the paper.

Such functions are called continuous functions.

x
Now consider the function y  .
x 2

We can see that the curve is discontinuous at x  2 .

We observe that a small change in x

near to x  2 , gives a very large change
in the value of the function.
x y
1.99 -199
2.01 201

F. Cano Cuenca 4 Mathematics 4º ESO

 For a function to be continuous at a point, the function must exist at the
point and any small change in “x” produces only a small change in “f(x)”.

If a function is not continuous at a point, we say that it is discontinuous at

that point.

A function f is continuous on the open interval (a, b) if f is continuous at every

point in (a, b).

There are different reasons why a function is discontinuous at a point. The four
functions below are discontinuous at x  2 .

The function has a “finite jump”. The function is “missing” a point.

The function has an “infinite jump”. The function has a “moved” point.

Exercise 6
1
Draw the graph of the functions y  3x  9 and y  . Are they continuous
x 3
functions?

Exercise 7

Steam in a boiler was heated to 150°C. Its temperature was then recorded each
minute as follows:

Time (min) 0 1 2 3 4 5
Temp (°C) 150.0 142.8 138.5 135.2 132.7 130.8

Plot the points on the coordinate plane. Could you join the points by a smooth
curve? Is this a continuous function?

F. Cano Cuenca 5 Mathematics 4º ESO

Exercise 8

The table below shows the postal rates in the U.K. for first class letters in
2006.
Weight up to 60 g 100 g 150 g 200 g
Postage 25 p 38 p 47 p 57 p

As you can see, the postage is a function of the weight. Draw its graph. Is this a
continuous function?

4.4.- VARIATIONS IN A FUNCTION

Increasing and decreasing

A function f is increasing on an interval (a, b) if for any x1 and x2 in the interval
such that x1  x2 then f  x1   f  x2  . Another way to look at this is: as you trace
the graph from a to b (that is from left to right) the graph should go up.

A function f is decreasing on an interval (a, b) if for any x1 and x2 in the

interval such that x1  x2 then f  x1   f  x2  . Another way to look at this is: as
you trace the graph from a to b (that is from left to right) the graph should go
down.

F. Cano Cuenca 6 Mathematics 4º ESO

Maxima and minima
A function f has a relative (or local)
maximum at a point if its ordinate is
greater than the ordinates of the points
around it.

A function f has a relative (or local)

minimum at a point if its ordinate is less
than the ordinates of the points around it.

A function f has an absolute (or global) maximum at a point if its ordinate is

the largest value that the function takes on the domain that we are working on.

A function f has an absolute (or global) minimum at a point if its ordinate is the
smallest value that the function takes on the domain that we are working on.

Example:

The following graph shows the present people (in thousands) in a shopping centre
during a day.

The function increases on the

intervals (9, 12) and (14, 18).

The function decreases on the

intervals (12, 14) and (18, 24).

The point (12, 3) is a local

maximum and the point (14, 2)
is a local minimum.

At 09:00 the function has the global minimum and at 18:00 the function has the
global maximum (5000 people).

F. Cano Cuenca 7 Mathematics 4º ESO

Exercise 9

Determine the intervals of increasing and decreasing of these functions as well

as its maxima and minima.

Exercise 10

Look at these four graphs and study the following characteristics: domain,
continuity, increasing and decreasing intervals, maxima and minima.

Exercise 11

Draw the graph of the functions with the following characteristics:

a) Dom f   ,  2  2,    ; Im f   , 2 ; relative maxima at the points
 3, 2 and 3, 2 .
b) Dom g  ; Im g   3, 2 ; relative minimum at the point  2,  1  and
relative maximum at the point  0, 1  .
c) Dom h   , 0  ; Im h  1,    ; increasing in all its domain.
d) Domi   0 ; Im i  ; increasing on  , 0  and decreasing on  0,    .

F. Cano Cuenca 8 Mathematics 4º ESO

Average rate of change of a function
Suppose you take a car trip and record the distance that you travel every few
minutes. The distance s you have travelled is a function of the time t:

s(t) = total distance travelled at time t.

We graph the function s as shown in the figure below.

The graph shows that you have

travelled a total of 50 miles after 1
hour, 75 miles after 2 hours, 140
miles after 3 hours, and so on.

To find your average speed between

any two points on the trip, we divide
the distance travelled by time
elapsed.

Let’s calculate your average speed between 1:00 and 4:00.

dis tan ce travelled 150

average speed    50 mi/h
time elapsed 3

The average speed we have just calculated can be expressed using function
notation:

s(4)  s(1) 250  50

average speed    50 mi/h
4 1 3

Note that the average speed is different over different time intervals. For
example, between 2:00 and 3:00 we find that

s(3)  s(2) 140  75

average speed    65 mi/h
32 1

Finding average rates of change is important in many contexts.

For instance, we may be interest in knowing how quickly the air temperature is
dropping as a storm approaches, or how fast revenues are increasing from the
sale of a new product. So we need to know how to determine the average rate
of change of the functions that model these quantities.

In fact, the concept of average rate of change can be defined for any function.

F. Cano Cuenca 9 Mathematics 4º ESO

The average rate of change of the function
y  f(x) over the interval  a, b  is

change in y f(b)  f(a)


change in x ba

The average rate of change is the slope of the secant line between x  a and
x  b on the graph of f, that is, the line that passes through  a, f(a)  and
b, f(b)  .
Exercise 12

For the function f(x)   x  3 , whose graph

2

is shown in the picture, find the average rate

of change over the intervals 1, 3 and
 4, 7  .

Exercise 13

Let f(x)  3x  5 . Find the average rate of change of f between the following
points.
a) x  0 and x  1 b) x  3 and x  7 c) x  a and x  a  h

What conclusion can you draw from your answers?

Exercise 14

Let f(x)  mx  b . Find the average rate of change of f between the points
x  a and x  a  h .

Complete the sentence: In linear functions, the average rate of change over any
interval is _________________________________.

Exercise 15

Suppose the distance, in metres, an object falls after t seconds is given by the
equation s(t)  4.9t2  50 .

a) Find the average speed of the object from t  1 to t  3 seconds.

b) Find the average speed of the object from t  1 to t  1  h seconds.
c) Find the speed of the object at the instant t  1 seconds.

F. Cano Cuenca 10 Mathematics 4º ESO

4.5.- PERIODIC FUNTIONS
A periodic function repeats a pattern of y-values at regular intervals. One
complete pattern is a cycle. A cycle may begin at any point on the graph of the
function. The period of a function is the horizontal length of one cycle.

Example:

If f is a periodic function whose period is P, then

f(x  P)  f(x) for all values of x.

The amplitude of a periodic function measures the amount of variation in the

function values.

The amplitude of a periodic function is half the difference between the

maximum and minimum values of the function.

You can model some data with periodic functions. The rotation of a Ferris wheel,
the beating of a heart, and the movement of sound waves are all examples of
real-world events that generate periodic data.

Exercise 16

Find the period and the amplitude of each function.

a) b)

F. Cano Cuenca 11 Mathematics 4º ESO

Exercise 17

a) A periodic function goes through 5 complete cycles in 4 minutes. What is the

period of the function?

b) The period of a periodic function is 8 seconds. How many cycles does it go

through in 30 seconds?

Exercise 18

The trigonometric functions y  sin x , y  cos x and y  tan x are periodic

functions. Look at their graphs and determine their periods.

Exercise 19

Use the diagram below. Suppose you and a friend are the last two people seated
on a Ferris wheel. Once the ride begins, the wheel moves at a constant speed. It
takes 36 seconds to complete one revolution.

a) At 0 seconds, when the ride starts, how

high above the ground are you?
b) At what height are you at 9 seconds? At 18
seconds? At 27 seconds?
c) At what height are you at 126 seconds?
How many revolutions have you made?
d) Predict where you will be at 3 minutes.

e) Sketch a graph showing the relationship between your height above the
ground and the time since the ride began. Use 0  t  144 for the domain,
where t  0 is the time at which the ride starts.
f) How far (in feet) have you travelled after one revolution of the wheel?
How far have you travelled at 144 seconds?

F. Cano Cuenca 12 Mathematics 4º ESO