Finding the Domain of a Function

The domain of a function is the set of all possible values that could be used as inputs for that function:

The Domain is the set of all allowable x values (input values).

The Range is the set of all possible output y values (output values).

In general we start by assuming that the domain is the set of all real numbers. There are then
three main exceptions.

Exception 1 The function contains a fraction having the input variable in the denominator.

In this case the domain is all real numbers for which the denominator is not equal to zero.
Procedure: Set the denominator ≠ 0 and solve for x .
4x + 9 ≠ 0
77
Example: ℎ(𝑥𝑥) = 4𝑥𝑥+9  4 x ≠ −9
9
x≠−
4
The domain is set of all real numbers not equal to − 9 or in interval notation  −∞, − 9  ∪  − 9 , ∞  .
4  4  4 

Exception 2 The function contains an even indexed root whose radicand contains the input
variable. The radicand MUST be positive in this case and so the Domain is the set of all real
numbers for which the radicand ≥ 0.
Procedure: Set the radicand ≥ 0 and solve for x .

11 
Example: g ( x) = 56 x − 7 6 x −11  6 x − 11 ≥ 0 Domain is  , ∞ 
6 
6 x ≥ 11
11
x≥
6

Exception 3 The domain is limited by the problem situation.

Example: The amount of money lost by playing Alfred’s self-adapting slot machine is a
function of the number of quarters gambled, and Alfred claims that the loss can be
approximately modeled by the function f ( x) = 300 − 90000 − 3 x dollars where x
represents the number of quarters gambled. Find the domain of function f .
90000 − 3 x ≥ 0
 Suggesting that the Domain = ( −∞, 30000]
−3 x ≥ −90000
x ≤ 30000
However, since one cannot gamble a negative number of quarters or a fraction of a quarter in a
slot machine we must adjust the domain.

Domain = {0,1,2,3, . . . ,29999,30000} or Domain = { x : x is a whole number ≤ 30000}

 Steps to find the domain of a function:
1. It is all real numbers.
2. Omit (throw out) anything that causes division by zero.
Set the denominator ≠ 0 and solve for x

3. Omit (throw out) anything that causes a negative for any positive even integer a.
For now, non-real outputs are not allowed.
Set the radicand ≥ 0 and solve for x
4. If the domain is limited by the problem situation, adjust the domain accordingly.

Additional Examples:
A. 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = 8𝑥𝑥 7 + 333𝑥𝑥 4 − 𝑥𝑥 − 5𝜋𝜋 2
Since there is no division and no radical, D = (−∞, ∞).
9
B. 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = √3𝑥𝑥 − 5
Since the index of the radical is odd, D = (−∞, ∞).
8
C. 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = √3𝑥𝑥 − 5
Since the index of the radical is even we need to restrict the domain.
3x − 5 ≥ 0 5
D = 3 , ∞�
3x ≥ 5
5
x≥
3
5𝑥𝑥−2
D. 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = 4 + This function exhibits two domain restrictions.
√7−3𝑥𝑥

Exception 1 gives this restriction: 7 − 3𝑥𝑥 ≠ 0

Exception 2 gives this restriction: 7 − 3𝑥𝑥 ≥ 0
Taken together, the above restrictions become: 7 − 3𝑥𝑥 > 0
7 − 3x > 0 7
D = �−∞, 3�
−3 x > −7
7
x<
3
Exercises: Find the domain of each function in interval notation.

1. f ( x) = 3 x + 9 2. g ( x) = 3 x 2 − 4 x + 1 3. h( x) = 5( x −1)
2 x −10 ( x + 2)(3x − 8)

4. z ( x) = 2x 5. k ( x) = 2 x −16 6. j ( x) = 3 − 2 − x
( x − 4)(2 x + 3)

7. p ( x) = 3 5 x − 2 8. f ( x) = 6 x − π

9. g ( x) = 2 − 4 x + 20 10. h( x) = 2x
x( x − 4)( x +1) 3x −18

h( x) = 3x7 + 8x − 9
2
11. f ( x) = 9 x33 + 4 x5 − 222 x − 523 + π 12.
11x − 25

13. g ( x) = 56 x444 − 7 x3 73 − 2 x 14. f ( x) = 78x + 66 x − 2π

31− 44 x

15. g ( x) = 5 34 − 5x + 4 5 − 7x 16. f ( x) = 8π x + x −3
x −5

17. While visiting his grandparents for the first time in 15 years, Bob goes to collect some honey from his
favorite honey tree and instead collects a significant number of stings from the hive’s new killer
inhabitants. In his delirium, blundering Bob postulates the level of pain in BPUs (that’s Bob’s Pain Units)
is a function of the number of bees that stung him and that the function is modeled by
f ( x) = 20 − 400 − 25x . Find the domain of f .

18. After her final exam, Cecilia climbs to the top of the water tower and throws her textbook with an initial
upward velocity of 34.3 meters per second. The book flies through the air in a graceful parabolic arc and
after exactly 10 seconds of flight, it lands thud in the tar pit 147 meters below its release point. The
function h(t ) = 147 − 4.9t 2 + 34.3t gives the height of the book in meters above the tar pit
(where t is seconds since the book was released). Find the domain of h(t ) . Hint: the function does not
apply after the book hits the tar pit.
19. If you have agreed to pay off a loan of $1600 with $128 interest by making monthly payments of $144, the
amount of money remaining to be paid on the loan can be modeled by the function
B( x) = 1728 − 144 x (dollars), where x is the number of payments that have been made. Find the
domain of B( x).

20. The daily cost C (in dollars) of removing pollution from the smokestack of an electric plant is related
10,500
to the percent of pollution p being removed according to the equation C ( p ) = . What is
100 − p
the domain of the function C ( p ) ?

21. Market demand, in thousands of units, for digital cameras is given by the function
D( p) = −0.2 p +130 , where p is the price per camera. Find the domain of D( p).

22. A factory’s new training program for production teams allows each team up to, but no more than 25 hours
of training. The average time (in hours) that a new production team takes to assemble 1 unit of a product
5 + 3t
is given by H (t ) = , where t is the number of hours spent training the team. What is the domain
2t + 1
of the function H (t ) ?

23. The intensity of light is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source and is given by

the function I (d ) = 0.65 , where I is the intensity in foot-candles, and d is the distance in feet
d2
from the source. Find the domain for this function?
 Solutions for the domain worksheet:
1. (−∞, 5)  (5, ∞) 2. ( −∞, ∞ )   


3. (−∞, − 2)   −2, 8    8 , ∞ 
3  3 
  

4.  −∞, − 3    − 3 , 4   4, ∞

 2  
 2 

( ) 5. 8,

∞) 6. ( −∞, 2
7. ( −∞, ∞ ) 8. π , ∞) 9.  −5,

−1)  ( −1, 0)  ( 0, 4)  ( 4, ∞ )

10. (6, ∞) 11. ( −∞, ∞ ) 12. 

 −∞,
25    25 , ∞ 
11   11 


5)  (5, ∞ )
   
13.  −∞, 73  14.  −∞, 31  15.  −∞, 5  16. 3,
 2  44   7  
  

17. {0, 1, 2, 3, . . . , 15, 16} 18. [ 0, 10]

19. {0, 1, 2, 3, . . . , 11, 12} 20. [0, 100 )

21. ( 0, 650] 22. [ 0, 25] 23. ( 0, ∞ )