Lecture 1: Functions and Their Representations

(Section 1.1)

Definition 1
A function f is a rule that assigns to each element x in a set D
exactly one element, called f (x) in a set E .

D = the domain of f

E = the range of f

We can define functions in several ways:

algebraically - by using an explicit formula
visually - by a graph
numerically - by a table of values
verbally - described in words

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Example 1:
Find the domain of a given function
1
(a) f (x) = 2
x −1

√
(b) g (x) = 4−x
Definition 2
The graph of a function f (x) is the set of order pairs (x, y ) in the
xy −plane, where x is in the domain of definition of f , and
y = f (x).

Example 2: Graph f (x) = x 3 − 4x 2

Vertical Line Test
f is a function if and only if no vertical line crosses its graph more
than once.
Example 3: Which of the following graphs represent y as a
function of x:
(a)
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Piecewise defined functions

Example 4: Graph the function f (x) = |x|.


x, if x ≥ 0;
f (x) = |x| =
−x, if x < 0

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 |x|
Example 5: Graph the function g (x) = .
x
Example 6: Graph the function
 2
 x , if x < 0;
f (x) = x + 1, if 0 ≤ x < 4;
10 − x, if x ≥ 4.

Even Functions
Function f (x) is said to be an even function if

f (−x) = f (x)

for all x in the domain of f.

Example 7: f (x) = x 4 + x 2 + 2 is

Example 8: cos x is
Odd Functions
Function f (x) is said to be an odd function if

f (−x) = −f (x)

for all x in the domain of f.

Example 9: f (x) = x 3 + x is

Example 10: sin x is an odd function

tan x is an odd function:
tan (−x) =
cot x is an odd function too.
Example 11: Determine if the function f (x) = x 2 − x is odd,
even, or neither.
Definition
A function f (x) is said to be increasing on an interval I if

x1 < x2 ⇒ f (x1 ) < f (x2 )

for x1 , x2 ∈ I

Definition
A function f (x) is said to be decreasing on an interval I if

x1 < x2 ⇒ f (x1 ) > f (x2 )

for x1 , x2 ∈ I
Section 1.2: Essential Functions

Linear Functions
A linear function f (x) has the form

f (x) = ax + b

where a,b are real constants.

Polynomial Functions
A polynomial P(x) is a function that has the following form

P(x) = an x n + an−1 x n−1 + . . . + a1 x + a0

where n is a non-negative number, and real numbers

an , an−1 , . . . , a0 are coefficients of P.
A polynomial P(x) = an x n + an−1 x n−1 + . . . + a1 x + a0 , where
an 6= 0, is said to be of degree n.

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Polynomial functions are defined for all x ∈ (−∞, ∞).
Example 12:
P(x) = x 15 + x 7 + 120x is a polynomial
all linear functions f (x) = ax + b are polynomials; Note that
n = 1 (if a 6= 0)

Power Functions
A function of the form f (x) = x a , where a is a real constant, is
called a power function.

Let a = n, n is a positive integer - polynomial P(x) = x n

 √
Let a = n1 , n is a positive integer - root function f (x) = x 1/n = n
x
Example 13: For a = 1/2, f (x) = x a becomes the square root
√
function f (x) = x.
For a = 1/3, f (x) = x a becomes the cube root function
√
3
f (x)
√ = x.
y= x y = x 1/3
Let a = −1. Then we have the reciprocal function
f (x) = x −1 = x1 , which is defined for all x except at 0. Its graph is
shown below:
Rational Functions
A rational function f is a ratio of two polynomials:

P(x)
f (x) = .
Q(x)

The domain of f consists of all points for which Q(x) 6= 0

Trigonometric Functions
sin x, cos x, tan x
and their reciprocals csc x, sec x, cot x
Exponential Functions
An exponential function has the form f (x) = ax , where the base a
is a positive constant. The domain of f (x) = ax is (−∞, ∞), and
its range is (0, ∞).

Logarithmic Functions
The logarithmic functions f (x) = loga x, where the base a is
positive constant, are the inverse functions of exponential
functions.
Transformations of Functions
Vertical and Horizontal Shifts
Let c > 0.
The graph of y = f (x) + c is obtained by shifting the graph of
y = f (x) by c units upward

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The graph of y = f (x) − c is obtained by shifting the graph of
y = f (x) by c units downward

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The graph of y = f (x − c) is obtained by shifting the graph of
y = f (x) by c units to the right

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The graph of y = f (x + c) is obtained by shifting the graph of
y = f (x) by c units to the left

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Vertical and Horizontal Stretching and Reflecting
Suppose that c > 1. To obtain the graph of y = cf (x), stretch the
graph of y = f (x) vertically by a factor of c

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To obtain the graph of y = (1/c)f (x), compress the graph of
y = f (x) vertically by a factor of c.

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To obtain the graph of y = f (cx), compress the graph of y = f (x)
horizontally by a factor of c

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To obtain the graph of y = f (x/c), stretch the graph of y = f (x)
horizontally by a factor of c

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To obtain the graph of y = −f (x), reflect the graph of y = f (x)
about the x-axis

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To obtain the graph of y = f (−x), reflect the graph of y = f (x)
about the y-axis

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 x −1
Example 1: Graph y =
x
x −1 1 1
Write = 1 − = − + 1.
x x x
1
We start with the graph of y = and use needed transformations.
x

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Combinations of Functions

For two given functions f and g we define f + g , f − g , f · g , and

f /g as follows:
f + g is defined on A ∩ B, where A=domain of f, and B=domain
of g, by:
(f + g )(x) = f (x) + g (x)
f − g is defined on A ∩ B, by:

(f − g )(x) = f (x) − g (x)

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fg is defined on A ∩ B, by:

(fg )(x) = f (x)g (x)

f /g is defined on {x ∈ A ∩ B|g (x) 6= 0}, by:

 
f f (x)
(x) =
g g (x)

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Definition
Given two functions f and g , the composition f ◦ g is defined by

(f ◦ g )(x) = f (g (x))

The domain of of f ◦ g is the set of all x in the domain of g such

that g (x) is in the domain of f .

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 1 √
Example 2: Let f (x) = x and g (x) = x. Find
(a) f ◦ g

(b) g ◦ f

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(c) find g ◦ (f + h) and f ◦ g ◦ h, where h(x) = x + 1

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