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Pre Math1

The document explains the concept of functions in mathematics, illustrating how they describe relationships between independent and dependent variables. It provides examples of various functions and their graphs, emphasizing the typical representation of these variables on axes. Additionally, it notes the common practice in economics of plotting independent variables on the vertical axis and dependent variables on the horizontal axis.

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melanie.p.davey
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4 views4 pages

Pre Math1

The document explains the concept of functions in mathematics, illustrating how they describe relationships between independent and dependent variables. It provides examples of various functions and their graphs, emphasizing the typical representation of these variables on axes. Additionally, it notes the common practice in economics of plotting independent variables on the vertical axis and dependent variables on the horizontal axis.

Uploaded by

melanie.p.davey
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Pre-Math 1 ECON2310

• A function is a rule that describes a relationship between numbers.

Example:
Rule: take a number and multiply it by 5.
This rule can be written as: y = 5 x (for each number x, this function assigns a
unique number y). You can try it as follow:
•
•
x = −2 ⇒ y = 5 × (−2) = −10
x = −1 ⇒ y = 5 × (−1) = −5
x = 0 ⇒ y = 5 × (0) = 0
x = 1 ⇒ y = 5 ×1 = 5
x = 2 ⇒ y = 5 × 2 = 10
•
•

• If we want to indicate that some variable (y) depends on some other variable (x),
but we don’t know the specific relationship between the two variables, we can
write:
y = f ( 12 x3 )
1 23
dependent Independent
var iable Variable

Which means that y is a function of x. In the same manner, we can write that y is a
function of more than one variable:
{y = f( x1 , x 2 )
1424 3
dependent Independent
var iable Variables x1 , x 2

Which means that y is a function of x1 , x 2 .

• Graph of a function indicates the relationship between the independent and the
dependent variables.

1
Pre-Math 1 ECON2310

Examples:
1) y = 5 x

x y
0 0
1 5
2 10
3 15
4 20

2) y = x 2

x y
0 0
1 1
2 4
3 9
4 16
5 25

2
Pre-Math 1 ECON2310

1
3) y = x 2 = x

x y
0 0 =0
1 1 =1
2 2 ≅ 1.41
3 3 ≅ 1.73
4 4=2
5 5 ≅ 2.23

4) y = 3 + 2 x
x y
0 3
1 5
2 7
3 9
4 11
5 13

3
Pre-Math 1 ECON2310

5) y = 10 − 2 x

x y
0 10
1 8
2 6
3 4
4 2
5 0

In mathematics the independent variable is usually depicted on the horizontal axis and the
dependent variable is depicted on the vertical axis. However, in economics it is common
to graph functions with the independent variable on the vertical axis and the dependent
variable on the horizontal axis.

Example: the quantity demanded is a function of price, however, the demand functions
are usually depicted with the price on the vertical axis and the quantity demanded on the
horizontal axis (i.e. this is called inverse demand function).
1 1 1
q = 10 − p ⇒ q + p = 10 ⇒ p = 10 − q ⇒ p = 20 − 2q
2 2 2

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