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Understanding Inverse Functions

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3 views2 pages

Understanding Inverse Functions

Uploaded by

Simamkele
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

Intro to Inverse Functions

Inverse functions, in the most general sense, are functions that "reverse" each other.

For example, here we see that function 𝒇 takes 𝟏 to 𝒙, 𝟐 to 𝒛, and 𝟑 to 𝒚.

The inverse of 𝒇 , denoted 𝒇−𝟏 (and read as "𝒇 inverse"), will reverse this mapping.
Function 𝒇−𝟏 takes 𝒙 to 𝟏, 𝒚 to 𝟑, and 𝒛 to 𝟐.

Defining inverse functions


In general, if a function 𝒇 takes 𝒂 to 𝒃, then the inverse function, 𝒇−𝟏 , takes 𝒃 to 𝒂.

From this, we have the formal definition of inverse functions:

𝒇(𝒂) = 𝒃 ↔ 𝒇−𝟏 (𝒃) = 𝒂


Example 1: Mapping diagram

Suppose function 𝒉 is defined by the mapping diagram above. What is 𝒉−𝟏 (𝟗)?

Solution

We are given information about function 𝒉 and are asked a question about function 𝒉−𝟏.
Since inverse functions reverse each other, we need to reverse our thinking.

Specifically, to find 𝒉−𝟏 (𝟗), we can find the input of 𝒉 whose output is 𝟗. This is because
if 𝒉−𝟏 (𝟗) = 𝒙, then by definition of inverses, 𝒉(𝒙) = 𝟗.

From the mapping diagram, we see that 𝒉(𝟔) = 𝟗, and so 𝒉−𝟏 (𝟗) = 𝟔.

Practice exercises
1. Given 𝒉(𝒙) = 𝟓 − 𝟗𝒙 find 𝒉−𝟏 (𝒙)
2. Given 𝒈(𝒙) = 𝟏𝟐𝒙 + 𝟕 find 𝒈−𝟏 (−𝟐)
3. Given 𝒇(𝒙) = 𝟏𝟐𝒙 − 𝟕 find 𝒑−𝟏 (𝒙)

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