RECAP

In Module 2 of MAT101 you were introduced to functions as relations in which

every pre-image has one corresponding image. A function was defined as a rule
that assigns to each element x in a set A exactly one element , called f (x), in
set B, A is called the domain of f and the range of f is the set of all possible
values of f (x).

1 Types of functions
In this section we define a function, classify types of functions based on their
properties;even,odd, piecewise, composite functions ,examples and their graphs
The set of all input values for the function is called the domain of the function
while the set of all output values of the function is the range of the function.
These sets could be any sets of objects. We can visualize functions as an input-
output machine or an arrow as shown in the following diagrams.

The most common method for visualizing function is its graph. If f is a

function with domain A then its graph is the set of ordered pairs {(x, f (x)) :
x ∈ A} The independent variable x represents the input value from the domain
f , and y, the dependent variable represents the corresponding output value f (x)
in the range of f .
Next we define basic functions based on their properties

Definition 1. Piece wise Functions

These are functions represented by different formulas for each given interval in
domain.
Example  1.2 A function f is defined by:
 x if x ≤ 1
f (x) = 3 if 1 ≤ x ≤ 2
x if x > 2


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Example 2. The absolute value function defined by
x if x ≥ 0
f (x) = |x| =
−x if x < 0

Note to graph a piecewise-defined function, you graph each part of the func-
tion in its respective, on the same coordinate system. In some cases the domain
is partitioned about a point x = a. Depending on the value of the function at
x = a, sometimes the graph needs to included and open of closed circle at f (a).

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Definition 2. Symmetry: If a function f satisfies f (−x) = f (x) for every
numberx in its domain, the f is called an even function for example f (x) = x2
while f is odd if f (x) = −f (x) for example f (x) = x2
Example 3. a) f (x) = x5 + x
f (−x) = (−x)5 + (−x) = (−1)5 x5 + (−x)
= −x5 − x = −(x5 + x) = −f (x)
b) f (x) = x4 − 4x2
f (−x) = (−x)4 − 4(−x)2
= (−1) (x)4 + 4(x)2 = x4 − 4x2 = f (x)
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Note: You can determine whether a function is odd or even by looking at

their graphs. The graph of an odd function is symmetric about the y-axis, that
is a horizontal line drawn from a point on the to the y will be have equal distance
with an other point on the graph on the other side of the y-axis.
The graph of an odd function is symmetric about the origin. A straight line
drawn from a point on the graph to the origin will have equal distance on the
other side of the origin.
Definition 3. Composite Functions: If f and g are two functions, the com-
posite f ◦ g is defined by
g ◦ f (x) = g(f (x)).
The domain of g ◦ f consists of values x in the domain of f for which f (x) is
in the domain of g.

X Y Z
f g

x f (x) g f (x)

2 Domain and ranges of functions

In this section we define the set of all input values of a function and the set of
all output values of a [Link] sets could be any sets of objects. The sets

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we consider will be sets of real numbers.
You determine the domain of functions by excluding those values of x for which
the value f (x) would result in dividing by zero or taking even roots of negative
numbers. The range is determined by making x the subject in f (x), the values
of y for which g(y) is defined is the range of f denoted by Rf .
We now give examples in which we determine the range and domain of a function
algebraically
In dealing with the domains and ranges of functions, intervals of numbers oc-
cur so often that it is convenient to introduce special notation and terminologies
for intervals.
(a) Closed interval: [a, b] consist of all number x such that a ≤ x ≤ b
The solid dots on the line a and b are included in the close interval [a, b]

(b) Open interval: (a, b) consists of all numbers x such that a < x < b
The open dots on the line at a and b indicate that the end points a and b
are not included in the open interval (a, b)

(c) Half-open intervals: [a, b) consists of all numbers x such that a ≤ x < b

(a, b] consists of all numbers x such that a < x ≤ b

The domain and range of a function can be determined from the graph of func-
tion. We now look at examples in which the domain and range are determined
from the points at which x and y are defined respectively.

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 √
Example 4. The domain of f (x) = x + 2 consists of all real numbers x for
which x + 2 ≥ 0. Thus we require x ≥ −[Link] domain is the closed interval
[−2, ∞)
We determine the range of f by making x the subject, we obtain the function
x = y 2 − 2 which is defined for any real number x, hence Rf = R

Example 5. The domain of f (x) = xx+1 2 +x consists of all values of x for which

x +x 6= 0, however f (x) can be simplified into f (x) = x12 . Therefore the domain
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of f is the set (−∞, 0) ∪ (0, ∞). q

Writing y = xx+12 +x and making x the subject we have x = g(y) =
1
y , which is
defined only for values of y > 0. Therefore the range of Rf = (0, ∞)
Example 6. The function f (x) = |x − 1| is defined for any real number x
and therefore domain of f is R, absolute function by definition is always non-
negative. Therefore Rf = [0, ∞)

3 Graphs of Functions
We now look at visualization of functions through their graphs. The graph of a
function is the graph of the equation y = f (x). It consists of those points in the
cartesian plane whose coordinates (x, y) are pairs of input-output values for f .
Drawing the graph a function f sometimes involves making a table of coordinate
pairs (x, f (x)) for various values of x in the domain of f , then plotting these
points and connecting them with a smooth curve.
Graphs of a function whose domain and range is known can be sketched or
plotted using computer algebra systems such as Matlab, SageMath, Matplotlib.
Example 7. This is an example of graphs of functions plotted using tikzpicture
package in latex.

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 y

4
(9, 3)
3
(4, 2)
2
(1, 1) √
1 (3, 3)

0 x
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-1 (0, 0)

-2

-3

4 Function Models
Functions arise whenever one quantity depends on another. Consider the fol-
lowing three situations
a). The volume V of a right cylinder depends on radius r of the cross sectional
area and h of the cylinder. The rule that connects r, h and V is given by
the equation V = πr2 h. With each positive number
b). The human population of the world P depends on time t. For each value
of t there is a corresponding value of P , and we say that P is a function
of t.

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 c). The profit function p depends on the cost function p and the revenue
function r. If a company produces x items then p(x) = c(x) − r(x)
Example 8. A rectangular storage container with an open top has a volume of
10m3 . The length of its base is twice its width. Material for the base costs 10
dollars per square meter; material for the sides costs 6 dollars per square meter.
Express the cost of materials as a function of the width of the base.

Solution
let w and 2w be the width and length of the base respectively.
The area of the base is 2w(w) = 2w2 , so the cost in dollars of the material
needed for the base is 10(2w2 ).
Two sides have area 2wh and the other two have area 2(2wh), so the total
cost is therefore:
C =10(2w2 ) + 6[2(wh) + 2(2wh)]
=20w2 + 36wh
V =2w2 (h) = 10
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Thus h = w2 substitute in C.