T HE U NIVERSITY OF S YDNEY

S CHOOL OF M ATHEMATICS AND S TATISTICS

Solutions to Tutorial 3
MATH1001: Differential Calculus Summer School, 2008
Web Page: http://www.maths.usyd.edu.au/u/UG/SS/SS1001/

Preparatory questions
1. Let f : R → R where f (x) = 2x2 + 3x − 4. Find
(a) f (0)
Solution: f (0) = 2 · 02 + 3 · 0 − 4 = −4, where the dot denotes ordinary multiplication.
(b) f (2)
Solution: f (2) = 2 · 22 + 3 · 2 − 4 = 8 + 6 − 4 = 10.
√
(c) f ( 2 )
√ √ √ √
Solution: f ( 2 ) = 2( 2 )2 + 3 2 − 4 = 3 2 .
√
(d) f (1 + 2 )
√ √ √ √ √
Solution:
√ f (1 + 2 ) = 2(1 + 2 )2 + 3(1 + 2 ) − 4 = 2(3 + 2 2 ) + 3 + 3 2 − 4 =
5 + 7 2.
(e) f (−x)
Solution: f (−x) = 2(−x)2 + 3(−x) − 4 = 2x2 − 3x − 4.
(f) f (x + 1)
Solution: f (x + 1) = 2(x + 1)2 + 3(x + 1) − 4 = (2x2 + 4x + 2) + (3x + 3) − 4 = 2x2 +
7x + 1.
(g) 2 f (x)
Solution: 2 f (x) = 2(2x2 + 3x − 4) or, equivalently, 4x2 + 6x − 8.
(h) f (2x)
Solution: f (2x) = 2(2x)2 + 3(2x) − 4 = 8x2 + 6x − 4 or, equivalently, 2(4x2 + 3x − 2).

2. Find the natural domain of each of the following functions of a real variable x:
√
(a) x+1
Solution: The quantity under a square root must be nonnegative while we are working in
the domain of real variables. Hence x + 1 ≥ 0. The natural domain is [−1, ∞).
√
(b) 4 − x2
Solution: 4 − x2 ≥ 0. Hence −2 ≤ x ≤ 2. Domain: [−2, 2].
(c) sin |x|
Solution: There is no restriction on x. Domain: R.
(d) ln(x + 1)
Solution: The argument of a natural logarithm in the real domain must be strictly positive.
Hence x > −1. Domain: (−1, ∞).

3. Using the definitions of cosh x and sinh x,

Copyright
c 2008 The University of Sydney 1
 (a) find cosh(0) and sinh(0);
Solution: The hyperbolic functions are defined by

ex + e−x ex − e−x
cosh x = , sinh x = .
2 2
Hence, for the case x = 0,
1+1 1−1
cosh 0 = = 1, sinh 0 = = 0.
2 2
(b) show that cosh(−x) = cosh x and that sinh(−x) = − sinh x.
Solution: Replace x by −x and get

e−x + e−(−x) e−x + ex

cosh(−x) = = = cosh x;
2 2
e−x − e−(−x) e−x − ex
sinh(−x) = = = − sinh x.
2 2
So cosh x (like cos x) is an even function and sinh x (like sin x) is an odd function.

Questions to do in class
4. Which of the following graphs represent functions f : A → R for A ⊆ R? Do any of the graphs
define injective (that is, one-to-one) functions?

(a) (c) (e)

(b) (d) (f)

Solution: Functions are represented by the graphs (b), (c) and (f). The other graphs fail the
vertical line test. Of the three graphs that represent functions, only (f) represents an injective
function (the other two fail the horizontal line test).

5. Find the natural domain and the corresponding range of the following real-variable functions.

(a) f (x) = 1 + cos x

Solution: Now cos x can be applied to any real value of x so the natural domain of f (x) is
R. Also −1 ≤ cos x ≤ 1 for any x, so 0 ≤ 1 + cos x ≤ 2 and the range of f (x) is [0, 2]. See
the graph of y = f (x) given below.

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 √
(b) g(x) = 4 − x2
Solution: The natural domain of g(x) is {x ∈ R | 4 − x2 ≥ 0} = [−2, 2]. For values of
x ∈ [−2, 2], it is easy to see that 0 ≤ 4 − x2 ≤ 4. Therefore the range of g(x) is [0, 2]. See
the graph below.
√
y = 1 + cos x y= 4 − x2
2 2

1 1

−3π −2π −π π 2π 3π −2 −1 1 2
−1 −1

6. Write down the natural domain and sketch the graph of the functions given by the following rules.
Also determine whether the functions are injective.
(a) f (x) = 3 − 2x
Solution: The domain of f (x) is all of R. The graph of f (x) below satisfies the horizontal
line test, so the function is injective.

6
5
4
3
2
1

−1 1 2
−1

√
(b) g(x) = x−5
Solution: The domain is [5, ∞) and again the function is injective.
√
2 y= x−5
1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

(c) f (x) = cosh(x2 )

Solution: The domain of f (x) is all of R. The graph of f (x) below does not satisfy the

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 horizontal line test, so the function is not injective.

5
4
2 2
ex + e−x
3 y = cosh x2 =
2
2
1

−2 −1 1 2
−1

7. Determine whether the following functions are injective (one-to-one) or surjective (onto) or both
or neither. If the function is not both injective and surjective, find a function with the same
algebraic rule which is bijective (that is, both injective and surjective) by specifying a suitable
domain and a suitable codomain.
(a) f : R → R, f (x) = x + 1
Solution: The function f is injective because if f (x) = f (y) then x + 1 = y + 1, so x = y.
Further f is surjective, because, for any x ∈ R, f (x − 1) = x; so x lies in the range of f for
any real number x. Hence, f : R → R is bijective.
(b) g : R → R, g(x) = ex
Solution: The function g is injective because if g(x) = g(y) then ex = ey , which implies
x = y. However, g is not surjective because, for example, there is no x ∈ R such that
ex = −1, so −1 does not lie in the range of g. The range of g is (0, ∞). Therefore the
function g : R → (0, ∞) is surjective as the codomain and the range are the same. Since it
is already injective, it is now bijective.
(c) f : R → R, f (x) = x2 − 3
Solution: The function f is not injective because f (−1) = f (1) = −2, so we can have
f (x) = f (y) for some x 6= y. The function f is not surjective either as its range is [−3, ∞),
which is not equal to its codomain R. If the domain is restricted to [0, ∞) and the codomain
to [−3, ∞) then f : [0, ∞) → [−3, ∞), x 7→ x2 − 3, will be a bijective function.
(d) g : R → R, g(x) = sin x
Solution: The function g is not injective because g(0) = g(π ) = 0, so we can have
g(x) = g(y) for some x 6= y. The range of g is [−1, 1] and so g is not surjective. We could
make g into a bijective function by, for example, restricting its domain to be the interval
[−π /2, π /2], and its codomain to be the range, which is still [−1, 1]. That is, the function
g : [−π /2, π /2] → [−1, 1], x 7→ sin x, is bijective.

√
8. Let f (x) = sin x and g(x) = 1− x . Write down the formulae for f ◦ g and g◦ f and find the largest
possible domain for which each composite function makes sense.
Solution: The rule for f ◦ g is
√
( f ◦ g)(x) = f (g(x)) = sin(1 − x ),

so the domain of f ◦ g is [0, ∞).

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 The rule for g◦ f is √
(g◦ f )(x) = g( f (x)) = 1 − sin x ;
so the domain of g◦ f is {x ∈ R | 2kπ ≤ x ≤ (2k + 1)π , for k an integer}.

9. Find a formula for f −1 (x) when f (x) is equal to the following functions. In each case write down
the domain and range of f −1 (x).
(a) f (x) = 4x + 7
Solution: Put y = 4x + 7. Then y − 7 = 4x so x = (y − 7)/4. Hence, interchanging x and y,
we get
x−7
f −1 (x) = .
4
The domain and range of f −1 are both equal to R.
x−2
(b) f (x) =
x+2
Solution: Put y = (x − 2)/(x + 2). Then (x + 2)y = x − 2, which can be rearranged to
x(1 − y) = 2(1 + y), and so x = 2(1 + y)/(1 − y). It follows that the rule for f −1 is

2(1 + x)
f −1 (x) = .
1−x
The domain of f −1 is R\{1}. The range of f −1 equals the domain of f , which is R\{−2}.
(c) f (x) = ex+1
Solution: Put y = ex+1 . Then ln y = x + 1 so x = ln y − 1. Hence, interchanging x and y,
we get
f −1 (x) = ln x − 1.
The domain of f −1 is (0, ∞) and range of f −1 equals the domain of f , which is R.
(d) f (x) = 3 − sinh x
Solution: Put y = 3 − sinh x. Then 3 − y = sinh x and so x = sinh−1 (3 − y). Hence,
interchanging x and y, we get

f −1 (x) = sinh−1 (3 − x).

The domain and range of f −1 are both equal to R.

Questions for further practice

10. Find the range of the following functions. In each case take the domain of the function to be as
large as possible.
(a) f (x) = sin |x|
Solution: The domain of sin x is the real line R, so the largest possible domain for
f (x) = sin |x| is also R. The range of sin x is [−1, 1] when x ≥ 0 and so the range of f is
also [−1, 1].
(b) g(x) = ln(x + 1)
Solution: The domain of ln x is (0, ∞) as ln x is not defined for x ≤ 0. So the domain
of g(x) = ln(x + 1) is (−1, ∞). The range of ln x is R because, for any given y ∈ R, the
equation ln x = y can be solved for x, namely x = ey . The range of ln(x + 1) is obviously
the same as the range of ln x. Hence the range of g is R.

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11. Write down the natural domain and sketch the graph of each of the functions given by the follow-
ing rules and determine whether each function is injective:
x
(a) h(x) =
|x|
Solution: The domain is R \ {0} and the function fails (spectacularly!) to satisfy the
horizontal line test, so is not injective.
y

x
−1


−1
 if x ≤ −1,
(b) k(x) = 3x + 2 if |x| < 1,

7 − 2x if x ≥ 1.


Solution: The domain is R and the function is not injective.

y
5
4
3
2
1

−3 −2 −1 1 2 3 4x
−1
−2

12. Determine whether the following functions are injective or surjective or both or neither:
(a) h : Z → Z, h(x) = x2
Solution: The function h is not injective, because, for example, h(−1) = 1 = h(1), yet
1 6= −1. Also h is not surjective, because, for example, 3 is not the square of an integer, so
does not lie in the range of h.
(b) k : N → N, k(x) = x2
Solution: The function k is not surjective for the same reason as given for h. However k
is injective, because different nonnegative integers have different squares.

13. Verify that f (x) = 3x + 5 and g(x) = (x − 5)/3 define functions that are mutual inverses.
Solution: Note that f and g are bijective functions with domain and range equal to R. To verify
that f and g are mutual inverses we simply check that the composite functions, on both sides,
have the net effect of leaving an input x unchanged. Now,
 
x−5 3x + 5 − 5
( f ◦ g)(x) = 3 +5 = x and (g◦ f )(x) = = x.
3 3

Hence, g(x) = f −1 (x) or, equivalently, f (x) = g−1 (x).

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14. Find simplified rules for f ◦ g and g◦ f where f , g : R \ {0, 1} → R \ {0, 1} are given by

1 x−1
f (x) = and g(x) = .
1−x x
What do you notice about the relationship between f and g?
Solution: The formulae for the composite functions f ◦ g and g◦ f are
1 1 x
( f ◦ g)(x) = = = = x,
1 − g(x) 1 − (x − 1)/x x − (x − 1)

and
f (x) − 1 1/(1 − x) − 1 1 − (1 − x)
(g◦ f )(x) = = = = x.
f (x) 1/(1 − x) 1
Hence, f and g ‘undo’ each other; that is, they are mutually inverse functions.

15. Determine the natural domain and corresponding range for the two functions below. In each case
find a formula for their inverse function f −1 (x), after modifying the domain if necessary.
(a) f (x) = (2 + 5x)4
Solution: The domain of f is R = (−∞, ∞) and its range is [0, ∞). Put y = (2 + 5x)4 . We
can solve this equation for x in terms of y by taking 4th roots: y1/4 = 2+ 5x, so 5x = y1/4 − 2
and x = (y1/4 − 2)/5. However positive real numbers have two real 4th roots, so f is not
one-to-one. If we choose always the positive 4th root we find that x ≥ −2/5. Hence, f
defines a bijective function from [−2/5, ∞) to [0, ∞), with inverse f −1 given by

x1/4 − 2
f −1 (x) = ,
5
for all x ≥ 0.
√
(b) f (x) = ex + 1
√
Solution: The domain of f is R = (−∞, ∞) and its range is (1, ∞). Put y = ex + 1 . Then
y2 = ex + 1, so ex = y2 − 1 and x = ln(y2 − 1). Switching x and y, we deduce that

f −1 (x) = ln(x2 − 1).

The domain of f −1 equals the range of f (x), which is (1, ∞). The range of f −1 (x) equals
the domain of f (x), which is R. (Note that the natural domain of ln(x2 − 1) is in fact
{x ∈ R | |x| > 1} = (−∞, −1) ∪ (1, ∞).)

16. Find the natural domain and the range of f : R → R, f (x) = 3 cosh(x + 2). Sketch the graph of
f (x). Is this function injective or surjective or both or neither? If necessary, restrict the domain
and codomain to produce a new function g(x) with the same algebraic rule, which is bijective.
Find an algebraic expression for g−1 and sketch this inverse function.
Solution: The natural domain of f is R and, since cosh x ≥ 1 for all x, the range of f is [3, ∞).

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 12

10

−4 −3 −2 −1 1 2

This function is not surjective because its range, [3, ∞), is not equal to its codomain R. It is
also not injective as it fails the horizontal line test (see graph above). A corresponding bijective
function is g : [−2, ∞) → [3, ∞), x 7→ 3 cosh(x + 2).
Set y = 3 cosh(x + 2), then y/3 = cosh(x + 2), and so x + 2 = cosh−1 (y/3) and hence
x = cosh−1 (y/3) − 2. Switching x and y gives

g−1 (x) = cosh−1 (x/3) − 2

for x ≥ 3.

2 4 6 8 10 12
−1

−2