Linear Function And its group

Solution to Problem 1:
f is a linear function whose formula has the form
f(x) = a x + b
where a and b are constants to be found. Note that 2 ordered pairs (-3,17) and (4,-18) are given in the table.
These two ordered pairs are used to write a system of linear equations as follows17 = - 3 a + b and -18 = 4 a +
b
Solve the above system to obtain a = - 5 and b = 2 and write the formula for function f as follows
f(x) = - 5 x + 2
We now use the formula for f to find f(x) given x or find x given f(x).
for x = 0 , f(0) = -5(0) + 2 = 2
for f(x) = 1 , 1 = -5 x + 2 which gives x = 1 / 5
for x = 7 , f(7) = - 5(7) + 2 = - 33
for f(x) = - 30 , -30 = -5 x + 2 which gives x = 32 / 5
We now put the values calculated above in the table.

Problem 2:
A family of linear functions is given by

f(x) = mx + (3 - 2 m)

where x is the independent variable and m is a constant.

a) Graph f for m = 0, 1, 2, -3 and -5
b) What do all the graphs in part a) have in common?
c) Justify your answer to part b) analytically.
d) Write the equation of the family of functions whose graphs pass by the same point (- 2 , - 4).
Solution to Problem 2:

a)

b) All the graphs pass by the same point (2 , 3)

c) To prove that all lines described by the equation f(x) = mx + (3 - 2 m) pass by the point (2 , 3), show that f(2)
=3
f(2) = 2 m + (3 - 2m) = 3
d) The point slope form of the equation of a line is used to find equation of the family of lines that pass by the
point (-2,-4) is found as follows
y - (-4) = m (x - (-2))
y = mx + (2m - 4)
As an exercise, graph the above equation for different values of m and check that all the lines obtained pass by
the point (-2 , -4)

Problem 3:
A high school had 1200 students enrolled in 2003 and 1500 students in 2006. If the student population P ; grows
as a linear function of time t, where t is the number of years after 2003.
a) How many students will be enrolled in the school in 2010?
b) Find a linear function that relates the student population to the time t.

Solution to Problem 3:
a) The given information may be written as ordered pairs (t , P). The year 2003 correspond to t = 0 and the year
2006 corresponds to t = 3, hence the 2 ordered pairs
(0, 1200) and (3, 1500)
Since the population grows linearly with the time t, we use the two ordered pairs to find the slope m of the
graph of P as follows
m = (1500 - 1200) / (6 - 3) = 100 students / year
The slope m = 100 means that the students population grows by 100 students every year. From 2003 to 2010
there are 7 years and the students population in 2010 will be
P(2010) = P(2003) + 7 * 100 = 1200 + 700 = 1900 students.
b) We know the slope and two points, we may use the point slope form to find an equation for the population P
as a function of t as follows
P - P1 = m (t - t1)
P - 1200 = 100 (t - 0)
P = 100 t + 1200
Problem 4:
The graph shown below is that of the linear function that relates the value V (in $) of a car to its age t, where t is
the number of years after 2000

a) Find the slope and interpret it.

b) What will be the value of the car in the year 2010?
Solution to Problem 4: a) Find two points from the graph
(0 , 16000) and (7 , 7600)
Use the above points to find the slope m
m = (7600 - 16000) / (7 - 0) = - 1200 $ / year
A slope of - 1200 $ / year means that the value of the car decreases by 1200 $ every year.
b) In 2010, t = 10. There are 3 years from t = 7 to t = 10. The value of the car will be given by
7600 - 3 * 1200 = $4000

Problem 5:
The cost of producing x tools by a company is given by
C(x) = 1200 x + 5500 (in $)

a) What is the cost of 100 tools?

b) What is the cost of 101 tools?
c) Find the difference between the cost of 101 and 100 tools.
d) Find the slope of the graph of C?
e) Interpret the slope.

Solution to Problem 5:
a) C(100) = 1200*100 + 5500 = $125500
b) C(101) = 1200*101 + 5500 = $126700
c) C(101)-C(100) = $1200
d) Slope m is given by
m = 1200 $ / (1 tool)
e) Slope is the increase in the total cost C when the number of tools produced increases by 1 unit.
Relation and Function

An ordered pair is a set of inputs and outputs and represents a relationship between the two values.
A relation is a set of inputs and outputs, and a function is a relation with one output for each input.

What is a Function?
Some relationships make sense and others don’t. Functions are relationships that make sense. All functions are
relations, but not all relations are functions.

A function is a relation that for each input, there is only one output.
Here are mappings of functions. The domain is the input or the x-value, and the range is the output, or the y-
value.

Each x-value is related to only one y-value

Athough the inputs equal to -1 and 1 have the same output, this relation is still a function because each input has
just one output.

This mapping is not a function. The input for -2 has

more than one output.
Graphing Functions
Using inputs and outputs listed in tables, maps, and lists, makes it is easy to plot points on a coordinate grid.
Using a graph of the data points, you can determine if a relation is a function by using the vertical line test. If
you can draw a vertical line through a graph and touch only one point, the relation is a function.
Take a look at the graph of this relation map. If you were to draw a vertical line through each of the points on
the graph, each line would touch at only one point, so this relation is a function.

Special Functions
Special functions
and their equations have recognizable characteristics.
Constant Function
f(x)=cf(x)=c
The c-value can be any number, so the graph of a constant function is a horizontal line. Here is the graph
of f(x)=4f(x)=4

Identity Function
f(x)=xf(x)=x
For the identity function, the x-value is the same as the y-value. The graph is a diagonal line going through the
origin.