Function vocabulary

Wednesday, February 24, 2021 1:20 PM

Function - a mapping from one set to another (say, x-values to

y-values) such that each value of the independent variable
(usually x) maps to one value of the dependent variable (usually
y)

Domain - the set of values of the independent variable for

which a function is defined

Range - the set of possible values of the dependent variable of

a function

Continuous - a function is continuous where you can draw it

without lifting your pencil (more formal definition will come in
Calculus)
Zero of a function - any x-value for which

Positive - the interval(s) for which

Negative - the interval(s) for which

Increasing - the interval(s) for which implies

Decreasing - the interval(s) for which implies

Absolute/global maximum - the highest point on a graph (in

case of a tie, there can be multiple maxima)

Absolute/global minimum - the lowest point on a graph (in case

of a tie, there can be multiple minima)

Precalculus Spring 2021 Page 1

Relative/local maximum - the highest point in a neighborhood
on a graph (there can be many)

Relative/local minimum - the lowest point in a neighborhood

on a graph (there can be many)

Concave up - the intervals on which a graph's slope is increasing

Concave down - the intervals on which a graph's slope is

decreasing

Asymptote - a line approached by a graph such that the line and

the graph eventually become almost the same

End behavior - what happens to a graph at the ends (as x goes

to positive infinity or negative infinity)

Period - a function has a period if for all

values

Precalculus Spring 2021 Page 2