CHAPTER 1: LINEAR AND QUADRATIC FUNCTIONS

WITH APPLICATIONS TO BUSINESS

Section 1.2. Linear Functions

What is a linear function? Well let us start by first looking at polynomial
functions. Once again, we use a mathematician’s formal definition of what a
polynomial is:

Definition. A polynomial function f of degree n is a function of the form

y = f (x) = an xn + an−1 xn−1 + · · · + a1 x + a0 ,
where an 6= 0, and n is a nonnegative integer (that is, n is a whole number
greater than, or equal to 0).

You will learn throughout this module that polynomials are very nice func-
tions to work with. They accept any value of x that you care to input into
them, that is, their domain consists of every real number. A mathematician
would say that a polynomial f (x) is well-defined for all x ∈ R, where R
denotes all the numbers on the real number line. You will also see that they
are amongst the easiest functions to differentiate and integrate, and probably
most importantly for you, you will see that they can be used to mathemati-
cally describe many of the situations that occur in business.

The degree of a polynomial is simply the whole number that appears on the
highest power of x. We will study polynomials of degree n = 0, 1, and 2
in depth in this chapter, but in later chapters we will meet polynomials of
higher degree.

n = 0 : A polynomial of degree 0
A polynomial of degree 0 is a function of the form y = f (x) = a0 x0 = a0 .
(Recall that x0 = 1.) This is what we call a constant function, because no
matter what value of x you input to the function, the output will remain at
the constant value of a0 .

The graph of the constant function looks like:

y
6
a0 - y = f (x) = a0

-
x
1
n = 1 : Linear Function

A polynomial of degree 1 is a function of the form y = f (x) = a1 x + a0 .

f is often referred to as a linear function. If you have taken the Leaving
Certificate exam in Maths, you are probably more familiar with this form of
a linear function:
y = f (x) = mx + c
where you recognise m as being the slope of the line and c as being the place
where the line crosses the y-axis.

A typical graph of a linear function is as follows:

y
6

b s
cb b
b
b y= mx + c
b
b
b
b
b
b
b
bs
b
-
−c/mbb x
What does it mean to say that a line has slope m? It means that as you
move 1 unit from left to right on the x-axis, the y values will change by m
units. If m is bigger than 0, this means that if you move from 0 to 1 say, the
y values will increase by m units. Analogously, if m is less than 0, this means
that if you move from 0 to 1 say, the y values will decrease by m units. We
therefore have the following:

If m > 0 (positive slope), then the line is sloped to the right, and as the line
gets steeper, the value of m goes to infinity.

If m < 0 (negative slope), then the line is sloped to the left, and as the line
gets steeper, the value of m goes to minus infinity.

If m = 0 then the line is horizontal.

If the line is vertical, then we say that m is undefined.

2
 undefined
y6
 A


AKA
−
@A



A+
A


HH @H @A
 
 A

HHA  A


@H  -m =0
x
Of course to draw a line, all we need to do is find any two points on the line
and then “join the dots”.

Example: Sketch the graph of y = −3x + 6.

Solution: Usually people find the place where the graph cuts the y-axis
and the place where the graph cuts the x-axis, known as the y− and x−
intercepts respectively.

y-intercept: If x = 0 then y = 6. Thus (0, 6) is a point on the line.

x-intercept: If y = 0 then −3x + 6 = 0 which implies that x = 2. Thus (2, 0)

is a point on the line.
y
6
6 s
J
4 J
J
2 J
J
JJs -
1 2 3 x

2
Ask yourself: Can I describe the graph of the function f (x) = ax + b in
each of the following?

(a) a > 0, b > 0;

(b) a < 0, b < 0;

(c) a > 0, b < 0;

(d) a > 0, b = 0.