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Algebra 2A - Unit 1 – Lesson 2

Foundations of Functions
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Explore Answer Key

Look at the function, f (x). Find the y-coordinate for each of the points indicated.

x f (x)
–4 –2
–3 2
–2 6
–1 4
0 2
1 0
2 1
3 2
4 3

Determine the domain and range of f (x).

Domain: [–4, 4] Range: [–2, 6]

Now, we want to consider the function g(x) = f (x + 2). Complete the table of values below.

x x+2 g(x) = f (x + 2)
–4 –4 + 2 = –2 g(–4) = f (–2) = 6
–3 –3 + 2 = –1 g(–3) = f (–1) = 4
–2 –2 + 2 = 0 g(–2) = f (0) = 2
–1 –1 + 2 = 1 g(–1) = f (1) = 0
0 0+2=2 g(0) = f (2) = 1
1 1+2=3 g(1) = f (3) =2
2 2+2=4 g(2) = f (4) = 3
3 3+2=5 g(3) = f (5) = undefined
4 4+2=6 g(4) = f (6) = undefined

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 Algebra 2A
Unit 01 – Lesson 02
Foundations of Functions

Graph both f (x) and g(x) on the axes provided. How is g(x) related to f (x)?

What are the domain and range of g(x)?

Domain: [–6, 2] Range: [–2, 6]

Let’s repeat the process with h(x) = f (x – 2)

x x–2 h(x) = f (x – 2)
–4 – 2 = –6 h(–4) = f (–6) =
–4
undefined
–3 – 2 = –5 h(–3) = f (–5)
–3
=undefined
–2 –2 – 2 = –4 h(–2) = f (–4) = –2
–1 –1 – 2 = –3 h(–1) = f (–3) = 2
0 0 – 2 = –2 h(0) = f (–2) = 6
1 1 – 2 = –1 h(1) = f (–1) = 4
2 2–2=0 h(2) = f (0) = 2
3 3–2=1 h(3) = f (1) = 0
4 4–2=2 h(4) = f (2) = 1

University of Texas at Austin

UT High School
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 Algebra 2A
Unit 01 – Lesson 02
Foundations of Functions

Graph both f (x) and h(x) on the same axes. How is h(x) related to f (x)?

What are the domain and range of h(x)?

Domain: [–2, 6] Range: [–2, 6]

After looking at this, what do you think the relationship is between f (x) and f (x + a) or f (x – a)?

f (x + a) is f (x), shifted to the left a if a > 0

f (x – a) is f (x), shifted to the right a if a > 0

Graph the following functions together on a graphing calculator to test your conjecture.
y = x2 and y = (x + 3)2 y = |x| and y = |x – 4|

Now we will go back to our function, f (x).

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UT High School
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 Algebra 2A
Unit 01 – Lesson 02
Foundations of Functions

Let k(x) = f (x) + 2. With g(x) and h(x) above, we added and subtracted the value from the
x-value first since they were inside the parentheses. For k(x), the number is outside the
parentheses, so we will add the 2 to the y-value.
x f (x) k(x) = f (x) + 2
–4 –2 k(–4) = –2 + 2 = 0
–3 2 k(–3) = 2 + 2 = 4
–2 6 k(–2) = 6 + 2 = 8
–1 4 k(–1) = 4 + 2 = 6
0 2 k(0) = 2 + 2 = 4
1 0 k(1) = 0 + 2 = 2
2 1 k(2) = 1 + 2 = 3
3 2 k(3) = 2 + 2 = 4
4 3 k(4) = 3 + 2 = 5

Graph both f (x) and k(x) on the same axes.

How is k(x) related to f (x)?

k(x) is f (x), shifted up 2 units

What are the domain and range of k(x)?

Domain: [–4, 4] Range: [0, 8]

What would change if we let k(x) = f (x) – 2 instead?

it would go down 2 units instead

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