Concept Overviews

Functions
A function is a set of data that has a single output for each input. Funtions describe the relationship
between an input and its output.

Here are some of the common words associated with input and output:
- Input:
o x-value
o independent variable
o domain – the possible value(s) of the funtion’s input
o For a real function, input values could be restricted because of the nature of the
1
function itself. For instance, x cannot be equal to zero when f(x) = because f(x) would
x
become undefined. Apply the following rules when checking possible values of x:
1) The denominator cannot be zero.
2) Values inside a square root or an even radical must be nonnegative.

2
Example 1: What value(s) of x are not possible for the function f(x) = ?
x−3
Answer: Apply rule 1), the denominator cannot be zero, therefore x cannot be 3.
Example 2: What are the possible values of x when the function f(x) = √ x+ 3?
Answer: Apply rule 2), the values inside a square root must be nonnegative.
x+3≥0
x ≥ -3
x could be any number greater than or equal to -3
- Output:
o y – value
o dependent variable
o range – the possible value(s) that the function’s output can take on

Example: Determine the domain and range of the function y = x 2

Answer: Domain: all real numbers
Range: all numbers greater than or equal to 0

Graphs of Functions:
- Every point (x,y) on the graph of y = f(x) satisfies y = f(x).
 - Vertical Line Test: A test to determine whether the graph at more than one point, then the
graph is not a graph of a function.
Domain: All possible inputs to a function (otherwise known as the independent variable or,
frequently, the x variable)

For a real funtion,

 The value inside a square root must be greater or equal to zero.
 Denominators CANNOT be zero.
Range: All possible outputs of a function (otherwise known as the dependent variable or, frequently,
f(x) or y). Be careful of square root functions and absolute value functions.
Example: Find the domain and range for each of the following functions:
5
a) F(x) =
x−3
Domain: {x | -∞ < x < 3 ∪ 3 < x < ∞ }
Range: all real number

b) F(x) = √ 16−x 2
16 - x 2 ≥ 0
x – 16 ≤ 0
2

(x – 4)(x + 4) ≤ 0
-4 ≤ 0 ≤ 4
Domain: {x | -4 ≤ 0 ≤ 4}
Range: 0 ≤ f(x) ≤ 4

c) f(x) =
√ x−5
x−12
x–5≥0
x≥5
Domain: { x | 5 ≤ x < 12 ∪ 12 < x < ∞ }
Range: all real numbers

d) f(x) = 3|x-4| - 2
Domain: all real numbers
Range: f(x) ≥ -2
Function Properties: For two functions f and g.
(f + g)(x) = f(x) + g(x)
(f - g)(x) = f(x) – g(x)
(f . g)(x) = f(x) x g(x)
f f (x)
(x ) = where g(x) ≠ 0
g g ( x)

(f ° g)(x) = f(g(x))
Example:
If f(x) = x 2 – 4 and g(x) = x +2, evaluate the following:
a. (f + g)(x)
Solution: (f + g)(x) = x 2 – 4 + x + 2 = x 2 + x – 2
b. (f – g)(x)
Solution: (f – g)(x) = x 2 – 4 – x – 2 = x 2 – x – 6
c. (f . g)(x)
Solution: (f . g)(x) = ( x 2 – 4)(x + 2) = x 3 – 4x + 2 x 2 – 8
f
d. ( ¿( x )
g
2
f x −4
Solution: ( )( x) = =x–2
g x+ 2
Composition of Function
When the results of a function g(x) are plugged into a function f(x) to create a new function, the result
is called the composition of f(x) and g(x). The notation used for the composition of function is
(f ° g)(x) = f(g(x))
Example: If f(x) = x 2 -4 and g(x) = x + 2, evaluate (f ° g)(x).
Solution: (f ° g)(x) = f(g(x)) = ( x +2 )2 – 4 = x 2 +4x + 4 – 4 = x 2 + 4x
x+3
1. If f(x) = and g(x) = x 2 – 10, what is the differrence between f(x) and g(x) when x = 3?
x
2. If f(x) = 2x – 1 and g(x) = √ x 2−8, what is the value of f(g(3))?
A. 1 B.3 C.5 D.
3. If f(x) = x−1 + x + x 2, at which of the following values of x is f(x) undefined?
A. -1 B. 0 C. 1 D. 2
4. The number of water lilies in a pond has doubled every four years since t =0 This relation is
given by y = (x) 2t / 4, where t is in number of years, y is the number of water lilies in the pond at
time t, and x is the original number of water lilies. If there were 600 waters lilies in this pond 8
years after t = 0, then that was the original number of water lilies?
 A. 100 B. 150 C. 180 D. 200
5. According to the graph above of the function f, what are the values of x where f(x) is negative?
a. A. 1 < x <4 B. 0 < x < 1 or 4 < x < 7 C. x < 1 or x > 7 D. 1 < x < 4 or 7 < x
6. The amount of money, in dollars, earned from a school fundraiser by selling x cookies is given
by A(x) = 1.5x – 80. How many cookies must the event sell in order to raise 220 dollars?
7. If g(x) = 5x – 10, then at what value of x does the graph of g(x) cross the x-axis?
A.-6 B.-3 C. 0 D. 2
8. If g(x) = 5x – 10, then at what value of x does the graph of g(x) cross the x-axis?
A. B. C. D.
The function above calculates the profit, in dollars, from growing and selling x units of corn. c is
a constant. If 200 units were sold for a total profit of $1,400, what is the value of c?
A. -400 B. -200 C. 200 D. 400
9. If one soft drink costs $0.40 and one burger costs $2, which of the following represents the
cost, in dollars, of S soft drinks and B burgers?
A. B. C. D.
10. What is the least value of integer such that the value of is greater than 9?
A. B. C. D.

11. If and , then what is the value of ?

A. B. C. D.

12. If and , then what is the value of ?

A. B. C. D.

13. If , what is the value of ?

A. B. C. D.

14. If and , then what is the value of ?

A. -1 B. 0 C. 1 D. 2