Some notes on sets and functions

February 27, 2019

1 Sets
Informally we think of a set as a collection of objects (things). For a set A we say
that a is an element of A when a is one of the objects in A and write a ∈ A; if a
is not an element of A then we will write a ∈ / A. Sets are completely determined
by their elements, meaning that two sets A and B are equal (written as A = B)
if they have the same elements, i.e. each element of A is an element of B, and
each element of B is an element of A. Sets can be finite (meaning that they
contain finite number of elements), or infinite (meaning that they containing
infinite number of elements). A set which has no elements, is called the empty
set and is denoted usually by ∅.
Some important examples of infinite sets are:

• N - set of natural numbers

• Z - set of integers
• Q - set of rational numbers
• R - set of real numbers
• C - set of complex numbers (we will look at complex numbers in the second
semester)

How can we describe a set?

List all the elements of that set (if we can) and enclose them in curly brackets,
for example a set A whose elements are 1, 2, 3, 4 can be written as A = {1, 2, 3, 4}.
Note that the elements of a set are unordered and distinct. By unordered we
mean that it does not matter in which order we list the elements, for example,
the set {1, 2, 3, 4} and {2, 1, 3, 4} are the same; and by distinct we mean that
we do not have two same elements in a set, for example the set {1, 2, 3, 4} is
the same (equal to) as the set {1, 1, 2, 3, 4}. If the elements of a set follow a
pattern, then we can write, for example, the set of all even numbers from 2 to
20 as A = {2, 4, 6, ..., 20}, or in the case of an infinite set, for example, the set
of all even numbers as B = {..., −2, 0, 2, 4, 6, ...}.
Now suppose we are given a set X and we know that some of its elements have
the same “property”. For example, if we take X = R, then the elements of B

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above are divisible by 2. Then we can write B as the set {x ∈ R|x = 2k, k ∈ Z},
or {x ∈ R : x = 2k, k ∈ Z}, we could have also written {x ∈ Z|x = 2k, k ∈ Z}.
In this notation, “|”, or “:” means “such that” (for which), and we read it as
“the set of all those x in R such that..”. Now in general, if X is a set and we
denote by P (x) a property (statement) on x, then {x ∈ X|P (x)} will be the set
of all those x in X which have this property.

1.1 Subsets, union and intersection of sets

Definition 1.1.1. A set S is said to be a subset of a set A, written as S ⊆ A,
if each element of S is an element of A.
As follows from this definition, to prove that a set S is a subset of a set A, we
should take any element s in S and prove that it is also in A.
Note that S may equal to the set A. However, if S is a subset of A but does
not equal to A, that is, every element of S is an element of A but there exists
at least one element in A which is not in S, then we will use notation S ⊂ A;
in this case, S is sometimes called a proper (or strict) subset of A. When S is
not a subset of A we will write S 6⊂ A.
Let’s look at an example. Suppose A = {1, 2, 3} and let us list all the subsets
of A, they are: S1 = ∅, S2 = {1}, S3 = {2}, S4 = {3}, S5 = {1, 2}, S6 = {1, 3},
S7 = {2, 3}, S8 = {1, 2, 3}. Now we can write Si ⊂ A when i = 1, .., 7, and
Si ⊆ A when i = 1, ..., 8. In general:
S ⊆ A means that S ⊂ A or S = A.
Going back to the examples above, we have the following inclusions:

N⊂Z⊂Q⊂R⊂C
Note that any non-empty set A has always at least two subsets, they are A
itself and Ø.
Exercise 1.1.1. How many subsets does a set with n elements have?
Definition 1.1.2. Let X be a set and let A and B be subsets of X.
- The union of A and B, denoted by A ∪ B, is the set which consists of all
those elements which are in A or B. We can write this as:

A ∪ B = {x ∈ X|x ∈ A or x ∈ B}

- The intersection of A and B, denoted by A ∩ B, is the set which consists of

all those elements which are in both A and B. We can write this as:

A ∩ B = {x ∈ X|x ∈ A and x ∈ B}

- The set difference of A and B, denoted be A \ B, is the set of all those

elements in A which are not in B. We can write this as:

A \ B = {x ∈ X|x ∈ A and x ∈
/ B}

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 Two sets A and B are said to be disjoint if they do not have common
elements, or equivalently their intersection is an empty set: A ∩ B = ∅.
Exercise 1.1.2. 1. Let A = {a, b, c, d}, B = {b, d, f, h}, and C = {c, d, e, f }.
Find:
(a) A ∩ B, A ∩ C, B ∩ C;
(b) A ∪ B, A ∪ C, B ∪ C;
(c) A \ B, B \ A, B \ C, C \ B, A \ C, C \ A.
2. Given the set R of real numbers, let A = {x ∈ R| 1 ≤ x ≤ 3} and
B = {x ∈ R| 2 ≤ x ≤ 4}. Find:
(a) A ∩ B;
(b) A ∪ B;
(c) (R \ A) ∩ B;
(d) (R \ B) ∩ A;
(e) (R \ A) ∩ (R \ B);
(f ) (R \ B) ∪ (R \ A);
(g) B ∪ (A ∩ (R \ B));
(h) ((R \ A) ∩ B) ∪ ((R \ B) ∩ A).
3. Let A, B, and C be any three sets. Prove the following:
(a) A ∩ A = A;
(b) A ∩ B = B ∩ A;
(c) A ∩ (B ∩ C) = (A ∩ B) ∩ C;
(d) A ∩ B ⊂ A, and A ∩ B ⊂ B;
(e) A ∩ ∅ = ∅;
(f ) A ∪ A = A;
(g) A ∪ B = B ∪ A;
(h) A ∪ (B ∪ C) = (A ∪ B) ∪ C;
(i) A ⊂ A ∪ B, and B ⊂ A ∪ B;
(j) A ∪ ∅ = A;
(k) A ∩ (B ∪ C) = (A ∩ B) ∪ (A ∩ C);
(l) A ∪ (B ∩ C) = (A ∪ B) ∩ (A ∪ C).
4. Let A and B be any two sets. Prove the following:
(a) A \ A = ∅;
(b) A \ ∅ = A;
(c) ∅ \ A = ∅;

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 (d) B \ A = ∅ if and only if B ⊂ A;
(d) (A \ B) ∩ (B \ A) = ∅;
(e) A ∩ (B \ A) = ∅;
(f ) A \ B = B \ A is not always true.

5. Let A = {1, 0}, state whether each of the following statements are true or
false:
(a) {1} ∈ A;
(b) ∅ ∈ A;
(c) {1} ⊂ A;
(d) 0 ∈ A;
(e) 1 ⊂ A.
6. Determine which of the following five sets are equal: {a, b, c}, {b, c, a, b},
{c, a, c, b}, {b, c, b, a}, {a, b, c, d}.

7. Let A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, B = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}, C = {2, 4, 6, 8}, D = {4, 5},

E = {5, 6}, F = {4, 6}, and let X be a set which satisfies the following
conditions: X ⊂ A, X ⊂ B, and X 6⊂ C. Determine which of the sets A,
B, C, D, E, F can equal to X.
8. Which of the following sets is the empty set?

(a) {x|x is an odd integer};

(b) {x|x is an integer and x + 8 = 8};
(c) {x|x is a negative integer and x ≥ 1}.
9. Consider the following sets of figures in an Euclidean plane S:

A = {x|x is a quadrilateral in S},

B = {x|x is a parallelogram in S},
C = {x|x is a rhombus in S},
D = {x|x is a rectangle in S},
E = {x|x is a square in S}.
(a) Which sets are the subsets of the others?
(b) Find the union and the intersection of each pair of sets.

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1.2 Intervals
For real numbers a and b such that a < b the sets

(a, b) = {x | a < x < b}

[a, b] = {x | a ≤ x ≤ b}
(a, b] = {x | a < x ≤ b}
[a, b) = {x | a ≤ x < b}
(a, ∞) = {x | a < x}
[a, ∞) = {x | a ≤ x}
(−∞, b) = {x | x < b}
(−∞, b] = {x | x ≤ b}
(−∞, ∞) = R

are called intervals. Furthermore, the intervals (a, b), (a, ∞), (−∞, b), and
(−∞, ∞) are called open intervals, while the intervals [a, b], [a, ∞), (−∞, b],
and (−∞, ∞) are called closed intervals.
Note that −∞ and ∞ are not numbers!!

1.3 Inequalities
For real numbers a, b, c, and d, we have:
1. If a < b and b < c then a < c;
2. If a < b, then a + c < b + c;

3. If a < b and c < d, then a + c < b + d;

4. If a < b and c > 0, then ac < bc;
5. If a < b and c < 0, then ac > bc;
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6. If 0 < a < b, then a > 1b .

Note that all exercises in green are intended for enrichment

Exercise 1.3.1. Prove each of the following:
(a) Rule 3 follows from Rule 1 and 2;
(b) If x < 0, then 0 < −x (using Rule 2);

(c) Rule 5 follows from Rule 4 and (b);

(d) Rule 6 follows from Rule 4 and 1.

Exercise 1.3.2. Solve the inequality

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(a) 1+x < 7x+5 We have:

1 + x < 7x + 5
⇔(1 + x) + (−1 − 7x) < (7x + 5) + (−1 − 7x) using Rule 1
⇔ − 6x < 4
−1 −1
⇔ − 6x( ) > 4( ) using Rule 4
6 6
−2
⇔x >
3

(b) 1 − x > 2x + 1.
Recall that a ≤ b is equivalent to the statement a < b or a = b. It is not
difficult to check that the rules of inequalities listed at the beginning of this
section also hold if we replace < by ≤ carefully i.e. we have:

1. If a ≤ b, then a + c ≤ b + c
2. If a ≤ b and c ≤ d, then a + c ≤ b + d;
3. If a ≤ b and c ≥ 0, then ac ≤ bc;
4. If a ≤ b and c ≤ 0, then ac ≥ bc;
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5. If 0 < a ≤ b, then a ≥ 1b .

Exercise 1.3.3. Solve the inequalities

(a) 2 ≤ 4x − 5 ≤ 11;
(b) x2 − 7x + 12 ≤ 0 ;
(c) x3 − x2 > 6x.

2 Functions
Let us recall the definition of a function from the textbook: Let A and B be
sets. A function f from A to B, written as f : A → B, is a “rule” which
assigns to each element x of A a unique (one and only one) element f (x) in
B. A is called the domain of f and B is called the codomain of f . The range
of f is the set of all possible values of f (x). That is, the range of f is the set
{y ∈ B|∃x ∈ A with y = f (x)}, where the symbol ∃ denotes the word “exist”.
Note that the range of f is a subset of the codomain of f .
Remark 2.0.1. Note that f (x) is not a function! Here, f is a function while
f (x) is the value of f at x. When A and B are subsets of real numbers, then
f (x) is simply a number.

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Example 2.0.1. Let f be a function defined by f (x) = x2 . The domain of this
function is R, while the range is [0, ∞).
Example 2.0.2. Let f be a function defined by f (x) = x. The domain and the
range of f is R.

Exercise 2.0.1. Find the domain of the function f defined by:

1. f (x) = x + 1;
2. f (x) = √1 ;
x+1

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3. f (x) = x2 +2x−3 .

Exercise 2.0.2. Find the range of the function f defined by:

1. f (x) = x + 1;
2. f (x) = √1 ;
x+1

1
3. f (x) = x2 +2x−3 ;

Let A and B be sets and let f : A → B be a function. The graph of f is a

set of “ordered pairs”: {(x, f (x))|x ∈ A}. Denoting y = f (x), the graph of f is
the set {(x, y)|x ∈ A and y = f (x)}.
We can tell whether a curve
y y
5 5

x x
−4 −2 2 4 −4 −2 2 4

−5 −5

−10 −10
is a function by checking that each line x = c intersects the graph at most one
place. Note that this is sometimes called the vertical line test. Given a curve,
for instance the one defined by 12 y 2 − 3 − x = 0

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 6 y

x
−4 −2 2 4
−2

−4

−6
which is not a function, it is possible to find functions f and g defined in this
case by
√
f (x) = 2x + 6
√
g(x) = − 2x + 6

whose graphs are contained in the graph of the given curve. Note that for the
above curve x is a function of y.
Exercise 2.0.3. Are the two functions f and g the only possible ones? If so
prove that they are only these two. If not how many are there?

2.1 Piece-wise defined functions

Sometimes it is convenient to describe a function f by specifying its values on
various subsets of R (or more generally subsets of its domain). For example, we
might define f to be the function defined by

x+1 if x > 5
f (x) =
x2 − 9 if x ≤ 5

By this we mean that for x ∈ R the number f (x) is defined by the formula x + 1
if x > 5 and by the formula x2 − 9 if x ≤ 5.
Exercise 2.1.1. If f is defined as above, find the following values:
1. f (1);
2. f (2);
3. f (3);
4. f (4);

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 5. f (5);
6. f (6);
7. f (7);
8. f (2π).

Now sketch the graph of f .

2.2 Absolute value

One of the examples of a piece-wise defined function is the absolute value func-
tion. Informally we think of |x|, where x ∈ R, as the distance from 0 to x (or
equivalent from x to 0) on the number line. From this we would expect that
|x| ≥ 0 for all a ∈ R, why? Formally we define

x if x ≥ 0
|x| =
−x if x < 0.

which means that |x| is defined to be x when x ≥ 0 and is defined to be −x

when x < 0. This determines a function f : R → [0, ∞) defined as f (x) = |x|.

Exercise 2.2.1. Find

(a) |1|;
(b) | − 2| Since −2 < 0 it follows by definition | − 2| = −(−2) = 2;
(c) |3|;

(d) | − π|.
Example 2.2.1. Express |3x − 4| without using absolute value symbols.
According to the definition we have

a if a ≥ 0
|a| =
−a if a < 0.

and so setting a = 3x − 4 we find that


(3x − 4) if (3x − 4) ≥ 0
|3x − 4| =
−(3x − 4) if (3x − 4) < 0.
(3x − 4) if x ≥ 34

=
−(3x − 4) if x < 34 .

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2.3 Properties of absolute values
For all a, b ∈ R and n ∈ Z:
√
1. a2 = |a|;

2. |ab| = |a||b|, b 6= 0;

3.  ab  = |a|
 
|b| ;

4. |an | = |a|n ;
5. If a > 0 then |x| = a if and only if x = a or x = −a;

6. If a > 0 then |x| < a if and only if −a < x < a;

7. If a > 0 |x| > a if and only if x > a or x < −a.
Exercise 2.3.1. Solve

1. |2x − 7| = 4;
2. |x − 7| < 2;
3. |5x − 3| ≥ 2;
4. |x − 4| < |x − 7|;

5. |x2 − 2x − 3| < 1;
6. |x − 1| < |x − 2| + |x − 3|.

2.4 Properties of absolute values, continued

1. |a + b| ≤ |a| + |b|.

This inequality is called the triangle inequality (and holds in a more general
context from which its name is derived). Here are two different proofs:
(i) We have

−|a| ≤ a ≤ |a|
−|b| ≤ b ≤ |b|

and hence adding these two identities we get

− |a| + (−|b|) ≤ a + b ≤ |a| + |b|

⇔ − (|a| + |b|) ≤ a + b ≤ |a| + |b|
⇔|a + b| ≤ |a| + |b|

where the last equivalent statement follows from Properties 2.3.4 and 2.3.5.

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 (ii) Since
|a + b|2 = (a + b)2 = a2 + 2ab + b2
and
(|a| + |b|)2 = |a|2 + 2|a||b| + |b|2 = a2 + 2|ab| + b2
it follows that

(|a| + |b|)2 − |a + b|2 = 2|ab| − 2ab = 2(|ab| − ab)

and hence since |ab| ≥ ab we have that

(|a| + |b| − |a + b|)(|a| + |b| + |a + b|) = (|a| + |b|)2 − |a + b|2 ≥ 0.

Therefore since (|a| + |b| + |a + b|) > 0 – unless a = b = 0 (in which case
the identity is trivially true) – it follows that

|a| + |b| − |a + b| ≥ 0

and hence that

|a + b| ≤ |a| + |b|.

Example 2.4.1. Given that

|x − 9| < 0.1 and |x − 6| < 0.2.

Use the triangle inequality to estimate

(a) |(x + y) − 15|;
(b) |(x + y) − 16|.

Example 2.4.2. Using the triangle inequality show that if |x − 5| < 0.1 then
|x2 − 4x − 5| < 0.61.

2.5 Symmetry
Let f be a function (with domain and codomain subsets of R), we will denote
by Df the domain of f . f is called an even function if for each x ∈ Df
(i) −x ∈ Df ;
(ii) f (x) = f (−x).
f is called an odd function if for each x ∈ Df
(i) −x ∈ Df ;
(ii) f (x) = −f (−x).

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 As follows from the above definitions, the graph of an even function is sym-
metric with respect to the y-axis, and the graph of an odd function is symmetric
about the origin.
Exercise 2.5.1. Let f be the function defined by:

(a) f (x) = x2 + 1;
(b) f (x) = |x|;
(c) f (x) = x3 − x;
(d) f (x) = x1 ;

(e) f (x) = x2 − x;
(f ) f (x) = cos(x);
(g) f (x) = cos(sin(x)).

In each case state whether the function f is even, odd or neither.

2.6 Increasing and decreasing functions

At school you might have learned about increasing a decreasing functions and
that the definition of such involved derivatives. It might seem to you that the
definition you know and the one we will define now disagree, and this is in fact
true if we are not careful about what we mean.
Definition 2.6.1. Let f be a function (with domain and codomain subsets of R)

(i) f is (strictly) decreasing on an interval I if for each x1 , x2 in I

x1 < x2 ⇒ f (x1 ) > f (x2 )

(ii) f is (strictly) increasing on an interval I if for each x1 , x2 in I

x1 < x2 ⇒ f (x1 ) < f (x2 ).

Exercise 2.6.1. Let f be the function defined by

(a) f (x) = x2 ;
(b) f (x) = x3 ;

(c) f (x) = sin(x).

In each case on what interval(s) is the function increasing and on what inter-
val(s) is it decreasing?

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3 Basic functions
3.1 Linear functions
These are the straight lines we talked about before. Recall that the general
equation was
ax + by + c = 0
where a and b are not both zero. However note that vertical lines are not
functions (why?) and hence only those where b 6= 0 are functions. This means
that a function f (with domain and codomain R) is a straight line if there exist
m and d in R such that for each x ∈ R, f (x) = mx + d.

3.2 Polynomial functions

Read Section 2 of Resource Book 1.

A function f is called a polynomial function if there exists a non-negative

integer n and real numbers a1 , . . . an such that for each x in R

f (x) = a0 + a1 x + · · · + an−1 xn−1 + an xn

Xn
= ak xk .
k=0

The numbers ai are called the coefficients of the polynomial and ai xi is called a
term of the polynomial. The degree of the polynomial f is largest non-negative
integer 0 ≤ m ≤ n such that am 6= 0, or equivalently it is the largest element in
the set {i | i ∈ Z, 0 ≤ i ≤ n, ai 6= 0}.
Example 3.2.1. Find the degree of each of the polynomial functions
(a) f defined by f (x) = 1 + x + x2 ;
√
(b) p defined by p(x) = πx3 + 3x5 + 2;
√
(c) q defined by q(x) = πx3 + 3x5 + (81 − 34 )x9 .
Given a polynomial p(x), a real number a is called a zero, or a root of the
polynomial p(x) if p(a) = 0.
Exercise 3.2.1. Explain why a polynomial can’t have more roots than its degree.
For polynomials p(x) and d(x) (where d(x) is not the zero polynomial), it
turns out that there are unique polynomials q(x) and r(x) such that p(x) =
q(x)d(x) + r(x) and the degree of r(x) is less than the degree of d(x) - this is
known as a Division Theorem for Polynomials. Given p(x) and d(x), to obtain
q(x) and r(x), we divide p(x) by d(x) using polynomial long division. Let us
look at an example:
Let p(x) = x5 + 2x4 − x2 + 5 and d(x) = x2 − x − 1. We write

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 x2 − x − 1 x5 + 2x4 − x2 + 5

and then we ask: what should we multiply the highest powered term of x2 −x−1
(which is x2 ) by to make it equal to the highest powered term of x5 +2x4 −x2 +5
(which is x5 ). We put the answer x3 on the top as follows:

x3
x2 − x − 1 x5 + 2x4 − x2 + 5

Then, we multiply x2 − x − 1 by x3 and put it below

x3
x2 − x − 1 x5 + 2x4 − x2 + 5
x5 − x4 − x3

We then subtract and obtain

x3 + 3x2 + 4x + 6
x2 − x − 1 x5 + 2x4 − x2 + 5
x5 − x4 − x3

3x4 + x3 − x2 + 5

After this we repeat these steps until the degree of what remains after subtract-
ing is less than the degree of x2 − x − 1. We obtain:

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 x3 + 3x2 + 4x + 6
x2 − x − 1 x5 + 2x4 − x2 + 5
x5 − x4 − x3

3x4 + x3 − x2 + 5
3x4 − 3x3 − 3x2

4x3 + 2x2 + 5
4x3 − 4x2 − 4x

6x2 + 4x + 5
6x2 − 6x − 6

10x + 11

From the above we conclude that q(x) = x3 +3x2 +4x+6 and r(x) = 10x+11.
So, we have:

x5 + 2x4 − x2 + 5 = (x3 + 3x2 + 4x + 6)(x2 − x − 1) + (10x + 11)

Which is equivalent to
x5 + 2x4 − x2 + 5 10x + 11
= (x3 + 3x2 + 4x + 6) + 2
x2 − x − 1 x −x−1
Now suppose p(x) is any polynomial with the degree more then 0 and suppose
we take d(x) = (x − a) where a is some real number. By Division Theorem of
Polynomials, there exist polynomials q(x) and r(x) such that p(x) = q(x)(x −
a) + r(x) where the degree of r(x) is less then the degree of x − a. Since
the degree of x − a is 1, it follows that the degree of r(x) must be 0, which
means that r(x) = C is a constant (C is some real number). So, we can
write p(x) = q(x)(x − a) + C. Having this in mind, using Division Theorem of
Polynomials, we can now prove Factor Theorem of Polynomials:
Theorem 3.2.1. Let p(x) be a polynomial and a a real number. The following
conditions are equivalent:
(i) a is a zero of the polynomial p(x);
(ii) x − a is a factor of the polynomial p(x).
Proof. We need to prove two things: (a) assuming that (i) is true, we need to
prove that (ii) is true, so we need to prove that (i) ⇒ (ii) ((i)implies(ii)); (b)
assuming that (ii) is true, we need to prove that (i) is true, so we need to prove
that (ii)⇒(i) ((ii) implies (i)).

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(i)⇒(ii): Suppose a is a zero of p(x), then, by definition, p(a) = 0. By Di-
vision Theorem of Polynomials, for any polynomials p(x) and d(x) there exist
polynomials q(x) and r(x) such that the degree of r(x) is less then the degree
of d(x) and p(x) = q(x)d(x) + r(x). Taking d(x) = x − a as above, we obtain
p(x) = q(x)(x − a) + C. Since, by assumption, p(a) = 0, replacing x with a in
the last equality we obtain 0 = p(a) = q(a)(a − a) + C, so C = 0 and therefore
p(x) = q(x)(x − a), which proves that x − a is a factor of p(x).
Conversely, to prove (ii)⇒ (i), we assume that x − a is a factor of p(x). Then
we can write p(x) = q(x)(x−a) where q(x) is some polynomial. But then taking
x = a gives p(a) = q(a)(a − a) = 0, so p(a) = 0, which proves that a is a zero of
p(x).

Exercise 3.2.2. Let f be a polynomial defined by

f (x) = a0 + a1 x + a2 x2 + ... + an xn .

Show that f = 0 if and only if each coefficient is zero, where 0 is the function
defined by 0(x) = 0.

3.3 Power functions

Read pages 29-30 of Steward 8e.
A function f is called a power function if there exist a real number a such
that for all x in the domain of f (i.e. x ∈ Df ) f (x) = xa . There are a few
important cases
(i) If a is a positive integer then f will be a polynomial function with only
one term;
1
(ii) If a = n where n is a positive integer, then f will be a root function;

(iii) If a = −1, then f is called the reciprocal function.

Exercise 3.3.1. Find the domain and range of each of the following functions:
(a) f defined by f (x) = x1000 ;

(b) g defined by g(x) = x1/4 ;

(c) h defined by h(x) = x1/3 ;
(d) f defined by f (x) = x−1 = x1 .
Exercise 3.3.2. Let f , g and h be functions defined by f (x) = x2 , g(x) = x3
and h(x) = x4 . On what intervals is f bigger than g? On what intervals is g
bigger than h? On what intervals is f bigger than h?

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3.4 Rational functions
A function f is a called a rational function if there exist two polynomial functions
p and q such that for each x in the domain of f

p(x)
f (x) =
q(x).

Exercise 3.4.1. Let f be the function defined by

2x3 + x2 + x + 1
f (x) =
x2 − 9
(a) What is the domain of f ;

(b) What is the range of f ;

(c) Find a polynomial p of degree 2 and two real numbers a and b such that

a b
f (x) = p(x) + + .
x−3 x+3

3.5 Algebraic functions

Informally, a function is algebraic if it is built up using algebraic operations (ad-
dition, subtraction, multiplication, division, taking nth roots) from polynomials.
If f is a function defined by any of the formulas
p
f (x) = x2 + 9
x+3
f (x) =
x+4
x+3
f (x) = 7
(x) 11 + 4
1
f (x) = q
1
1 + √1+x

then it is algebraic.

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