You are on page 1of 62

University Calculus: Early

Transcendentals (3rd Edition – Ebook


PDF Version) 3rd Edition – Ebook PDF
Version
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://ebookmass.com/product/university-calculus-early-transcendentals-3rd-edition-
ebook-pdf-version-3rd-edition-ebook-pdf-version/
Contents vii

15 Integrals and Vector Fields 821


15.1 Line Integrals 821
15.2 Vector Fields and Line Integrals: Work, Circulation, and Flux 828
15.3 Path Independence, Conservative Fields, and Potential Functions 840
15.4 Green’s Theorem in the Plane 851
15.5 Surfaces and Area 863
15.6 Surface Integrals 874
15.7 Stokes’ Theorem 885
15.8 The Divergence Theorem and a Unified Theory 897
Questions to Guide Your Review 908
Practice Exercises 908
Additional and Advanced Exercises 911

16 First-Order Differential Equations  online


16.1 Solutions, Slope Fields, and Euler’s Method
16.2 First-Order Linear Equations
16.3 Applications
16.4 Graphical Solutions of Autonomous Equations
16.5 Systems of Equations and Phase Planes

17 Second-Order Differential Equations  online


17.1 Second-Order Linear Equations
17.2 Nonhomogeneous Linear Equations
17.3 Applications
17.4 Euler Equations
17.5 Power Series Solutions

Appendices  AP-1
A.1 Real Numbers and the Real Line AP-1
A.2 Mathematical Induction AP-6
A.3 Lines and Circles AP-10
A.4 Conic Sections AP-16
A.5 Proofs of Limit Theorems AP-24
A.6 Commonly Occurring Limits AP-27
A.7 Theory of the Real Numbers AP-28
A.8 Complex Numbers AP-31
A.9 The Distributive Law for Vector Cross Products AP-39
A.10 The Mixed Derivative Theorem and the Increment Theorem AP-41

Answers to Odd-Numbered Exercises  A-1

Index  I-1

A Brief Table of Integrals  T-1


This page intentionally left blank
Preface
This third edition of University Calculus provides a streamlined treatment of the material in a
standard three-semester or four-quarter course taught at the university level. As the title sug-
gests, the book aims to go beyond what many students may have seen at the high school level.
By emphasizing rigor and mathematical precision, supported with examples and exercises,
this book encourages students to think more clearly than if they were using rote procedures.
Generalization drives the development of calculus and is pervasive in this book. Slopes
of lines generalize to slopes of curves, lengths of line segments to lengths of curves, areas
and volumes of regular geometric figures to areas and volumes of shapes with curved
boundaries, rational exponents to irrational ones, and finite sums to series. Plane analytic
geometry generalizes to the geometry of space, and single variable calculus to the calculus
of many variables. Generalization weaves together the many threads of calculus into an
elegant tapestry that is rich in ideas and their applications.
Mastering this beautiful subject is its own reward, but the real gift of mastery is the
ability to think through problems clearly—distinguishing between what is known and
what is assumed, and using a logical sequence of steps to reach a solution. We intend this
book to capture the richness and powerful applicability of calculus, and to support student
thinking and understanding for mastery of the material.

New to this Edition


In this new edition, we have followed the basic structure of earlier editions. Taking into
account helpful suggestions from readers and users of previous editions, we continued to
improve clarity and readability. We also made the following improvements:
• Updated and added numerous exercises throughout, with emphasis on the mid-level
and more in the life science areas
• Reworked many figures and added new ones
• Moved the discussion of conditional convergence to follow the Alternating Series Test
• Enhanced the discussion defining differentiability for functions of several variables
with more emphasis on linearization
• Showed that the derivative along a path generalizes the single-variable chain rule
• Added more geometric insight into the idea of multiple integrals and the meaning of the
Jacobian in substitutions for their evaluations
• Developed surface integrals of vector fields as generalizations of line integrals
• Extended and clarified the discussion of the curl and divergence, and added new figures
to help visualize their meanings

ix
x Preface

Continuing Features

RIGOR The level of rigor is consistent with that of earlier editions. We continue to dis-
tinguish between formal and informal discussions and to point out their differences. We
think starting with a more intuitive, less formal, approach helps students understand a new
or difficult concept so they can then appreciate its full mathematical precision and out-
comes. We pay attention to defining ideas carefully and to proving theorems appropriate
for calculus students, while mentioning deeper or subtler issues they would study in a
more advanced course. Our organization and distinctions between informal and formal
discussions give the instructor a degree of flexibility in the amount and depth of coverage
of the various topics. For example, while we do not prove the Intermediate Value Theo-
rem or the Extreme Value Theorem for continuous functions on a … x … b, we do state
these theorems precisely, illustrate their meanings in numerous examples, and use them to
prove other important results. Furthermore, for those instructors who desire greater depth
of ­coverage, in Appendix 7 we discuss the reliance of these theorems on the completeness
of the real numbers.

WRITING EXERCISES Writing exercises placed throughout the text ask students to
explore and explain a variety of calculus concepts and applications. In addition, the end of
each chapter contains a list of questions to help students review and summarize what they
have learned. Many of these exercises make good writing assignments.

END-OF-CHAPTER REVIEWS In addition to problems appearing after each section, each


chapter culminates with review questions, practice exercises covering the entire chapter,
and a series of Additional and Advanced Exercises providing more challenging or synthe-
sizing problems.

WRITING AND APPLICATIONS As always, this text continues to be easy to read, con-
versational, and mathematically rich. Each new topic is motivated by clear, easy-to-
understand examples and is then reinforced by its application to real-world problems of
immediate interest to students. A hallmark of this book has been the application of calcu-
lus to science and engineering. These applied problems have been updated, improved, and
extended continually over the past several editions.

TECHNOLOGY In a course using the text, technology can be incorporated at the discre-
tion of the instructor. Each section contains exercises requiring the use of technology;
these are marked with a “T” if suitable for calculator or computer use, or they are labeled
“Computer Explorations” if a computer algebra system (CAS, such as Maple or Math-
ematica) is required.

Additional Resources

Instructor’s Solutions Manual (download only)


Single Variable Calculus (Chapters 1–10)
Multivariable Calculus (Chapters 9–15)
The Instructor’s Solutions Manual contains complete worked-out solutions to all of the
exercises. These files are available to qualified instructors through the Pearson Instructor
Resource Center, www.pearsonhighered.com/irc, and MyMathLab.
Preface xi

Student’s Solutions Manual


Single Variable Calculus (Chapters 1–10), ISBN 0-321-99980-0 | 978-0-321-99980-1
Multivariable Calculus (Chapters 9–15), ISBN 0-321-99985-1 | 978-0-321-99985-6
The Student’s Solutions Manual is designed for the student and contains carefully worked-
out solutions to all the odd-numbered exercises.

Just-in-Time Algebra and Trigonometry for Early


Transcendentals Calculus, Fourth Edition
ISBN 0-321-67103-1 | 978-0-321-67103-5
Sharp algebra and trigonometry skills are critical to mastering calculus, and Just-in-Time
Algebra and Trigonometry for Early Transcendentals Calculus by Guntram Mueller and
Ronald I. Brent is designed to bolster these skills while students study calculus. As stu-
dents make their way through calculus, this text is with them every step of the way, show-
ing the necessary algebra or trigonometry topics and pointing out potential problem spots.
The easy-to-use table of contents has algebra and trigonometry topics arranged in the or-
der in which students will need them as they study calculus.

Technology Resource Manuals (download only)


Maple Manual by Marie Vanisko, Carroll College
Mathematica Manual by Marie Vanisko, Carroll College
TI-Graphing Calculator Manual by Elaine McDonald-Newman, Sonoma State University
These manuals cover Maple 17, Mathematica 8, and the TI-83 Plus/TI-84 Plus and TI-89,
respectively. Each manual provides detailed guidance for integrating a specific software
package or graphing calculator throughout the course, including syntax and commands.
These manuals are available to qualified instructors through the University Calculus:
Early Transcendentals Web site, www.pearsonhighered.com/thomas, and MyMathLab.

WEB SITE www.pearsonhighered.com/thomas


The University Calculus: Early Transcendentals Web site contains the chapters on
First-Order Differential Equations and Second-Order Differential Equations, includ-
ing odd-numbered answers, and provides the expanded historical biographies and essays
referenced in the text. The Technology Resource Manuals and the Technology Applica-
tion Projects, which can be used as projects by individual students or groups of students,
are also available.

MyMathLab® Online Course (access code required)


MyMathLab from Pearson is the world’s leading online resource in mathematics, inte-
grating interactive homework, assessment, and media in a flexible, easy-to-use format. It
provides engaging experiences that personalize, stimulate, and measure learning for each
student. And, it comes from an experienced partner with educational expertise and an eye
on the future.
To learn more about how MyMathLab combines proven learning applications with power-
ful assessment, visit www.mymathlab.com or contact your Pearson representative.

MathXL® Online Course (access code required)


MathXL® is the homework and assessment engine that runs MyMathLab. (MyMathLab is
MathXL plus a learning management system.)
With MathXL, instructors can:
• Create, edit, and assign online homework and tests using algorithmically generated
exercises correlated at the objective level to the textbook.
• Create and assign their own online exercises and import TestGen tests for added
flexibility.
• Maintain records of all student work tracked in MathXL’s online gradebook.
xii Preface

With MathXL, students can:


• Take chapter tests in MathXL and receive personalized study plans and/or personalized
homework assignments based on their test results.

• Use the study plan and/or the homework to link directly to tutorial exercises for the
objectives they need to study.

• Access supplemental animations and video clips directly from selected exercises.
MathXL is available to qualified adopters. For more information, visit our Web site at
www.mathxl.com, or contact your Pearson representative.

Video Lectures with Optional Captioning


The Video Lectures with Optional Captioning feature an engaging team of mathemat-
ics instructors who present comprehensive coverage of topics in the text. The lecturers’
presentations include examples and exercises from the text and support an approach that
emphasizes visualization and problem solving. Available only through MyMathLab and
MathXL.

TestGen®
TestGen® (www.pearsoned.com/testgen) enables instructors to build, edit, print, and ad-
minister tests using a computerized bank of questions developed to cover all the objec-
tives of the text. TestGen is algorithmically based, allowing instructors to create multiple
but equivalent versions of the same question or test with the click of a button. Instructors
can also modify test bank questions or add new questions. The software and test bank are
available for download from Pearson Education’s online catalog.

PowerPoint® Lecture Slides


These classroom presentation slides are geared specifically to the sequence and philos-
ophy of University Calculus: Early Transcendentals. Key graphics from the book are
included to help bring the concepts alive in the classroom. These files are available to qual-
ified instructors through the Pearson Instructor Resource Center, www.pearsonhighered
.com/irc, and MyMathLab.
Preface xiii

Acknowledgments
We wish to express our gratitude to the reviewers of this and previous editions, who
provided such invaluable insight and comment.
Harry Allen, Ohio State University Matthew Leingang, New York University
Edoh Amiran, Western Washington Xin Li, University of Central Florida
University Abey Lopez-Garcia, University of South
Anthony Bedenikovic, Bradley University Alabama
Robert A. Beezer, University of Puget Maura Mast, University of
Sound Massachusetts—Boston
Przemyslaw Bogacki, Old Dominion Val Mohanakumar, Hillsborough
University Community College—Dale Mabry
Deborah Brandon, Carnegie Mellon Campus
University Aaron Montgomery, Central Washington
Samuel Chamberlin, Park University University
Leonard Chastofsky, University of Yibiao Pan, University of Pittsburgh
Georgia Christopher M. Pavone, California State
Meighan Dillon, Southern Polytechnic University at Chico
State University Cynthia Piez, University of Idaho
Anne Dougherty, University of Colorado Brooke Quinlan, Hillsborough
Said Fariabi, San Antonio College Community College—Dale Mabry
Klaus Fischer, George Mason University Campus
Tim Flood, Pittsburg State University Paul Sacks, Iowa State University
Rick Ford, California State University— Rebecca A. Segal, Virginia
Chico Commonwealth University
Toni Fountain, Chattanooga State Andrew V. Sills, Georgia Southern
Community College University
Robert Gardner, East Tennessee State Edward E. Slaminka, Auburn University
University Alex Smith, University of Wisconsin—
Mark Greer, University of North Alabama Eau Claire
Ivan Gotchev, Central Connecticut State Mark A. Smith, Miami University
University Donald Solomon, University of
Christopher Heil, Georgia Institute of Wisconsin—Milwaukee
Technology John Sullivan, Black Hawk College
David Hemmer, SUNY—Buffalo Stephen Summers, University of Florida
Joshua Brandon Holden, Rose-Hulman Maria Terrell, Cornell University
Institute of Technology Blake Thornton, Washington University
Alexander Hulpke, Colorado State in St. Louis
University Ruth Trubnik, Delaware Valley College
Jacqueline Jensen, Sam Houston State Ilie Ugarcovici, Rice University
University David Walnut, George Mason University
Jennifer M. Johnson, Princeton Adrian Wilson, University of Montevallo
University Bobby Winters, Pittsburg State
Hideaki Kaneko, Old Dominion University
University Dennis Wortman, University of
Przemo Kranz, University of Mississippi Massachusetts—Boston
John Kroll, Old Dominion University Yilian Zhang, University of South
Krystyna Kuperberg, Auburn University Carolina, Aiken
Glenn Ledder, University of Nebraska—
Lincoln
Credits
Chapter 3
Page 145, Exercise 19, PSSC PHYSICS, 2nd ed., Reprinted by permission of Education
Development Center, Inc.

Chapter 6
Page 383, Figure 6.40, PSSC PHYSICS, 2nd ed., Reprinted by permission of
Educational Development Center, Inc.

Chapter 9
Page 493, Figure 9.9, PSSC PHYSICS, 2nd ed., Reprinted by permission of Educational
Development Center, Inc.

Chapter 13
Page 680, Figure 13.7, Reprinted by permission of the Appalachian Mountain Club;
Page 713, Figure 13.26, U.S. Geological Survey

Chapter 15
Page 828, Figures 15.6 and 15.7, National Committee for Fluid Mechanics, edited by
Shapiro, ILLUSTRATED EXPERIMENTS IN FLUID MECHANICS: THE NCFMF
BOOK OF FILM NOTES, reprinted by permission of Educational Development Center,
Inc.; Page 830, Figure 15.15, InterNetwork Media, Inc., courtesy of NASA/JPL
chapter

1 Functions

Overview Functions are fundamental to the study of calculus. In this chapter we review
what functions are and how they are pictured as graphs, how they are combined and trans-
formed, and ways they can be classified. We review the trigonometric functions, and we
discuss misrepresentations that can occur when using calculators and computers to obtain
a function’s graph. We also discuss inverse, exponential, and logarithmic functions. The
real number system, Cartesian coordinates, straight lines, circles, parabolas, ellipses, and
hyperbolas are reviewed in the Appendices.

1.1 Functions and Their Graphs


Functions are a tool for describing the real world in mathematical terms. A function can be
represented by an equation, a graph, a numerical table, or a verbal description; we will use
all four representations throughout this book. This section reviews these function ideas.

Functions; Domain and Range


The temperature at which water boils depends on the elevation above sea level (the boiling
point drops as you ascend). The interest paid on a cash investment depends on the length of
time the investment is held. The area of a circle depends on the radius of the circle. The dis-
tance an object travels at constant speed along a straight-line path depends on the elapsed time.
In each case, the value of one variable quantity, say y, depends on the value of another
variable quantity, which we might call x. We say that “y is a function of x” and write this
symbolically as
y = ƒ(x) (“y equals ƒ of x”).
In this notation, the symbol ƒ represents the function, the letter x is the independent variable
representing the input value of ƒ, and y is the dependent variable or output value of ƒ at x.

Definition A function ƒ from a set D to a set Y is a rule that assigns a unique


(single) element ƒ(x) ∊Y to each element x∊D.

The set D of all possible input values is called the domain of the function. The set of
all output values of ƒ(x) as x varies throughout D is called the range of the function. The
range may not include every element in the set Y. The domain and range of a function can
be any sets of objects, but often in calculus they are sets of real numbers interpreted as
points of a coordinate line. (In Chapters 12–15, we will encounter functions for which the
elements of the sets are points in the coordinate plane or in space.)

1
2 Chapter 1: Functions

Often a function is given by a formula that describes how to calculate the output value
from the input variable. For instance, the equation A = pr 2 is a rule that calculates the
area A of a circle from its radius r (so r, interpreted as a length, can only be positive in this
formula). When we define a function y = ƒ(x) with a formula and the domain is not stated
explicitly or restricted by context, the domain is assumed to be the largest set of real
x-values for which the formula gives real y-values, which is called the natural domain. If
we want to restrict the domain in some way, we must say so. The domain of y = x2 is the
entire set of real numbers. To restrict the domain of the function to, say, positive values of
x, we would write “y = x2, x 7 0.”
Changing the domain to which we apply a formula usually changes the range as well.
The range of y = x2 is [0, q). The range of y = x2, x Ú 2, is the set of all numbers
obtained by squaring numbers greater than or equal to 2. In set notation (see Appendix 1),
x f f(x)
Input Output the range is 5x2  x Ú 26 or 5y  y Ú 46 or 3 4, q).
(domain) (range) When the range of a function is a set of real numbers, the function is said to be real-
Figure 1.1 A diagram showing a valued. The domains and ranges of most real-valued functions of a real variable we con-
function as a kind of machine. sider are intervals or combinations of intervals. The intervals may be open, closed, or half
open, and may be finite or infinite. Sometimes the range of a function is not easy to find.
A function ƒ is like a machine that produces an output value ƒ(x) in its range whenever we
feed it an input value x from its domain (Figure 1.1). The function keys on a calculator give an
example of a function as a machine. For instance, the 2x key on a calculator gives an output
x value (the square root) whenever you enter a nonnegative number x and press the 2x key.
a f(a) f(x) A function can also be pictured as an arrow diagram (Figure 1.2). Each arrow associates
an element of the domain D with a unique or single element in the set Y. In Figure 1.2, the
D = domain set Y = set containing arrows indicate that ƒ(a) is associated with a, ƒ(x) is associated with x, and so on. Notice that
the range
a function can have the same value at two different input elements in the domain (as occurs
Figure 1.2 A function from a set D with ƒ(a) in Figure 1.2), but each input element x is assigned a single output value ƒ(x).
to a set Y assigns a unique element of Y
to each element in D.
EXAMPLE 1   Let’s verify the natural domains and associated ranges of some simple
functions. The domains in each case are the values of x for which the formula makes sense.

Function Domain (x) Range ( y)


y = x2 (- q, q) 3 0, q)
y = 1>x (- q, 0) ∪ (0, q) (- q, 0) ∪ (0, q)
y = 2x 3 0, q) 3 0, q)
y = 24 - x (- q, 44 3 0, q)
y = 21 - x2 3 -1, 14 3 0, 14

Solution The formula y = x2 gives a real y-value for any real number x, so the domain
is (- q, q). The range of y = x2 is 3 0, q) because the square of any real number is non-
negative and every nonnegative number y is the square of its own square root, y = 1 2y 2
2

for y Ú 0.
The formula y = 1>x gives a real y-value for every x except x = 0. For consistency
in the rules of arithmetic, we cannot divide any number by zero. The range of y = 1>x, the
set of reciprocals of all nonzero real numbers, is the set of all nonzero real numbers, since
y = 1>(1>y). That is, for y ≠ 0 the number x = 1>y is the input assigned to the output
value y.
The formula y = 2x gives a real y-value only if x Ú 0. The range of y = 2x is
3 0, q) because every nonnegative number is some number’s square root (namely, it is the
square root of its own square).
In y = 24 - x, the quantity 4 - x cannot be negative. That is, 4 - x Ú 0, or
x … 4. The formula gives real y-values for all x … 4. The range of 24 - x is 3 0, q),
the set of all nonnegative numbers.
1.1 Functions and Their Graphs 3

The formula y = 21 - x2 gives a real y-value for every x in the closed interval from
-1 to 1. Outside this domain, 1 - x2 is negative and its square root is not a real number.
The values of 1 - x2 vary from 0 to 1 on the given domain, and the square roots of these
values do the same. The range of 21 - x2 is 3 0, 14 .

Graphs of Functions
If ƒ is a function with domain D, its graph consists of the points in the Cartesian plane
whose coordinates are the input-output pairs for ƒ. In set notation, the graph is
5(x, ƒ(x))  x∊D6 .
The graph of the function ƒ(x) = x + 2 is the set of points with coordinates (x, y) for
which y = x + 2. Its graph is the straight line sketched in Figure 1.3.
The graph of a function ƒ is a useful picture of its behavior. If (x, y) is a point on the
graph, then y = ƒ(x) is the height of the graph above (or below) the point x. The height
may be positive or negative, depending on the sign of ƒ(x) (Figure 1.4).

y f (1)
f(2)

x
y=x+2 x
0 1 2
2 f(x)
(x, y)
x y = x2 x
−2 0

-2 4 Figure 1.3 The graph of ƒ(x) = x + 2 Figure 1.4 If (x, y) lies on the graph of
-1 1 is the set of points (x, y) for which y has the ƒ, then the value y = ƒ(x) is the height of
0 0 value x + 2. the graph above the point x (or below x if
1 1 ƒ(x) is negative).
3 9
2 4 EXAMPLE 2   Graph the function y = x2 over the interval 3 -2, 24 .
2 4
Solution Make a table of xy-pairs that satisfy the equation y = x2 . Plot the points (x, y)
whose coordinates appear in the table, and draw a smooth curve (labeled with its equation)
through the plotted points (see Figure 1.5).

y How do we know that the graph of y = x2 doesn’t look like one of these curves?

(−2, 4) (2, 4)
4 y y
y = x2
3
3 9
2 a2 , 4b

(−1, 1) (1, 1) y = x 2? y = x 2?
1

x
−2 −1 0 1 2

Figure 1.5 Graph of the function x x


in Example 2.
4 Chapter 1: Functions

To find out, we could plot more points. But how would we then connect them? The basic
question still remains: How do we know for sure what the graph looks like between the
points we plot? Calculus answers this question, as we will see in Chapter 4. Meanwhile,
we will have to settle for plotting points and connecting them as best we can.

Representing a Function Numerically


We have seen how a function may be represented algebraically by a formula (the area
function) and visually by a graph (Example 2). Another way to represent a function is
numerically, through a table of values. Numerical representations are often used by engi-
neers and experimental scientists. From an appropriate table of values, a graph of the func-
tion can be obtained using the method illustrated in Example 2, possibly with the aid of a
computer. The graph consisting of only the points in the table is called a scatterplot.

EXAMPLE 3   Musical notes are pressure waves in the air. The data associated with
Figure 1.6 give recorded pressure displacement versus time in seconds of a musical note
produced by a tuning fork. The table provides a representation of the pressure function
over time. If we first make a scatterplot and then connect approximately the data points
(t, p) from the table, we obtain the graph shown in the figure.

p (pressure)
Time Pressure Time Pressure
1.0
Data
0.00091 -0.080 0.00362 0.217 0.8
0.6
0.00108 0.200 0.00379 0.480 0.4
0.00125 0.480 0.00398 0.681 0.2
t (sec)
0.00144 0.693 0.00416 0.810 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006
−0.2
0.00162 0.816 0.00435 0.827 −0.4
−0.6
0.00180 0.844 0.00453 0.749
0.00198 0.771 0.00471 0.581 Figure 1.6 A smooth curve through the plotted points
0.00216 0.603 0.00489 0.346 gives a graph of the pressure function represented by the
0.00234 0.368 0.00507 0.077 accompanying tabled data (Example 3).
0.00253 0.099 0.00525 -0.164
0.00271 -0.141 0.00543 -0.320
0.00289 -0.309 0.00562 -0.354
0.00307 -0.348 0.00579 -0.248
0.00325 -0.248 0.00598 -0.035
0.00344 -0.041

The Vertical Line Test for a Function


Not every curve in the coordinate plane can be the graph of a function. A function ƒ can
have only one value ƒ(x) for each x in its domain, so no vertical line can intersect the
graph of a function more than once. If a is in the domain of the function ƒ, then the vertical
line x = a will intersect the graph of ƒ at the single point (a, ƒ(a)).
A circle cannot be the graph of a function, since some vertical lines intersect the circle
twice. The circle graphed in Figure 1.7a, however, does contain the graphs of functions of
x, such as the upper semicircle defined by the function ƒ(x) = 21 - x2 and the lower
semicircle defined by the function g (x) = - 21 - x2 (Figures 1.7b and 1.7c).
1.1 Functions and Their Graphs 5

y y y

−1 1
x x x
−1 0 1 −1 0 1 0

(a) x 2 + y 2 = 1 (b) y = "1 − x 2 (c) y = −"1 − x 2

Figure 1.7 (a) The circle is not the graph of a function; it fails the vertical line test. (b) The
upper semicircle is the graph of a function ƒ(x) = 21 - x2. (c) The lower semicircle is the graph
of a function g (x) = - 21 - x2.
y
y = 0x0
y = −x 3
y=x Piecewise-Defined Functions
2

1 Sometimes a function is described in pieces by using different formulas on different parts


of its domain. One example is the absolute value function
x
−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3
x, x Ú 0 First formula
Figure 1.8 The absolute value 0x0 = e     
function has domain (- q, q) and -x, x 6 0, Second formula

range 30, q). whose graph is given in Figure 1.8. The right-hand side of the equation means that the
function equals x if x Ú 0, and equals -x if x 6 0. Piecewise-defined functions often
y
arise when real-world data are modeled. Here are some other examples.
y = −x y = f(x)
2

1
y=1 EXAMPLE 4   The function
y = x2
x
−2 −1 0 1 2 -x, x 6 0 First formula
ƒ(x) = c x2, 0 … x … 1    Second formula
Figure 1.9 To graph the 1, x 7 1 Third formula
function y = ƒ(x) shown here,
we apply different formulas to is defined on the entire real line but has values given by different formulas, depending on
different parts of its domain the position of x. The values of ƒ are given by y = -x when x 6 0, y = x2 when
(Example 4). 0 … x … 1, and y = 1 when x 7 1. The function, however, is just one function whose
domain is the entire set of real numbers (Figure 1.9).
y
y=x
3 EXAMPLE 5   The function whose value at any number x is the greatest integer less
2 than or equal to x is called the greatest integer function or the integer floor function. It
y = :x; is denoted : x ; . Figure 1.10 shows the graph. Observe that
1

−2 −1 1 2 3
x : 2.4 ; = 2, : 1.9 ; = 1, : 0 ; = 0, : -1.2 ; = -2,

: 2 ; = 2, : 0.2 ; = 0, : -0.3 ; = -1, : -2 ; = -2.
−2

Figure 1.10 The graph of the EXAMPLE 6   The function whose value at any number x is the smallest integer
greatest integer function y = : x ; greater than or equal to x is called the least integer function or the integer ceiling func-
lies on or below the line y = x, so tion. It is denoted < x = . Figure 1.11 shows the graph. For positive values of x, this function
it provides an integer floor for x might represent, for example, the cost of parking x hours in a parking lot that charges $1
(Example 5). for each hour or part of an hour.
6 Chapter 1: Functions

y Increasing and Decreasing Functions

3
y=x If the graph of a function climbs or rises as you move from left to right, we say that the
function is increasing. If the graph descends or falls as you move from left to right, the
2
function is decreasing.
y = <x=
1
x
−2 −1 1 2 3 Definitions Let ƒ be a function defined on an interval I and let x1 and x2 be
−1 any two points in I.
−2 1. If ƒ(x2) 7 ƒ(x1) whenever x1 6 x2, then ƒ is said to be increasing on I.
2. If ƒ(x2) 6 ƒ(x1) whenever x1 6 x2, then ƒ is said to be decreasing on I.
Figure 1.11 The graph
of the least integer function
y = < x = lies on or above the line It is important to realize that the definitions of increasing and decreasing functions
y = x, so it provides an integer must be satisfied for every pair of points x1 and x2 in I with x1 6 x2. Because we use the
ceiling for x (Example 6). inequality 6 to compare the function values, instead of … , it is sometimes said that ƒ is
strictly increasing or decreasing on I. The interval I may be finite (also called bounded) or
infinite (unbounded) and by definition never consists of a single point (Appendix 1).

EXAMPLE 7   The function graphed in Figure 1.9 is decreasing on (- q, 04 and increas-


ing on 3 0, 14 . The function is neither increasing nor decreasing on the interval 3 1, q)
because of the strict inequalities used to compare the function values in the definitions.

Even Functions and Odd Functions: Symmetry


The graphs of even and odd functions have characteristic symmetry properties.

Definitions A function y = ƒ(x) is an


even function of x if ƒ(-x) = ƒ(x),
odd function of x if ƒ(-x) = -ƒ(x),
for every x in the function’s domain.
y

y = x2 The names even and odd come from powers of x. If y is an even power of x, as in
(−x, y) (x, y) y = x2 or y = x4, it is an even function of x because (-x)2 = x2 and (-x)4 = x4. If y is an
odd power of x, as in y = x or y = x3, it is an odd function of x because (-x)1 = -x and
x
0 (-x)3 = -x3.
(a) The graph of an even function is symmetric about the y-axis. Since ƒ(-x) = ƒ(x), a
point (x, y) lies on the graph if and only if the point (-x, y) lies on the graph (Figure 1.12a).
y A reflection across the y-axis leaves the graph unchanged.
y = x3 The graph of an odd function is symmetric about the origin. Since ƒ(-x) = -ƒ(x), a
(x, y) point (x, y) lies on the graph if and only if the point (-x, -y) lies on the graph (Figure 1.12b).
Equivalently, a graph is symmetric about the origin if a rotation of 180° about the origin leaves the
x
0 graph unchanged. Notice that the definitions imply that both x and -x must be in the domain of ƒ.
(−x, −y)
EXAMPLE 8   Here are several functions illustrating the definition.

(b)
ƒ(x) = x2 Even function: (-x)2 = x2 for all x; symmetry about y-axis.

Figure 1.12 (a) The graph of y = x2 ƒ(x) = x2 + 1 Even function: (-x)2 + 1 = x2 + 1 for all x; symmetry about
(an even function) is symmetric about the y-axis (Figure 1.13a).
y-axis. (b) The graph of y = x3 (an odd
function) is symmetric about the origin. ƒ(x) = x Odd function: (-x) = -x for all x; symmetry about the origin.
ƒ(x) = x + 1 Not odd: ƒ(-x) = -x + 1, but -ƒ(x) = -x - 1. The two are not
equal.
Not even: (-x) + 1 ≠ x + 1 for all x ≠ 0 (Figure 1.13b).
1.1 Functions and Their Graphs 7

y y
y = x2 + 1

y=x+1
y = x2

y=x

1 1
x x
0 −1 0

(a) (b)

Figure 1.13 (a) When we add the constant term 1 to the function
y = x2, the resulting function y = x2 + 1 is still even and its graph is
still symmetric about the y-axis. (b) When we add the constant term 1 to
the function y = x, the resulting function y = x + 1 is no longer odd,
since the symmetry about the origin is lost. The function y = x + 1 is
also not even (Example 8).

Common Functions
A variety of important types of functions are frequently encountered in calculus. We iden-
tify and briefly describe them here.
Linear Functions A function of the form ƒ(x) = mx + b, for constants m and b, is called
a linear function. Figure 1.14a shows an array of lines ƒ(x) = mx where b = 0, so these
lines pass through the origin. The function ƒ(x) = x where m = 1 and b = 0 is called the
identity function. Constant functions result when the slope m = 0 (Figure 1.14b).
A linear function with positive slope whose graph passes through the origin is called a
proportionality relationship.

y
m = −3 m=2
y = −3x y = 2x
m = −1 m=1 y

y=x
1
y = −x m=
2 2 y=3
1 2
y= x
0 2 1
x
x
0 1 2
(a) (b)

Figure 1.14 (a) Lines through the origin with slope m. (b) A constant func-
tion with slope m = 0.

Definition Two variables y and x are proportional (to one another) if one
is always a constant multiple of the other; that is, if y = kx for some nonzero
constant k.

If the variable y is proportional to the reciprocal 1>x, then sometimes it is said that y is
inversely proportional to x (because 1>x is the multiplicative inverse of x).
Power Functions A function ƒ(x) = xa, where a is a constant, is called a power function.
There are several important cases to consider.
8 Chapter 1: Functions

(a) a = n, a positive integer.


The graphs of ƒ(x) = xn, for n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, are displayed in Figure 1.15. These func-
tions are defined for all real values of x. Notice that as the power n gets larger, the curves
tend to flatten toward the x-axis on the interval (-1, 1), and to rise more steeply for
0 x 0 7 1. Each curve passes through the point (1, 1) and through the origin. The graphs of
functions with even powers are symmetric about the y-axis; those with odd powers are
symmetric about the origin. The even-powered functions are decreasing on the interval
(- q, 04 and increasing on 3 0, q); the odd-powered functions are increasing over the
entire real line (- q, q).
y y y y y y = x5
y=x y = x2 y = x3 y = x4

1 1 1 1 1

x x x x x
−1 0 1 −1 0 1 −1 0 1 −1 0 1 −1 0 1
−1 −1 −1 −1 −1

Figure 1.15 Graphs of ƒ(x) = xn, n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, defined for - q 6 x 6 q.

(b) a = -1 or a = -2.
The graphs of the functions ƒ(x) = x-1 = 1>x and g(x) = x-2 = 1>x2 are shown in
Figure 1.16. Both functions are defined for all x ≠ 0 (you can never divide by zero). The
graph of y = 1>x is the hyperbola xy = 1, which approaches the coordinate axes far from
the origin. The graph of y = 1>x2 also approaches the coordinate axes. The graph of the
function ƒ is symmetric about the origin; ƒ is decreasing on the intervals (- q, 0) and
(0, q). The graph of the function g is symmetric about the y-axis; g is increasing on
(- q, 0) and decreasing on (0, q).

y
y

y = 1x y = 12
x
1
x
0 1 1
Domain: x ≠ 0 x
Range: y ≠ 0 0 1
Domain: x ≠ 0
Range: y > 0

(a) (b)

Figure 1.16 Graphs of the power functions ƒ(x) = xa for part (a) a = - 1
and for part (b) a = - 2.

1 1 3 2
(c) a = , , , and .
2 3 2 3
3
The functions ƒ(x) = x1>2 = 2x and g(x) = x1>3 = 2 x are the square root and cube
root functions, respectively. The domain of the square root function is 3 0, q), but the
cube root function is defined for all real x. Their graphs are displayed in Figure 1.17, along
with the graphs of y = x3>2 and y = x2>3. (Recall that x3>2 = (x1>2)3 and x2>3 = (x1>3)2.)
Polynomials A function p is a polynomial if
p(x) = an xn + an - 1xn - 1 + g + a1 x + a0
where n is a nonnegative integer and the numbers a0, a1, a2, c, an are real constants
(called the coefficients of the polynomial). All polynomials have domain (- q, q). If the
1.1 Functions and Their Graphs 9

y
y y
32
y = !x y=x

y = !x
3 y = x 23
1
1 1 1
x x x x
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
Domain: 0 ≤ x < ∞ Domain: −∞ < x < ∞ Domain: 0 ≤ x < ∞ Domain: −∞ < x < ∞
Range: 0 ≤ y < ∞ Range: −∞ < y < ∞ Range: 0 ≤ y < ∞ Range: 0 ≤ y < ∞
1 1 3 2
Figure 1.17 Graphs of the power functions ƒ(x) = xa for a = , , , and .
2 3 2 3

leading coefficient an ≠ 0 and n 7 0, then n is called the degree of the polynomial. Lin-
ear functions with m ≠ 0 are polynomials of degree 1. Polynomials of degree 2, usually
written as p(x) = ax2 + bx + c, are called quadratic functions. Likewise, cubic functions
are polynomials p(x) = ax3 + bx2 + cx + d of degree 3. Figure 1.18 shows the graphs
of three polynomials. Techniques to graph polynomials are studied in Chapter 4.

3 2
y = x − x − 2x + 1
3 2 3
y
4 y
y y = (x − 2)4(x + 1)3(x − 1)
y= 8x 4 − 14x 3 − 9x 2 + 11x − 1
16
2 2
x
−1 1 2
x −2
−4 −2 0 2 4 −4 x
−1 0 1 2
−6
−2
−8
−10
−16
−4 −12
(a) (b) (c)

Figure 1.18 Graphs of three polynomial functions.

Rational Functions A rational function is a quotient or ratio ƒ(x) = p(x)>q(x), where


p and q are polynomials. The domain of a rational function is the set of all real x for which
q(x) ≠ 0. The graphs of several rational functions are shown in Figure 1.19.

y
y 8
y 2 y = 11x3 + 2
4 y = 5x +2 8x − 3 6 2x − 1
3x + 2
2
2
4
y = 2x − 3 2 Line y = 5
7x + 4 1 3 2

x x x
−4 −2 2 4 −5 0 5 10 −4 −2 0 2 4 6
−1 −2
−2
−4
−2
NOT TO SCALE
−4 −6

−8
(a) (b) (c)

Figure 1.19 Graphs of three rational functions. The straight red lines approached by the graphs are called
asymptotes and are not part of the graphs. We discuss asymptotes in Section 2.6.
10 Chapter 1: Functions

Algebraic Functions Any function constructed from polynomials using algebraic oper-
ations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and taking roots) lies within the
class of algebraic functions. All rational functions are algebraic, but also included are
more complicated functions (such as those satisfying an equation like y3 - 9xy + x3 = 0,
studied in Section 3.7). Figure 1.20 displays the graphs of three algebraic functions.

y y = x 13(x − 4)
y y = x(1 − x)25
4 y = 3 (x 2 − 1) 23
4
3 y
2 1
1
x x x
−1 4 −1 0 1 0 5 1
−1 7
−2 −1
−3

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 1.20 Graphs of three algebraic functions.

Trigonometric Functions The six basic trigonometric functions are reviewed in Section 1.3.
The graphs of the sine and cosine functions are shown in Figure 1.21.

y y

1 1 3p 5p
3p − p2 2 2
x x
−p 0 p 2p 0 p
−1 −1 2

(a) f (x) = sin x (b) f (x) = cos x

Figure 1.21 Graphs of the sine and cosine functions.

Exponential Functions Functions of the form ƒ(x) = ax, where the base a 7 0 is a
positive constant and a ≠ 1, are called exponential functions. All exponential functions
have domain (- q, q) and range (0, q), so an exponential function never assumes the
value 0. We discuss exponential functions in Section 1.5. The graphs of some exponential
functions are shown in Figure 1.22.

y y
y = 10 x y = 10 –x
12 12
10 10
8 8
6 y= 3 –x 6
y = 3x
4 4
2 2
y = 2x y = 2 –x
x x
−1 −0.5 0 0.5 1 −1 −0.5 0 0.5 1
(a) (b)

Figure 1.22 Graphs of exponential functions.


1.1 Functions and Their Graphs 11

Logarithmic Functions These are the functions ƒ(x) = loga x, where the base a ≠ 1
is a positive constant. They are the inverse functions of the exponential functions, and
we discuss these functions in Section 1.6. Figure 1.23 shows the graphs of four loga-
rithmic functions with various bases. In each case the domain is (0, q) and the range
is (- q, q).

y y = log 2 x
y = log 3 x

x
0 1
y = log5 x 1
−1 y = log10 x
x
−1 0 1

Figure 1.23 Graphs of four logarithmic Figure 1.24 Graph of a catenary or


functions. hanging cable. (The Latin word catena
means “chain.”)

Transcendental Functions These are functions that are not algebraic. They include the
trigonometric, inverse trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic functions, and many
other functions as well. A particular example of a transcendental function is a catenary.
Its graph has the shape of a cable, like a telephone line or electric cable, strung from one
support to another and hanging freely under its own weight (Figure 1.24). The function
defining the graph is discussed in Section 7.3.

Exercises 1.1
Functions 8. a. y b. y
In Exercises 1–6, find the domain and range of each function.
1. ƒ(x) = 1 + x2 2. ƒ(x) = 1 - 2x
3. F(x) = 25x + 10 4. g(x) = 2x2 - 3x
4 2
5. ƒ(t) = 6. G(t) =
3 - t t 2 - 16
In Exercises 7 and 8, which of the graphs are graphs of functions of x, x x
and which are not? Give reasons for your answers. 0 0

7. a. y b. y
Finding Formulas for Functions
9. Express the area and perimeter of an equilateral triangle as a
function of the triangle’s side length x.
10. Express the side length of a square as a function of the length d of
the square’s diagonal. Then express the area as a function of the
diagonal length.
x x 11. Express the edge length of a cube as a function of the cube’s
0 0 diagonal length d. Then express the surface area and volume of
the cube as a function of the diagonal length.
12 Chapter 1: Functions

12. A point P in the first quadrant lies on the graph of the function 31. a. y b. y
ƒ(x) = 2x. Express the coordinates of P as functions of the
slope of the line joining P to the origin. (−1, 1) (1, 1) 2
1
13. Consider the point (x, y) lying on the graph of the line x
2x + 4y = 5. Let L be the distance from the point (x, y) to the 3 x
1
origin (0, 0). Write L as a function of x. (−2, −1) (1, −1) (3, −1)
14. Consider the point (x, y) lying on the graph of y = 2x - 3. Let
L be the distance between the points (x, y) and (4, 0). Write L as a 32. a. y b. y
function of y. (T, 1)
1
Functions and Graphs A
Find the natural domain and graph the functions in Exercises 15–20.
t
15. ƒ(x) = 5 - 2x 16. ƒ(x) = 1 - 2x - x2 0 T T 3T 2T
2 2
17. g(x) = 2 0 x 0 18. g(x) = 2- x x −A
0 T T
19. F(t) = t> 0 t 0 20. G(t) = 1> 0 t 0 2
x + 3
21. Find the domain of y = .
4 - 2x2 - 9 The Greatest and Least Integer Functions
x2 33. For what values of x is
22. Find the range of y = 2 + 2 . a. : x ; = 0? b. < x = = 0?
x + 4
23. Graph the following equations and explain why they are not 34. What real numbers x satisfy the equation : x ; = < x = ?
graphs of functions of x. 35. Does < - x = = - : x ; for all real x? Give reasons for your answer.
a. 0 y 0 = x b. y2 = x2 36. Graph the function
24. Graph the following equations and explain why they are not : x ;, x Ú 0
graphs of functions of x. ƒ(x) = e
<x= , x 6 0.
a. 0 x 0 + 0 y 0 = 1 b. 0 x + y 0 = 1
Why is ƒ(x) called the integer part of x?
Piecewise-Defined Functions
Graph the functions in Exercises 25–28. Increasing and Decreasing Functions
x, 0 … x … 1 Graph the functions in Exercises 37–46. What symmetries, if any, do
25. ƒ(x) = e the graphs have? Specify the intervals over which the function is
2 - x, 1 6 x … 2
increasing and the intervals where it is decreasing.
1 - x, 0 … x … 1
26. g(x) = e 1
2 - x, 1 6 x … 2 37. y = - x3 38. y = -
x2
4 - x 2, x … 1
27. F(x) = e 1 1
x2 + 2x, x 7 1 39. y = - x 40. y =
0x0
1>x, x 6 0
28. G(x) = e 41. y = 2 0 x 0 42. y = 2- x
x, 0 … x
43. y = x3 >8 44. y = - 4 2x
Find a formula for each function graphed in Exercises 29–32.
3>2
45. y = - x 46. y = (- x)2>3
29. a. y b. y
Even and Odd Functions
(1, 1) In Exercises 47–58, say whether the function is even, odd, or neither.
1 2
Give reasons for your answer.
47. ƒ(x) = 3 48. ƒ(x) = x-5
x t
0 2 0 1 2 3 4 49. ƒ(x) = x2 + 1 50. ƒ(x) = x2 + x
3
51. g(x) = x + x 52. g(x) = x4 + 3x2 - 1
30. a. y b. y
1 x
53. g(x) = 54. g(x) =
2 3 x2 - 1 x2 - 1
(2, 1)
2 1
x 55. h(t) = 56. h(t) =  t 3 
2 5
t - 1
1
x 57. h(t) = 2t + 1 58. h(t) = 2  t  + 1
−1 1 2
−1
(2, −1) Theory and Examples
−2
59. The variable s is proportional to t, and s = 25 when t = 75.
−3 Determine t when s = 60.
1.1 Functions and Their Graphs 13

60. Kinetic energy The kinetic energy K of a mass is proportional 66. a. y = 5x b. y = 5x c. y = x5


to the square of its velocity y. If K = 12,960 joules when
y = 18 m>sec, what is K when y = 10 m>sec? y
61. The variables r and s are inversely proportional, and r = 6 when g
s = 4. Determine s when r = 10.
62. Boyle’s Law Boyle’s Law says that the volume V of a gas at
constant temperature increases whenever the pressure P decreases,
so that V and P are inversely proportional. If P = 14.7 lb>in2 h
when V = 1000 in3, then what is V when P = 23.4 lb>in2? x
0
63. A box with an open top is to be constructed from a rectangular
piece of cardboard with dimensions 14 in. by 22 in. by cutting out
equal squares of side x at each corner and then folding up the
sides as in the figure. Express the volume V of the box as a func- f
tion of x.

22 T 67. a. Graph the functions ƒ(x) = x>2 and g(x) = 1 + (4>x) to­-
x x gether to identify the values of x for which
x x
x 4
14 7 1 + x.
x x 2
x x b. Confirm your findings in part (a) algebraically.
T 68. a. Graph the functions ƒ(x) = 3>(x - 1) and g(x) = 2>(x + 1)
64. The accompanying figure shows a rectangle inscribed in an isos- together to identify the values of x for which
celes right triangle whose hypotenuse is 2 units long. 3 2
6 .
a. Express the y-coordinate of P in terms of x. (You might start x - 1 x + 1
by writing an equation for the line AB.) b. Confirm your findings in part (a) algebraically.
b. Express the area of the rectangle in terms of x. 69. For a curve to be symmetric about the x-axis, the point (x, y) must
lie on the curve if and only if the point (x, - y) lies on the curve.
y
Explain why a curve that is symmetric about the x-axis is not the
graph of a function, unless the function is y = 0.
B 70. Three hundred books sell for $40 each, resulting in a revenue of
(300)($40) = $12,000. For each $5 increase in the price, 25
fewer books are sold. Write the revenue R as a function of the
P(x, ?) number x of $5 increases.
71. A pen in the shape of an isosceles right triangle with legs of
A length x ft and hypotenuse of length h ft is to be built. If fencing
x
−1 0 x 1 costs $5/ft for the legs and $10/ft for the hypotenuse, write the
total cost C of construction as a function of h.
72. Industrial costs A power plant sits next to a river where the
In Exercises 65 and 66, match each equation with its graph. Do not river is 800 ft wide. To lay a new cable from the plant to a loca-
use a graphing device, and give reasons for your answer. tion in the city 2 mi downstream on the opposite side costs $180
65. a. y = x4 b. y = x7 c. y = x10 per foot across the river and $100 per foot along the land.
2 mi
y P x Q City

g
h 800 ft

Power plant
NOT TO SCALE
x
0 a. Suppose that the cable goes from the plant to a point Q on the
opposite side that is x ft from the point P directly opposite the
f
plant. Write a function C(x) that gives the cost of laying the
cable in terms of the distance x.
b. Generate a table of values to determine if the least expensive
location for point Q is less than 2000 ft or greater than 2000 ft
from point P.
14 Chapter 1: Functions

1.2 Combining Functions; Shifting and Scaling Graphs


In this section we look at the main ways functions are combined or transformed to form
new functions.

Sums, Differences, Products, and Quotients


Like numbers, functions can be added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided (except where
the denominator is zero) to produce new functions. If ƒ and g are functions, then for every
x that belongs to the domains of both ƒ and g (that is, for x∊D(ƒ) ¨ D(g)), we define
functions ƒ + g, ƒ - g, and ƒg by the formulas
(ƒ + g)(x) = ƒ(x) + g(x)
(ƒ - g)(x) = ƒ(x) - g(x)
(ƒg)(x) = ƒ(x)g(x).
Notice that the + sign on the left-hand side of the first equation represents the operation of
addition of functions, whereas the + on the right-hand side of the equation means addition
of the real numbers ƒ(x) and g(x).
At any point of D(ƒ) ¨ D(g) at which g(x) ≠ 0, we can also define the function ƒ>g
by the formula
ƒ ƒ(x)
a g b (x) = (where g(x) ≠ 0).
g(x)
Functions can also be multiplied by constants: If c is a real number, then the function
cƒ is defined for all x in the domain of ƒ by
(cƒ)(x) = cƒ(x).

EXAMPLE 1   The functions defined by the formulas


ƒ(x) = 2x and g(x) = 21 - x
have domains D(ƒ) = 3 0, q) and D(g) = (- q, 14 . The points common to these
domains are the points
3 0, q) ¨ (- q, 14 = 3 0, 14 .
The following table summarizes the formulas and domains for the various algebraic com-
binations of the two functions. We also write ƒ # g for the product function ƒg.

Function Formula Domain

ƒ + g (ƒ + g)(x) = 2x + 21 - x 3 0, 14 = D(ƒ) ¨ D(g)


ƒ - g (ƒ - g)(x) = 2x - 21 - x 3 0, 14
g - ƒ (g - ƒ)(x) = 21 - x - 2x 3 0, 14
ƒ#g (ƒ # g)(x) = ƒ(x)g(x) = 2x(1 - x) 3 0, 14
ƒ ƒ(x) x
ƒ>g g (x) = g(x) = A 1 3 0, 1) (x = 1 excluded)
- x
g g(x) 1 - x
g>ƒ (x) = = x (0, 14 (x = 0 excluded)
ƒ ƒ(x) A

The graph of the function ƒ + g is obtained from the graphs of ƒ and g by adding the
corresponding y-coordinates ƒ(x) and g(x) at each point x∊D(ƒ) ¨ D(g), as in Figure 1.25.
The graphs of ƒ + g and ƒ # g from Example 1 are shown in Figure 1.26.
1.2 Combining Functions; Shifting and Scaling Graphs 15

y y

y=f+g
8 g(x) = "1 − x f(x) = "x
y = ( f + g)(x) 1
6

4 y = g(x) 1
2
f(a) + g(a) y=f•g
2 g(a)
y = f (x) f (a)
x x
a 0 1 2 3 4 1
0 5 5 5 5

Figure 1.25 Graphical addition of two Figure 1.26 The domain of the function ƒ + g
functions. is the intersection of the domains of ƒ and g, the
interval 30, 14 on the x-axis where these domains
overlap. This interval is also the domain of the
function ƒ # g (Example 1).

Composite Functions
Composition is another method for combining functions.

Definition If ƒ and g are functions, the composite function ƒ ∘ g (“ƒ com-


posed with g”) is defined by
(ƒ ∘ g)(x) = ƒ(g(x)).
The domain of ƒ ∘ g consists of the numbers x in the domain of g for which g(x)
lies in the domain of ƒ.

The definition implies that ƒ ∘ g can be formed when the range of g lies in the domain
of ƒ. To find (ƒ ∘ g)(x), first find g(x) and second find ƒ(g(x)). Figure 1.27 pictures ƒ ∘ g as
a machine diagram, and Figure 1.28 shows the composite as an arrow diagram.

f ∘g

f (g(x))

x
f
g

x g g(x) f f(g(x)) g(x)

Figure 1.27 A composite function ƒ ∘ g uses Figure 1.28 Arrow diagram for ƒ ∘ g. If x lies in the
the output g(x) of the first function g as the input domain of g and g(x) lies in the domain of ƒ, then the
for the second function ƒ. functions ƒ and g can be composed to form (ƒ ∘ g)(x).

To evaluate the composite function g ∘ ƒ (when defined), we find ƒ(x) first and then
g(ƒ(x)). The domain of g ∘ ƒ is the set of numbers x in the domain of ƒ such that ƒ(x) lies
in the domain of g.
The functions ƒ ∘ g and g ∘ ƒ are usually quite different.
16 Chapter 1: Functions

EXAMPLE 2   If ƒ(x) = 2x and g(x) = x + 1, find


(a) (ƒ ∘ g)(x)  (b) (g ∘ ƒ)(x)  (c) (ƒ ∘ ƒ)(x)  (d) (g ∘ g)(x).

Solution
Composite Domain
(a) (ƒ ∘ g)(x) = ƒ(g(x)) = 2g(x) = 2x + 1 3 -1, q)
(b) (g ∘ ƒ)(x) = g(ƒ(x)) = ƒ(x) + 1 = 2x + 1 3 0, q)
(c) (ƒ ∘ ƒ)(x) = ƒ(ƒ(x)) = 2ƒ(x) = 2 1x = x1>4 3 0, q)
(d) (g ∘ g)(x) = g(g(x)) = g(x) + 1 = (x + 1) + 1 = x + 2 (- q, q)
To see why the domain of ƒ ∘ g is 3 -1, q), notice that g(x) = x + 1 is defined for all real
x but belongs to the domain of ƒ only if x + 1 Ú 0, that is to say, when x Ú -1.

Notice that if ƒ(x) = x2 and g(x) = 2x, then (ƒ ∘ g)(x) = 1 2x 2 = x. However, the
2

domain of ƒ ∘ g is 3 0, q), not (- q, q), since 2x requires x Ú 0.

Shifting a Graph of a Function


A common way to obtain a new function from an existing one is by adding a constant to
each output of the existing function, or to its input variable. The graph of the new function
is the graph of the original function shifted vertically or horizontally, as follows.

Shift Formulas
Vertical Shifts
y = ƒ(x) + k Shifts the graph of ƒ up k units if k 7 0
y
y = x2 + 2 Shifts it down 0 k 0 units if k 6 0
y = x2 + 1 Horizontal Shifts
y = x2 y = ƒ(x + h) Shifts the graph of ƒ left h units if h 7 0
Shifts it right 0 h 0 units if h 6 0
y = x2 − 2

2
1 unit
1 EXAMPLE 3
x
−2 0 2 (a) Adding 1 to the right-hand side of the formula y = x2 to get y = x2 + 1 shifts the
−1 2 units graph up 1 unit (Figure 1.29).
−2 (b) Adding -2 to the right-hand side of the formula y = x2 to get y = x2 - 2 shifts the
graph down 2 units (Figure 1.29).
Figure 1.29 To shift the graph (c) Adding 3 to x in y = x2 to get y = (x + 3)2 shifts the graph 3 units to the left, while
of ƒ(x) = x2 up (or down), we add adding -2 shifts the graph 2 units to the right (Figure 1.30).
positive (or negative) constants (d) Adding -2 to x in y = 0 x 0 , and then adding -1 to the result, gives y = 0 x - 2 0 - 1
to the formula for ƒ (Examples 3a and shifts the graph 2 units to the right and 1 unit down (Figure 1.31).
and b).

Scaling and Reflecting a Graph of a Function


To scale the graph of a function y = ƒ(x) is to stretch or compress it, vertically or hori-
zontally. This is accomplished by multiplying the function ƒ, or the independent variable
x, by an appropriate constant c. Reflections across the coordinate axes are special cases
where c = -1.
1.2 Combining Functions; Shifting and Scaling Graphs 17

Add a positive Add a negative


constant to x. constant to x. y
y
4 y = 0 x − 20 − 1
y = (x + 3) 2 y = x2 y = (x − 2) 2

1
1 x
−4 −2 2 4 6
−1
x
−3 0 1 2

Figure 1.30 To shift the graph of y = x2 to Figure 1.31 The graph of y = 0 x 0


the left, we add a positive constant to x (Example shifted 2 units to the right and 1 unit
3c). To shift the graph to the right, we add a nega- down (Example 3d).
tive constant to x.

Vertical and Horizontal Scaling and Reflecting Formulas


For c + 1, the graph is scaled:
y = cƒ(x) Stretches the graph of ƒ vertically by a factor of c.
1
y = c ƒ(x) Compresses the graph of ƒ vertically by a factor of c.
y = ƒ(cx) Compresses the graph of ƒ horizontally by a factor of c.
y = ƒ(x>c) Stretches the graph of ƒ horizontally by a factor of c.
For c = −1, the graph is reflected:
y = -ƒ(x) Reflects the graph of ƒ across the x-axis.
y = ƒ(-x) Reflects the graph of ƒ across the y-axis.

EXAMPLE 4   Here we scale and reflect the graph of y = 2x.


(a) Vertical: Multiplying the right-hand side of y = 2x by 3 to get y = 3 2x stretches
the graph vertically by a factor of 3, whereas multiplying by 1>3 compresses the
graph by a factor of 3 (Figure 1.32).
(b) Horizontal: The graph of y = 23x is a horizontal compression of the graph of
y = 2x by a factor of 3, and y = 2x>3 is a horizontal stretching by a factor of 3
(Figure 1.33). Note that y = 23x = 23 2x so a horizontal compression may cor-
respond to a vertical stretching by a different scaling factor. Likewise, a horizontal
stretching may correspond to a vertical compression by a different scaling factor.
(c) Reflection: The graph of y = - 2x is a reflection of y = 2x across the x-axis, and
y = 2-x is a reflection across the y-axis (Figure 1.34).

y y y
y = " −x
5 y = 3"x 4 y = "x
4 y = "3x 1
3
3 stretch y = "x compress
2 y = "x x
2 1 stretch −3 −2 −1 1 2 3
y = 3"x 1 y = "x3
1 compress
−1
x x y = −" x
−1 0 1 2 3 4 −1 0 1 2 3 4

Figure 1.32 Vertically stretching Figure 1.33 Horizontally stretching and Figure 1.34 Reflections of the graph
and compressing the graph y = 1x by a compressing the graph y = 1x by a factor of y = 1x across the coordinate axes
factor of 3 (Example 4a). 3 (Example 4b). (Example 4c).
18 Chapter 1: Functions

EXAMPLE 5   Given the function ƒ(x) = x4 - 4x3 + 10 (Figure 1.35a), find formulas to
(a) compress the graph horizontally by a factor of 2 followed by a reflection across the
y-axis (Figure 1.35b).
(b) compress the graph vertically by a factor of 2 followed by a reflection across the
x-axis (Figure 1.35c).
y y = 16x 4 + 32x 3 + 10 y y
f (x) = x4 − 4x 3 + 10
20 20 1
y = − 2 x 4 + 2x 3 − 5
10
10 10
x x x
−1 0 1 2 3 4 −2 −1 0 1 −1 0 1 2 3 4
−10 −10
−10
−20 −20

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 1.35 (a) The original graph of f. (b) The horizontal compression of y = ƒ(x) in part (a) by a factor of 2, followed by
a reflection across the y-axis. (c) The vertical compression of y = ƒ(x) in part (a) by a factor of 2, followed by a reflection across
the x-axis (Example 5).

Solution
(a) We multiply x by 2 to get the horizontal compression, and by -1 to give reflection
across the y-axis. The formula is obtained by substituting -2x for x in the right-hand
side of the equation for ƒ:
y = ƒ(-2x) = (-2x)4 - 4(-2x)3 + 10
= 16x4 + 32x3 + 10.
(b) The formula is

1 1
y = - ƒ(x) = - x4 + 2x3 - 5.
2 2

Exercises 1.2
Algebraic Combinations e. ƒ(ƒ(- 5)) f. g(g(2))
In Exercises 1 and 2, find the domains and ranges of ƒ, g, ƒ + g, and g. ƒ(ƒ(x)) h. g(g(x))
ƒ # g. 6. If ƒ(x) = x - 1 and g(x) = 1>(x + 1), find the following.
1. ƒ(x) = x, g(x) = 2x - 1 a. ƒ(g(1>2)) b. g(ƒ(1>2))
2. ƒ(x) = 2x + 1, g(x) = 2x - 1 c. ƒ(g(x)) d. g(ƒ(x))
In Exercises 3 and 4, find the domains and ranges of ƒ, g, ƒ>g, and e. ƒ(ƒ(2)) f. g(g(2))
g>ƒ. g. ƒ(ƒ(x)) h. g(g(x))
3. ƒ(x) = 2, g(x) = x2 + 1
In Exercises 7–10, write a formula for ƒ ∘ g ∘ h.
4. ƒ(x) = 1, g(x) = 1 + 2x
7. ƒ(x) = x + 1, g(x) = 3x, h(x) = 4 - x
Composites of Functions 8. ƒ(x) = 3x + 4, g(x) = 2x - 1, h(x) = x2
5. If ƒ(x) = x + 5 and g(x) = x2 - 3, find the following.
1 1
a. ƒ(g(0)) b. g(ƒ(0)) 9. ƒ(x) = 2x + 1, g(x) = , h(x) = x
x + 4
c. ƒ(g(x)) d. g(ƒ(x)) x + 2 x2
10. ƒ(x) = , g(x) = 2 , h(x) = 22 - x
3 - x x + 1
1.2 Combining Functions; Shifting and Scaling Graphs 19

x
Let ƒ(x) = x - 3, g(x) = 2x, h(x) = x3, and j(x) = 2x. Express 19. Let ƒ(x) = . Find a function y = g(x) so that
x - 2
each of the functions in Exercises 11 and 12 as a composite involving
(ƒ ∘ g)(x) = x.
one or more of ƒ, g, h, and j.
20. Let ƒ(x) = 2x3 - 4. Find a function y = g(x) so that
11. a. y = 2x - 3 b. y = 2 2x
(ƒ ∘ g)(x) = x + 2.
c. y = x1>4 d. y = 4x
Shifting Graphs
e. y = 2(x - 3)3 f. y = (2x - 6)3
21. The accompanying figure shows the graph of y = - x2 shifted to
12. a. y = 2x - 3 b. y = x3>2 two new positions. Write equations for the new graphs.
c. y = x9 d. y = x - 6
y
e. y = 2 2x - 3 f. y = 2x3 - 3
13. Copy and complete the following table. x
−7 0 4
g(x) ƒ(x) (ƒ ∘ g) (x)
a. x - 7 2x ?
b. x + 2 3x ?
Position (a) y = −x 2 Position (b)
c. ? 2x - 5 2x2 - 5
x x
d. ?
x - 1 x - 1
1 22. The accompanying figure shows the graph of y = x2 shifted to
e. ? 1 + x x two new positions. Write equations for the new graphs.
1 y
f. x ? x
Position (a)

14. Copy and complete the following table.


y = x2
g(x) ƒ(x) (ƒ ∘ g) (x)
3
1
a. 0x0 ?
x - 1
x - 1 x x
b. ? x 0
x + 1
Position (b)
c. ? 2x 0x0
d. 2x ? 0x0
15. Evaluate each expression using the given table of values:
−5
  x -2 -1 0 1 2
23. Match the equations listed in parts (a)–(d) to the graphs in the
ƒ(x) 1 0 -2 1 2 accompanying figure.
g(x) 2 1 0 -1 0 a. y = (x - 1)2 - 4 b. y = (x - 2)2 + 2
c. y = (x + 2)2 + 2 d. y = (x + 3)2 - 2
a. ƒ(g(- 1)) b. g(ƒ(0)) c. ƒ(ƒ(- 1))
d. g(g(2)) e. g(ƒ(- 2)) f. ƒ(g(1)) y

16. Evaluate each expression using the functions


-x, -2 … x 6 0 Position 2 Position 1
ƒ(x) = 2 - x, g(x) = b
x - 1, 0 … x … 2.
a. ƒ(g(0)) b. g(ƒ(3)) c. g(g(- 1))
d. ƒ(ƒ(2)) e. g(ƒ(0)) f. ƒ(g(1>2)) 3
2
In Exercises 17 and 18, (a) write formulas for ƒ ∘ g and g ∘ ƒ and find (−2, 2) (2, 2)
Position 3 1
the (b) domain and (c) range of each.
x
1 −4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3
17. ƒ(x) = 2x + 1, g(x) = x Position 4
18. ƒ(x) = x2, g(x) = 1 - 2x (−3, −2)

(1, −4)
20 Chapter 1: Functions

24. The accompanying figure shows the graph of y = - x2 shifted to 55. The accompanying figure shows the graph of a function ƒ(x) with
four new positions. Write an equation for each new graph. domain 30, 24 and range 30, 14. Find the domains and ranges of
the following functions, and sketch their graphs.
y
(1, 4) y
(−2, 3)

(b) (a)
1 y = f(x)
(2, 0)
x
(−4, −1)
x
0 2
a. ƒ(x) + 2 b. ƒ(x) - 1
c. 2ƒ(x) d. - ƒ(x)
(c) (d)
e. ƒ(x + 2) f. ƒ(x - 1)
g. ƒ(- x) h. - ƒ(x + 1) + 1
56. The accompanying figure shows the graph of a function g(t) with
domain 3-4, 04 and range 3-3, 04. Find the domains and
Exercises 25–34 tell how many units and in what directions the graphs ranges of the following functions, and sketch their graphs.
of the given equations are to be shifted. Give an equation for the
shifted graph. Then sketch the original and shifted graphs together, y
labeling each graph with its equation.
25. x2 + y2 = 49 Down 3, left 2 t
−4 −2 0
26. x2 + y2 = 25 Up 3, left 4
27. y = x3 Left 1, down 1
y = g(t)
28. y = x2>3 Right 1, down 1 −3
29. y = 2x Left 0.81
30. y = - 2x Right 3 a. g(- t) b. - g(t)
31. y = 2x - 7 Up 7 c. g(t) + 3 d. 1 - g(t)
1 e. g(- t + 2) f. g(t - 2)
32. y = (x + 1) + 5 Down 5, right 1
2 g. g(1 - t) h. - g(t - 4)
33. y = 1>x Up 1, right 1
Vertical and Horizontal Scaling
34. y = 1>x2 Left 2, down 1 Exercises 57–66 tell by what factor and direction the graphs of the
given functions are to be stretched or compressed. Give an equation
Graph the functions in Exercises 35–54. for the stretched or compressed graph.
35. y = 2x + 4 36. y = 29 - x 57. y = x2 - 1, stretched vertically by a factor of 3
37. y =  x - 2  38. y =  1 - x  - 1 58. y = x2 - 1, compressed horizontally by a factor of 2
39. y = 1 + 2x - 1 40. y = 1 - 2x 1
59. y = 1 + , compressed vertically by a factor of 2
41. y = (x + 1)2>3 42. y = (x - 8)2>3 x2
43. y = 1 - x2>3 44. y + 4 = x2>3 1
60. y = 1 + 2 , stretched horizontally by a factor of 3
3
45. y = 2x - 1 - 1 46. y = (x + 2)3>2 + 1 x

1 1 61. y = 2x + 1, compressed horizontally by a factor of 4


47. y = 48. y = x - 2
x - 2 62. y = 2x + 1, stretched vertically by a factor of 3
1 1 63. y = 24 - x2, stretched horizontally by a factor of 2
49. y = x + 2 50. y =
x + 2 64. y = 24 - x2, compressed vertically by a factor of 3
1 1 65. y = 1 - x3, compressed horizontally by a factor of 3
51. y = 52. y = - 1
(x - 1)2 x2 66. y = 1 - x3, stretched horizontally by a factor of 2
1 1
53. y = 2 + 1 54. y =
x (x + 1)2
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI

Newala, too, suffers from the distance of its water-supply—at least


the Newala of to-day does; there was once another Newala in a lovely
valley at the foot of the plateau. I visited it and found scarcely a trace
of houses, only a Christian cemetery, with the graves of several
missionaries and their converts, remaining as a monument of its
former glories. But the surroundings are wonderfully beautiful. A
thick grove of splendid mango-trees closes in the weather-worn
crosses and headstones; behind them, combining the useful and the
agreeable, is a whole plantation of lemon-trees covered with ripe
fruit; not the small African kind, but a much larger and also juicier
imported variety, which drops into the hands of the passing traveller,
without calling for any exertion on his part. Old Newala is now under
the jurisdiction of the native pastor, Daudi, at Chingulungulu, who,
as I am on very friendly terms with him, allows me, as a matter of
course, the use of this lemon-grove during my stay at Newala.
FEET MUTILATED BY THE RAVAGES OF THE “JIGGER”
(Sarcopsylla penetrans)

The water-supply of New Newala is in the bottom of the valley,


some 1,600 feet lower down. The way is not only long and fatiguing,
but the water, when we get it, is thoroughly bad. We are suffering not
only from this, but from the fact that the arrangements at Newala are
nothing short of luxurious. We have a separate kitchen—a hut built
against the boma palisade on the right of the baraza, the interior of
which is not visible from our usual position. Our two cooks were not
long in finding this out, and they consequently do—or rather neglect
to do—what they please. In any case they do not seem to be very
particular about the boiling of our drinking-water—at least I can
attribute to no other cause certain attacks of a dysenteric nature,
from which both Knudsen and I have suffered for some time. If a
man like Omari has to be left unwatched for a moment, he is capable
of anything. Besides this complaint, we are inconvenienced by the
state of our nails, which have become as hard as glass, and crack on
the slightest provocation, and I have the additional infliction of
pimples all over me. As if all this were not enough, we have also, for
the last week been waging war against the jigger, who has found his
Eldorado in the hot sand of the Makonde plateau. Our men are seen
all day long—whenever their chronic colds and the dysentery likewise
raging among them permit—occupied in removing this scourge of
Africa from their feet and trying to prevent the disastrous
consequences of its presence. It is quite common to see natives of
this place with one or two toes missing; many have lost all their toes,
or even the whole front part of the foot, so that a well-formed leg
ends in a shapeless stump. These ravages are caused by the female of
Sarcopsylla penetrans, which bores its way under the skin and there
develops an egg-sac the size of a pea. In all books on the subject, it is
stated that one’s attention is called to the presence of this parasite by
an intolerable itching. This agrees very well with my experience, so
far as the softer parts of the sole, the spaces between and under the
toes, and the side of the foot are concerned, but if the creature
penetrates through the harder parts of the heel or ball of the foot, it
may escape even the most careful search till it has reached maturity.
Then there is no time to be lost, if the horrible ulceration, of which
we see cases by the dozen every day, is to be prevented. It is much
easier, by the way, to discover the insect on the white skin of a
European than on that of a native, on which the dark speck scarcely
shows. The four or five jiggers which, in spite of the fact that I
constantly wore high laced boots, chose my feet to settle in, were
taken out for me by the all-accomplished Knudsen, after which I
thought it advisable to wash out the cavities with corrosive
sublimate. The natives have a different sort of disinfectant—they fill
the hole with scraped roots. In a tiny Makua village on the slope of
the plateau south of Newala, we saw an old woman who had filled all
the spaces under her toe-nails with powdered roots by way of
prophylactic treatment. What will be the result, if any, who can say?
The rest of the many trifling ills which trouble our existence are
really more comic than serious. In the absence of anything else to
smoke, Knudsen and I at last opened a box of cigars procured from
the Indian store-keeper at Lindi, and tried them, with the most
distressing results. Whether they contain opium or some other
narcotic, neither of us can say, but after the tenth puff we were both
“off,” three-quarters stupefied and unspeakably wretched. Slowly we
recovered—and what happened next? Half-an-hour later we were
once more smoking these poisonous concoctions—so insatiable is the
craving for tobacco in the tropics.
Even my present attacks of fever scarcely deserve to be taken
seriously. I have had no less than three here at Newala, all of which
have run their course in an incredibly short time. In the early
afternoon, I am busy with my old natives, asking questions and
making notes. The strong midday coffee has stimulated my spirits to
an extraordinary degree, the brain is active and vigorous, and work
progresses rapidly, while a pleasant warmth pervades the whole
body. Suddenly this gives place to a violent chill, forcing me to put on
my overcoat, though it is only half-past three and the afternoon sun
is at its hottest. Now the brain no longer works with such acuteness
and logical precision; more especially does it fail me in trying to
establish the syntax of the difficult Makua language on which I have
ventured, as if I had not enough to do without it. Under the
circumstances it seems advisable to take my temperature, and I do
so, to save trouble, without leaving my seat, and while going on with
my work. On examination, I find it to be 101·48°. My tutors are
abruptly dismissed and my bed set up in the baraza; a few minutes
later I am in it and treating myself internally with hot water and
lemon-juice.
Three hours later, the thermometer marks nearly 104°, and I make
them carry me back into the tent, bed and all, as I am now perspiring
heavily, and exposure to the cold wind just beginning to blow might
mean a fatal chill. I lie still for a little while, and then find, to my
great relief, that the temperature is not rising, but rather falling. This
is about 7.30 p.m. At 8 p.m. I find, to my unbounded astonishment,
that it has fallen below 98·6°, and I feel perfectly well. I read for an
hour or two, and could very well enjoy a smoke, if I had the
wherewithal—Indian cigars being out of the question.
Having no medical training, I am at a loss to account for this state
of things. It is impossible that these transitory attacks of high fever
should be malarial; it seems more probable that they are due to a
kind of sunstroke. On consulting my note-book, I become more and
more inclined to think this is the case, for these attacks regularly
follow extreme fatigue and long exposure to strong sunshine. They at
least have the advantage of being only short interruptions to my
work, as on the following morning I am always quite fresh and fit.
My treasure of a cook is suffering from an enormous hydrocele which
makes it difficult for him to get up, and Moritz is obliged to keep in
the dark on account of his inflamed eyes. Knudsen’s cook, a raw boy
from somewhere in the bush, knows still less of cooking than Omari;
consequently Nils Knudsen himself has been promoted to the vacant
post. Finding that we had come to the end of our supplies, he began
by sending to Chingulungulu for the four sucking-pigs which we had
bought from Matola and temporarily left in his charge; and when
they came up, neatly packed in a large crate, he callously slaughtered
the biggest of them. The first joint we were thoughtless enough to
entrust for roasting to Knudsen’s mshenzi cook, and it was
consequently uneatable; but we made the rest of the animal into a
jelly which we ate with great relish after weeks of underfeeding,
consuming incredible helpings of it at both midday and evening
meals. The only drawback is a certain want of variety in the tinned
vegetables. Dr. Jäger, to whom the Geographical Commission
entrusted the provisioning of the expeditions—mine as well as his
own—because he had more time on his hands than the rest of us,
seems to have laid in a huge stock of Teltow turnips,[46] an article of
food which is all very well for occasional use, but which quickly palls
when set before one every day; and we seem to have no other tins
left. There is no help for it—we must put up with the turnips; but I
am certain that, once I am home again, I shall not touch them for ten
years to come.
Amid all these minor evils, which, after all, go to make up the
genuine flavour of Africa, there is at least one cheering touch:
Knudsen has, with the dexterity of a skilled mechanic, repaired my 9
× 12 cm. camera, at least so far that I can use it with a little care.
How, in the absence of finger-nails, he was able to accomplish such a
ticklish piece of work, having no tool but a clumsy screw-driver for
taking to pieces and putting together again the complicated
mechanism of the instantaneous shutter, is still a mystery to me; but
he did it successfully. The loss of his finger-nails shows him in a light
contrasting curiously enough with the intelligence evinced by the
above operation; though, after all, it is scarcely surprising after his
ten years’ residence in the bush. One day, at Lindi, he had occasion
to wash a dog, which must have been in need of very thorough
cleansing, for the bottle handed to our friend for the purpose had an
extremely strong smell. Having performed his task in the most
conscientious manner, he perceived with some surprise that the dog
did not appear much the better for it, and was further surprised by
finding his own nails ulcerating away in the course of the next few
days. “How was I to know that carbolic acid has to be diluted?” he
mutters indignantly, from time to time, with a troubled gaze at his
mutilated finger-tips.
Since we came to Newala we have been making excursions in all
directions through the surrounding country, in accordance with old
habit, and also because the akida Sefu did not get together the tribal
elders from whom I wanted information so speedily as he had
promised. There is, however, no harm done, as, even if seen only
from the outside, the country and people are interesting enough.
The Makonde plateau is like a large rectangular table rounded off
at the corners. Measured from the Indian Ocean to Newala, it is
about seventy-five miles long, and between the Rovuma and the
Lukuledi it averages fifty miles in breadth, so that its superficial area
is about two-thirds of that of the kingdom of Saxony. The surface,
however, is not level, but uniformly inclined from its south-western
edge to the ocean. From the upper edge, on which Newala lies, the
eye ranges for many miles east and north-east, without encountering
any obstacle, over the Makonde bush. It is a green sea, from which
here and there thick clouds of smoke rise, to show that it, too, is
inhabited by men who carry on their tillage like so many other
primitive peoples, by cutting down and burning the bush, and
manuring with the ashes. Even in the radiant light of a tropical day
such a fire is a grand sight.
Much less effective is the impression produced just now by the
great western plain as seen from the edge of the plateau. As often as
time permits, I stroll along this edge, sometimes in one direction,
sometimes in another, in the hope of finding the air clear enough to
let me enjoy the view; but I have always been disappointed.
Wherever one looks, clouds of smoke rise from the burning bush,
and the air is full of smoke and vapour. It is a pity, for under more
favourable circumstances the panorama of the whole country up to
the distant Majeje hills must be truly magnificent. It is of little use
taking photographs now, and an outline sketch gives a very poor idea
of the scenery. In one of these excursions I went out of my way to
make a personal attempt on the Makonde bush. The present edge of
the plateau is the result of a far-reaching process of destruction
through erosion and denudation. The Makonde strata are
everywhere cut into by ravines, which, though short, are hundreds of
yards in depth. In consequence of the loose stratification of these
beds, not only are the walls of these ravines nearly vertical, but their
upper end is closed by an equally steep escarpment, so that the
western edge of the Makonde plateau is hemmed in by a series of
deep, basin-like valleys. In order to get from one side of such a ravine
to the other, I cut my way through the bush with a dozen of my men.
It was a very open part, with more grass than scrub, but even so the
short stretch of less than two hundred yards was very hard work; at
the end of it the men’s calicoes were in rags and they themselves
bleeding from hundreds of scratches, while even our strong khaki
suits had not escaped scatheless.

NATIVE PATH THROUGH THE MAKONDE BUSH, NEAR


MAHUTA

I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.

MAKONDE LOCK AND KEY AT JUMBE CHAURO


This is the general way of closing a house. The Makonde at Jumbe
Chauro, however, have a much more complicated, solid and original
one. Here, too, the door is as already described, except that there is
only one post on the inside, standing by itself about six inches from
one side of the doorway. Opposite this post is a hole in the wall just
large enough to admit a man’s arm. The door is closed inside by a
large wooden bolt passing through a hole in this post and pressing
with its free end against the door. The other end has three holes into
which fit three pegs running in vertical grooves inside the post. The
door is opened with a wooden key about a foot long, somewhat
curved and sloped off at the butt; the other end has three pegs
corresponding to the holes, in the bolt, so that, when it is thrust
through the hole in the wall and inserted into the rectangular
opening in the post, the pegs can be lifted and the bolt drawn out.[50]

MODE OF INSERTING THE KEY

With no small pride first one householder and then a second


showed me on the spot the action of this greatest invention of the
Makonde Highlands. To both with an admiring exclamation of
“Vizuri sana!” (“Very fine!”). I expressed the wish to take back these
marvels with me to Ulaya, to show the Wazungu what clever fellows
the Makonde are. Scarcely five minutes after my return to camp at
Newala, the two men came up sweating under the weight of two
heavy logs which they laid down at my feet, handing over at the same
time the keys of the fallen fortress. Arguing, logically enough, that if
the key was wanted, the lock would be wanted with it, they had taken
their axes and chopped down the posts—as it never occurred to them
to dig them out of the ground and so bring them intact. Thus I have
two badly damaged specimens, and the owners, instead of praise,
come in for a blowing-up.
The Makua huts in the environs of Newala are especially
miserable; their more than slovenly construction reminds one of the
temporary erections of the Makua at Hatia’s, though the people here
have not been concerned in a war. It must therefore be due to
congenital idleness, or else to the absence of a powerful chief. Even
the baraza at Mlipa’s, a short hour’s walk south-east of Newala,
shares in this general neglect. While public buildings in this country
are usually looked after more or less carefully, this is in evident
danger of being blown over by the first strong easterly gale. The only
attractive object in this whole district is the grave of the late chief
Mlipa. I visited it in the morning, while the sun was still trying with
partial success to break through the rolling mists, and the circular
grove of tall euphorbias, which, with a broken pot, is all that marks
the old king’s resting-place, impressed one with a touch of pathos.
Even my very materially-minded carriers seemed to feel something
of the sort, for instead of their usual ribald songs, they chanted
solemnly, as we marched on through the dense green of the Makonde
bush:—
“We shall arrive with the great master; we stand in a row and have
no fear about getting our food and our money from the Serkali (the
Government). We are not afraid; we are going along with the great
master, the lion; we are going down to the coast and back.”
With regard to the characteristic features of the various tribes here
on the western edge of the plateau, I can arrive at no other
conclusion than the one already come to in the plain, viz., that it is
impossible for anyone but a trained anthropologist to assign any
given individual at once to his proper tribe. In fact, I think that even
an anthropological specialist, after the most careful examination,
might find it a difficult task to decide. The whole congeries of peoples
collected in the region bounded on the west by the great Central
African rift, Tanganyika and Nyasa, and on the east by the Indian
Ocean, are closely related to each other—some of their languages are
only distinguished from one another as dialects of the same speech,
and no doubt all the tribes present the same shape of skull and
structure of skeleton. Thus, surely, there can be no very striking
differences in outward appearance.
Even did such exist, I should have no time
to concern myself with them, for day after day,
I have to see or hear, as the case may be—in
any case to grasp and record—an
extraordinary number of ethnographic
phenomena. I am almost disposed to think it
fortunate that some departments of inquiry, at
least, are barred by external circumstances.
Chief among these is the subject of iron-
working. We are apt to think of Africa as a
country where iron ore is everywhere, so to
speak, to be picked up by the roadside, and
where it would be quite surprising if the
inhabitants had not learnt to smelt the
material ready to their hand. In fact, the
knowledge of this art ranges all over the
continent, from the Kabyles in the north to the
Kafirs in the south. Here between the Rovuma
and the Lukuledi the conditions are not so
favourable. According to the statements of the
Makonde, neither ironstone nor any other
form of iron ore is known to them. They have
not therefore advanced to the art of smelting
the metal, but have hitherto bought all their
THE ANCESTRESS OF
THE MAKONDE
iron implements from neighbouring tribes.
Even in the plain the inhabitants are not much
better off. Only one man now living is said to
understand the art of smelting iron. This old fundi lives close to
Huwe, that isolated, steep-sided block of granite which rises out of
the green solitude between Masasi and Chingulungulu, and whose
jagged and splintered top meets the traveller’s eye everywhere. While
still at Masasi I wished to see this man at work, but was told that,
frightened by the rising, he had retired across the Rovuma, though
he would soon return. All subsequent inquiries as to whether the
fundi had come back met with the genuine African answer, “Bado”
(“Not yet”).
BRAZIER

Some consolation was afforded me by a brassfounder, whom I


came across in the bush near Akundonde’s. This man is the favourite
of women, and therefore no doubt of the gods; he welds the glittering
brass rods purchased at the coast into those massive, heavy rings
which, on the wrists and ankles of the local fair ones, continually give
me fresh food for admiration. Like every decent master-craftsman he
had all his tools with him, consisting of a pair of bellows, three
crucibles and a hammer—nothing more, apparently. He was quite
willing to show his skill, and in a twinkling had fixed his bellows on
the ground. They are simply two goat-skins, taken off whole, the four
legs being closed by knots, while the upper opening, intended to
admit the air, is kept stretched by two pieces of wood. At the lower
end of the skin a smaller opening is left into which a wooden tube is
stuck. The fundi has quickly borrowed a heap of wood-embers from
the nearest hut; he then fixes the free ends of the two tubes into an
earthen pipe, and clamps them to the ground by means of a bent
piece of wood. Now he fills one of his small clay crucibles, the dross
on which shows that they have been long in use, with the yellow
material, places it in the midst of the embers, which, at present are
only faintly glimmering, and begins his work. In quick alternation
the smith’s two hands move up and down with the open ends of the
bellows; as he raises his hand he holds the slit wide open, so as to let
the air enter the skin bag unhindered. In pressing it down he closes
the bag, and the air puffs through the bamboo tube and clay pipe into
the fire, which quickly burns up. The smith, however, does not keep
on with this work, but beckons to another man, who relieves him at
the bellows, while he takes some more tools out of a large skin pouch
carried on his back. I look on in wonder as, with a smooth round
stick about the thickness of a finger, he bores a few vertical holes into
the clean sand of the soil. This should not be difficult, yet the man
seems to be taking great pains over it. Then he fastens down to the
ground, with a couple of wooden clamps, a neat little trough made by
splitting a joint of bamboo in half, so that the ends are closed by the
two knots. At last the yellow metal has attained the right consistency,
and the fundi lifts the crucible from the fire by means of two sticks
split at the end to serve as tongs. A short swift turn to the left—a
tilting of the crucible—and the molten brass, hissing and giving forth
clouds of smoke, flows first into the bamboo mould and then into the
holes in the ground.
The technique of this backwoods craftsman may not be very far
advanced, but it cannot be denied that he knows how to obtain an
adequate result by the simplest means. The ladies of highest rank in
this country—that is to say, those who can afford it, wear two kinds
of these massive brass rings, one cylindrical, the other semicircular
in section. The latter are cast in the most ingenious way in the
bamboo mould, the former in the circular hole in the sand. It is quite
a simple matter for the fundi to fit these bars to the limbs of his fair
customers; with a few light strokes of his hammer he bends the
pliable brass round arm or ankle without further inconvenience to
the wearer.
SHAPING THE POT

SMOOTHING WITH MAIZE-COB

CUTTING THE EDGE


FINISHING THE BOTTOM

LAST SMOOTHING BEFORE


BURNING

FIRING THE BRUSH-PILE


LIGHTING THE FARTHER SIDE OF
THE PILE

TURNING THE RED-HOT VESSEL

NYASA WOMAN MAKING POTS AT MASASI


Pottery is an art which must always and everywhere excite the
interest of the student, just because it is so intimately connected with
the development of human culture, and because its relics are one of
the principal factors in the reconstruction of our own condition in
prehistoric times. I shall always remember with pleasure the two or
three afternoons at Masasi when Salim Matola’s mother, a slightly-
built, graceful, pleasant-looking woman, explained to me with
touching patience, by means of concrete illustrations, the ceramic art
of her people. The only implements for this primitive process were a
lump of clay in her left hand, and in the right a calabash containing
the following valuables: the fragment of a maize-cob stripped of all
its grains, a smooth, oval pebble, about the size of a pigeon’s egg, a
few chips of gourd-shell, a bamboo splinter about the length of one’s
hand, a small shell, and a bunch of some herb resembling spinach.
Nothing more. The woman scraped with the
shell a round, shallow hole in the soft, fine
sand of the soil, and, when an active young
girl had filled the calabash with water for her,
she began to knead the clay. As if by magic it
gradually assumed the shape of a rough but
already well-shaped vessel, which only wanted
a little touching up with the instruments
before mentioned. I looked out with the
MAKUA WOMAN closest attention for any indication of the use
MAKING A POT. of the potter’s wheel, in however rudimentary
SHOWS THE a form, but no—hapana (there is none). The
BEGINNINGS OF THE embryo pot stood firmly in its little
POTTER’S WHEEL
depression, and the woman walked round it in
a stooping posture, whether she was removing
small stones or similar foreign bodies with the maize-cob, smoothing
the inner or outer surface with the splinter of bamboo, or later, after
letting it dry for a day, pricking in the ornamentation with a pointed
bit of gourd-shell, or working out the bottom, or cutting the edge
with a sharp bamboo knife, or giving the last touches to the finished
vessel. This occupation of the women is infinitely toilsome, but it is
without doubt an accurate reproduction of the process in use among
our ancestors of the Neolithic and Bronze ages.
There is no doubt that the invention of pottery, an item in human
progress whose importance cannot be over-estimated, is due to
women. Rough, coarse and unfeeling, the men of the horde range
over the countryside. When the united cunning of the hunters has
succeeded in killing the game; not one of them thinks of carrying
home the spoil. A bright fire, kindled by a vigorous wielding of the
drill, is crackling beside them; the animal has been cleaned and cut
up secundum artem, and, after a slight singeing, will soon disappear
under their sharp teeth; no one all this time giving a single thought
to wife or child.
To what shifts, on the other hand, the primitive wife, and still more
the primitive mother, was put! Not even prehistoric stomachs could
endure an unvarying diet of raw food. Something or other suggested
the beneficial effect of hot water on the majority of approved but
indigestible dishes. Perhaps a neighbour had tried holding the hard
roots or tubers over the fire in a calabash filled with water—or maybe
an ostrich-egg-shell, or a hastily improvised vessel of bark. They
became much softer and more palatable than they had previously
been; but, unfortunately, the vessel could not stand the fire and got
charred on the outside. That can be remedied, thought our
ancestress, and plastered a layer of wet clay round a similar vessel.
This is an improvement; the cooking utensil remains uninjured, but
the heat of the fire has shrunk it, so that it is loose in its shell. The
next step is to detach it, so, with a firm grip and a jerk, shell and
kernel are separated, and pottery is invented. Perhaps, however, the
discovery which led to an intelligent use of the burnt-clay shell, was
made in a slightly different way. Ostrich-eggs and calabashes are not
to be found in every part of the world, but everywhere mankind has
arrived at the art of making baskets out of pliant materials, such as
bark, bast, strips of palm-leaf, supple twigs, etc. Our inventor has no
water-tight vessel provided by nature. “Never mind, let us line the
basket with clay.” This answers the purpose, but alas! the basket gets
burnt over the blazing fire, the woman watches the process of
cooking with increasing uneasiness, fearing a leak, but no leak
appears. The food, done to a turn, is eaten with peculiar relish; and
the cooking-vessel is examined, half in curiosity, half in satisfaction
at the result. The plastic clay is now hard as stone, and at the same
time looks exceedingly well, for the neat plaiting of the burnt basket
is traced all over it in a pretty pattern. Thus, simultaneously with
pottery, its ornamentation was invented.
Primitive woman has another claim to respect. It was the man,
roving abroad, who invented the art of producing fire at will, but the
woman, unable to imitate him in this, has been a Vestal from the
earliest times. Nothing gives so much trouble as the keeping alight of
the smouldering brand, and, above all, when all the men are absent
from the camp. Heavy rain-clouds gather, already the first large
drops are falling, the first gusts of the storm rage over the plain. The
little flame, a greater anxiety to the woman than her own children,
flickers unsteadily in the blast. What is to be done? A sudden thought
occurs to her, and in an instant she has constructed a primitive hut
out of strips of bark, to protect the flame against rain and wind.
This, or something very like it, was the way in which the principle
of the house was discovered; and even the most hardened misogynist
cannot fairly refuse a woman the credit of it. The protection of the
hearth-fire from the weather is the germ from which the human
dwelling was evolved. Men had little, if any share, in this forward
step, and that only at a late stage. Even at the present day, the
plastering of the housewall with clay and the manufacture of pottery
are exclusively the women’s business. These are two very significant
survivals. Our European kitchen-garden, too, is originally a woman’s
invention, and the hoe, the primitive instrument of agriculture, is,
characteristically enough, still used in this department. But the
noblest achievement which we owe to the other sex is unquestionably
the art of cookery. Roasting alone—the oldest process—is one for
which men took the hint (a very obvious one) from nature. It must
have been suggested by the scorched carcase of some animal
overtaken by the destructive forest-fires. But boiling—the process of
improving organic substances by the help of water heated to boiling-
point—is a much later discovery. It is so recent that it has not even
yet penetrated to all parts of the world. The Polynesians understand
how to steam food, that is, to cook it, neatly wrapped in leaves, in a
hole in the earth between hot stones, the air being excluded, and
(sometimes) a few drops of water sprinkled on the stones; but they
do not understand boiling.
To come back from this digression, we find that the slender Nyasa
woman has, after once more carefully examining the finished pot,
put it aside in the shade to dry. On the following day she sends me
word by her son, Salim Matola, who is always on hand, that she is
going to do the burning, and, on coming out of my house, I find her
already hard at work. She has spread on the ground a layer of very
dry sticks, about as thick as one’s thumb, has laid the pot (now of a
yellowish-grey colour) on them, and is piling brushwood round it.
My faithful Pesa mbili, the mnyampara, who has been standing by,
most obligingly, with a lighted stick, now hands it to her. Both of
them, blowing steadily, light the pile on the lee side, and, when the
flame begins to catch, on the weather side also. Soon the whole is in a
blaze, but the dry fuel is quickly consumed and the fire dies down, so
that we see the red-hot vessel rising from the ashes. The woman
turns it continually with a long stick, sometimes one way and
sometimes another, so that it may be evenly heated all over. In
twenty minutes she rolls it out of the ash-heap, takes up the bundle
of spinach, which has been lying for two days in a jar of water, and
sprinkles the red-hot clay with it. The places where the drops fall are
marked by black spots on the uniform reddish-brown surface. With a
sigh of relief, and with visible satisfaction, the woman rises to an
erect position; she is standing just in a line between me and the fire,
from which a cloud of smoke is just rising: I press the ball of my
camera, the shutter clicks—the apotheosis is achieved! Like a
priestess, representative of her inventive sex, the graceful woman
stands: at her feet the hearth-fire she has given us beside her the
invention she has devised for us, in the background the home she has
built for us.
At Newala, also, I have had the manufacture of pottery carried on
in my presence. Technically the process is better than that already
described, for here we find the beginnings of the potter’s wheel,
which does not seem to exist in the plains; at least I have seen
nothing of the sort. The artist, a frightfully stupid Makua woman, did
not make a depression in the ground to receive the pot she was about
to shape, but used instead a large potsherd. Otherwise, she went to
work in much the same way as Salim’s mother, except that she saved
herself the trouble of walking round and round her work by squatting
at her ease and letting the pot and potsherd rotate round her; this is
surely the first step towards a machine. But it does not follow that
the pot was improved by the process. It is true that it was beautifully
rounded and presented a very creditable appearance when finished,
but the numerous large and small vessels which I have seen, and, in
part, collected, in the “less advanced” districts, are no less so. We
moderns imagine that instruments of precision are necessary to
produce excellent results. Go to the prehistoric collections of our
museums and look at the pots, urns and bowls of our ancestors in the
dim ages of the past, and you will at once perceive your error.
MAKING LONGITUDINAL CUT IN
BARK

DRAWING THE BARK OFF THE LOG

REMOVING THE OUTER BARK


BEATING THE BARK

WORKING THE BARK-CLOTH AFTER BEATING, TO MAKE IT


SOFT

MANUFACTURE OF BARK-CLOTH AT NEWALA


To-day, nearly the whole population of German East Africa is
clothed in imported calico. This was not always the case; even now in
some parts of the north dressed skins are still the prevailing wear,
and in the north-western districts—east and north of Lake
Tanganyika—lies a zone where bark-cloth has not yet been
superseded. Probably not many generations have passed since such
bark fabrics and kilts of skins were the only clothing even in the
south. Even to-day, large quantities of this bright-red or drab
material are still to be found; but if we wish to see it, we must look in
the granaries and on the drying stages inside the native huts, where
it serves less ambitious uses as wrappings for those seeds and fruits
which require to be packed with special care. The salt produced at
Masasi, too, is packed for transport to a distance in large sheets of
bark-cloth. Wherever I found it in any degree possible, I studied the
process of making this cloth. The native requisitioned for the
purpose arrived, carrying a log between two and three yards long and
as thick as his thigh, and nothing else except a curiously-shaped
mallet and the usual long, sharp and pointed knife which all men and
boys wear in a belt at their backs without a sheath—horribile dictu!
[51]
Silently he squats down before me, and with two rapid cuts has
drawn a couple of circles round the log some two yards apart, and
slits the bark lengthwise between them with the point of his knife.
With evident care, he then scrapes off the outer rind all round the
log, so that in a quarter of an hour the inner red layer of the bark
shows up brightly-coloured between the two untouched ends. With
some trouble and much caution, he now loosens the bark at one end,
and opens the cylinder. He then stands up, takes hold of the free
edge with both hands, and turning it inside out, slowly but steadily
pulls it off in one piece. Now comes the troublesome work of
scraping all superfluous particles of outer bark from the outside of
the long, narrow piece of material, while the inner side is carefully
scrutinised for defective spots. At last it is ready for beating. Having
signalled to a friend, who immediately places a bowl of water beside
him, the artificer damps his sheet of bark all over, seizes his mallet,
lays one end of the stuff on the smoothest spot of the log, and
hammers away slowly but continuously. “Very simple!” I think to
myself. “Why, I could do that, too!”—but I am forced to change my
opinions a little later on; for the beating is quite an art, if the fabric is
not to be beaten to pieces. To prevent the breaking of the fibres, the
stuff is several times folded across, so as to interpose several
thicknesses between the mallet and the block. At last the required
state is reached, and the fundi seizes the sheet, still folded, by both
ends, and wrings it out, or calls an assistant to take one end while he
holds the other. The cloth produced in this way is not nearly so fine
and uniform in texture as the famous Uganda bark-cloth, but it is
quite soft, and, above all, cheap.
Now, too, I examine the mallet. My craftsman has been using the
simpler but better form of this implement, a conical block of some
hard wood, its base—the striking surface—being scored across and
across with more or less deeply-cut grooves, and the handle stuck
into a hole in the middle. The other and earlier form of mallet is
shaped in the same way, but the head is fastened by an ingenious
network of bark strips into the split bamboo serving as a handle. The
observation so often made, that ancient customs persist longest in
connection with religious ceremonies and in the life of children, here
finds confirmation. As we shall soon see, bark-cloth is still worn
during the unyago,[52] having been prepared with special solemn
ceremonies; and many a mother, if she has no other garment handy,
will still put her little one into a kilt of bark-cloth, which, after all,
looks better, besides being more in keeping with its African
surroundings, than the ridiculous bit of print from Ulaya.
MAKUA WOMEN

You might also like