TEACHER NOTES

maths in focus
Mathematics and Extension 1
Year 12

CHAPTER 7 INVERSE FUNCTIONS

Inverse Functions Using GeoGebra (Ext 1)

AIM

For students to see how inverse functions can be formed and investigate their equations,
domains and ranges.

INTRODUCTION

Ask students to generate a simple inverse function by interchanging x and y in the equation and
drawing their graphs.

METHOD

• Ask students to generate the inverse function of y = x 3 .

• Show them how to interchange x and y and rearrange the equation to make y the subject in
order to form the new equation (see Example 1).

• Discuss how the domain and ranges interchange.

• Demonstrate the graphs of the inverse functions using the steps below on GeoGebra:

— Go to ‘View’ and click ‘Grid’.

— Type y = x ^ 3 in the input box at the bottom of the screen and press enter.
— Type in y = x in the input box at the bottom of the screen and press enter to see the line of
reflection.
— Right click on the graph and go to properties: click on ‘Show label’ and then name and
value to display the equation and also click on colour to change the colour.
— Type in y = x ^ (1/3) in the input box at the bottom of the screen and press enter to see the
inverse of y = x 3.
— Right click on the graph and go to properties: click on name and value to display the
equation and also change the colour.
— Save the file as Inverse1 and discuss with the students how the domains and ranges
interchange for inverse functions.

Copyright © 2010©Cengage
Copyright Learning Australia.
2010 McGraw-Hill Australia.Permission
Permission is granted
is granted to reproduce
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TEACHER NOTES
maths in focus
Mathematics and Extension 1
Year 12

CHAPTER 7 INVERSE FUNCTIONS

Inverse Functions Using GeoGebra (Ext 1) (Cont.)

• Demonstrate another example and show how the domain has to be restricted to make the
inverse of a function (see Example 2).

• Follow the same steps on GeoGebra to demonstrate the graphs.

• Show how y = sin x has an inverse function only if the domain is restricted and
demonstrate y = sin- 1 x (see Example 3).

• Ask students to work out inverse functions for y = cos x and y = tan x.

EXAMPLES

Example 1
Find the equation of the inverse function of y = x 3 and hence sketch the graph of y = x 3,
y = x and the inverse of y = x 3. What are the domains and ranges of each function?

The inverse of y = x 3 is
x = y 3 and this can be rearranged to be
1
y = x3
y

5
4
3
2
1
x
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 1 3 4 5
-1
1 -2
g(x) = x( 3)
-3

a: y = x -4
-5
f x) = x3
f(

Domain of y = x 3 is all real x.

Range of y = x 3 is all real y.
The domain of the original function will become the range of the inverse function and the
range of the original will become the domain of the inverse function. In this case they are
the same.

Copyright © 2010©Cengage
Copyright Learning Australia.
2010 McGraw-Hill Australia.Permission
Permission is granted
is granted to reproduce
to reproduce for classroom
for classroom use. use. 2
TEACHER NOTES
maths in focus
Mathematics and Extension 1
Year 12

CHAPTER 7 INVERSE FUNCTIONS

Inverse Functions Using GeoGebra (Ext 1) (Cont.)

1
Hence, the domain of y = x 3 is all real x and the range is all real y.

For y = x 3 the inverse is a function, but not all curves have a function for their inverse.
To check, we use a horizontal line test. If a horizontal line cuts the original curve in more
than 1 point its inverse will not be a function. To overcome this problem we restrict the
domain of the original so an inverse function will exist. See the next example.

Example 2
(a) Does y = x 2 + 2 have an inverse function?

(b) If not, restrict the domain so that it will have an inverse.

(c) Find the equation of this inverse function, state its domain and range and sketch it.

(a) Try the horizontal line test to see if y = x 2 + 2 has an inverse.

y
7
y = x2+ 2
6
5

A 4
B
3
2
1

-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 1 2 3 4 5 x
-1
-2
-3

The horizontal line cuts the curve in more than 1 point so its inverse is not a function.

(b) To restrict the domain, see where the curve reflects on itself. In this case use the x
value of the vertex to restrict the domain to x $ 0.

(c) The equation of the inverse will be

x = y2 + 2
y2 = x - 2
1
y = ]x - 2 g2

Copyright © 2010©Cengage
Copyright Learning Australia.
2010 McGraw-Hill Australia.Permission
Permission is granted
is granted to reproduce
to reproduce for classroom
for classroom use. use. 3
TEACHER NOTES
maths in focus
Mathematics and Extension 1
Year 12

CHAPTER 7 INVERSE FUNCTIONS

Inverse Functions Using GeoGebra (Ext 1) (Cont.)

The domain of the original function is x $ 0 so this becomes the range of the inverse
function y $ 0 and the range of the original is y $ 2, which becomes the domain of the
inverse function x $ 2.
y

9
8
7
c: y = x2 + 2
6
5
4
a: y = x
3
2
1 f x) = (x-2)^0.5
f(
x
-1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
-1

Example 3
(a) Does y = sin x have an inverse function?

(b) If not, restrict the domain so that it will have an inverse.

(c) Find the equation of this inverse function, state its domain and range and sketch it.

Copyright © 2010©Cengage
Copyright Learning Australia.
2010 McGraw-Hill Australia.Permission
Permission is granted
is granted to reproduce
to reproduce for classroom
for classroom use. use. 4
TEACHER NOTES
maths in focus
Mathematics and Extension 1
Year 12

CHAPTER 7 INVERSE FUNCTIONS

Inverse Functions Using GeoGebra (Ext 1) (Cont.)

(a) Try the horizontal line test to see if y = sin x has an inverse.

y y

x
y=
1.0

a:
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
1
x
␲ 0 ␲ ␲ 2␲ -1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 x
-
2-1 2
-0.4
f(x) = sin(x)
-0.6
-0.8
-1.0
g(x) = a sin(x)

The horizontal line cuts the curve in more than 1 point so its inverse is not a function.

(b) To restrict the domain, see where the curve reflects on itself. In this case restrict the
r r
domain to - # x # as this is where the curve is monotonic increasing and where
2 2
turning points occur.

(c) The equation of the inverse will be

x = sin y
y = sin - 1 x

r r
The domain of the original function is - # x # so this becomes the range of the
2 2
r r
inverse function: - # y # and the range of the original is - 1 # y # 1 which becomes
2 2
the domain of the inverse function: - 1 # x # 1 See GeoGebra for the sketches.

ASSESSMENT

Students could hand in a portfolio of inverse functions ranging from simple functions to the
inverse trigonometric functions.

Copyright © 2010©Cengage
Copyright Learning Australia.
2010 McGraw-Hill Australia.Permission
Permission is granted
is granted to reproduce
to reproduce for classroom
for classroom use. use. 5