Conditional

Functions
Objectives
Sketch

the graph of a conditional

function

Determine

its domain and range

Definition
A conditional

(or piecewise)
function is a function of the form

where

f i ' s are functions.

Domain and Range

The

domain of conditional
functions in general is given by
n

Udom f x x satisfies condition i .

i

i 1

While

its range is

U f ( x) x satisfies condition i .
i

i 1

Both

of which are tedious to

compute.

Graph
graph of F ( x ) is a
concatenation of the graphs
of each of the f i ' s , subject
to their respective
restrictions.
Thus, you cant just forget
how to sketch the graphs of
function we have discussed.

The

Example 1.
Consider

Example 2.
Consider

Example 3.
Consider

f ( x)

x 2 4 , x 2
x 4
2

,x 2

Example 4.
Consider

5 x ,
h( x )

x 5

25 x , 5 x 5
0
5 x

 5 x ,

Example 4.
h( x )

x 5

25 x 2 , 5 x 5
5 x

More Examples
x 3 , x 3

f ( x)

2 x 1

, x 3

x 2 2 x 1 , x 3

g ( x) 9 x 2
2x 1

, 3 x 2
,x 2

Recall.

x,
x
x,
5 5
5 5

x0
x0
x 0 x R

Absolute Value
Functions
We will consider absolute
value functions of the
form

The graph of this function is

a V opening upwards if
and opening
downwards if
The tip occurs at

Absolute Value
Functions

The domain is R .
The range is either ( , k ]
or [ k , ) .

Example 1.
Consider
Graph

opens upward.
Tip is at (1,3)
Domain is
.
Range is
.
Table of values and graph.

x
f(x)

5
4
3
2
1
4

1
2

0
5

2
5

Example 2.
Consider
Graph

opens downward.
Tip is at (-2,1)
Domain is
.
Range is
.
Table of values and graph.

x
f(x)

3
2
1
4

1
2
3
4

-3
-2

-1
-2

Try These!
f ( x) 2 x 1 3
g ( x) 2 3 5 x