Intercepts, Zeroes, and

Asymptotes of Rational
Functions
A. Which of the following is an example
of rational function?
 A.

RATIONAL FUNCTION

B. RATIONAL EQUATION

C. +3<0
RATIONAL INEQUALITY
DOMAIN
is the set of first coordinates of a relation and it is
the value of x that will not make the denominator
of the function equal to zero.
Finding the domain:
1. equate the denominator to zero.
2. solve for x , this value should be avoided so that
the function will not give an undefined or a
meaningless function.
  
Example find the domain of;


 Equate the denominator to zero

 X+3=0
 X =0–3
 X = -3
 Domain:{x│xER,x ≠ -3} or ( -∞, -3) U (-3 , ∞ )
  
Find the domain:


X–4=0
X=0+4
X=4
Domain = {x│xER, x≠ 4} or (-∞, 𝟒) ∪ (𝟒, ∞)
  
Find the domain;


= (x + 1) (x – 1)
= x+1=0 x–1=0
x=o–1 x = 0+1
x = -1 x =1
Domain = {x│xER, x≠ −1 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 ≠ 1} or
(-∞, −𝟏) ∪ (−𝟏, 𝟏) ∪ (𝟏, ∞)
RANGE
is the set of second coordinates.
How to find the range:
1. Change f(x) to y
2. Solve for x
3. Equate the denominator to 0.
   the range:
Find


 Change F(x) to y, the new function is y=

 By doing cross multiplication y(x + 3) = x
 Distributive Property xy + 3y = x
 Simplify the equation xy – x = -3y
 Factor the left side x(y-1) = -3y
 Divide the equation by (y- 1) =
 Remove common factor, the value of x x=
Since we are looking for the value of y that will give a
real value for the function so we need to find the values
for y that will not make the denominator equal to 0
Equate the denominator to zero.
y–1 =0
y=0+1
y=1
Range = {y/yER, y≠ 1} or (-∞, 𝟏) ∪ (𝟏, ∞)
  
Find the range:


xy – 4y = 3
xy = 3 + 4y

x=
y=0 Range = {y/yER, y≠ 0} or (-∞, 𝟎) ∪ (𝟎, ∞)
 Find the range
 
𝑥 +1
𝑔 (𝑥 )= 2
 
𝑥 −1
y=
y=
xy – y = 1
Xy = 1 + y

y=0

Range = {y/y ≠ 0} or (-∞, 𝟎) ∪ (𝟎, ∞)

INTERCEPTS
The intercepts of the graph of
a rational function are the
points of intersection of its
graph and an axis
y - intercept
The y-intercept of the graph of a
rational function r(x) if it exists,
occurs at r(0), provided that r(x) is
defined at x = 0. To find y-intercept
simply evaluate the function at x = 0
x - intercept
The x-intercept of the graph of a
rational function r(x), if it exists, occurs
at the zeros of the numerator that are not
zeros of the denominators. To find x –
intercept equate the function to 0.
Zeroes of a function
The zeroes of a function are the
values of x which make the
function zero. The numbered
zeroes are also x-intercepts of the
graph of the function.
  

1. To find x – intercept equate the function to 0.

0 =
= 0
(x+1) () = 0 (x+1)
3 – x = 0
3 = 0+x
3 = x
The x-intercept is (3,0)
  

3x = 0

x=0

x – intercept is 0 or (0,0)

  To find the y-intercept:

1. Change the x value of the function to 0.

2. Simplify.
Example:

So, the y – intercept is -

  
To find the zeroes of a rational function;


1. Equate the function to 0 or solve for the x-intercept of

the function by equating the numerator to zero.

x–2=0
x=0+2
x=2 thus, the zero of g(x) is 2.
  

Simplify by factoring the denominator.

1=0
False statement. So there is no zero of the function.
Which means that no point on the graph touches the x- axis.
ASYMPTOTES
An asymptotes is an imaginary line to
which a graph gets closer and closer
as the x or y increases or decreases
its value without limit.
Kinds of Asymptotes:
Vertical Asymptotes
Horizontal Asymptotes
Oblique / Slant Asymptote
Vertical Asymptote

The vertical line x = a is a vertical

asymptote of a function f if the graph
increases or decreases without bound as
the x values approach a from the right
or left.
 Finding the Vertical Asymptote
  First reduce the given function to simplest form
 Find the zeroes of the denominator that are not zeros of the numerator.
Example:

F(x) =
(x – 1) = 0 (x + 5) = 0
x=0+1 x=0-5
x= 1 x = -5
The vertical asymptote for F(x) = is x=-5.
Horizontal Asymptote

The horizontal line y = b is a

horizontal asymptote of the
function f if f(x) gets closer to b
as x increases or decreases
without bound.
To determine the horizontal asymptote of a rational
function, compare the degree of the numerator n and
the degree of the denominator d .
If n < d, the horizontal asymptote is y = 0
If n = d, the horizontal asymptote y is the ratio of
the leading coefficient of the numerator a, to the
leading coefficient of the denominator b. That is y
= a/b.
If n > d, there is no horizontal asymptote.
  𝑓 ( 𝑥 )= 3 𝑥 + 8
2
𝑥 +1
n=1 d=2 n<d
The degree of the numerator 3x + 1 is
less than the degree of the denominator
x2 + 1.
Therefore, the horizontal asymptote is y
= 0.
 2
  3 +8 𝑥
𝑓 ( 𝑥 )= 2
𝑥 +1
 n=2

d=2 n=d
The horizontal asymptote y is equal to the
ratio of the leading coefficient of the
numerator 8 to the leading coefficient of the
denominator 1
 that is y =
 3
  8 𝑥 −1
𝑔 (𝑥 )= 2
1− 𝑥
n=3 d=2 n>d
The degree of the numerator 8x3 – 1 is
greater than the degree of the
denominator 1 – x2.
Therefore, there is no horizontal
asymptote.
Slant / Oblique Asymptote

An oblique asymptote is a line that is

neither vertical nor horizontal.
It occurs when the numerator of f(x) has a
degree that is one higher than the degree of
the denominator.
 Finding Oblique / Slant Asymptote
Simply divide the numerator by the
denominator by either using long divisions or
synthetic division.
The oblique asymptote is the quotient with the
remainder ignored and set equal to y.
 2
  𝑥 +3
h ( 𝑥) =
𝑥 −1
   looking at the function, h(x) is undefined at x = 1, so the vertical asymptote of
By
h(x) is the line x = 1.
 There is no horizontal asymptote because the degree of the numerator is greater
than the degree of the denominator.
 =x–1