FUNCTIONS AS

REPRESENTATIONS OF
REAL-LIFE SITUATIONS
EXAMPLE 1
Give a function C that can
represent the cost of buying x
meals, if one meal costs Php40.00.

C(x) = 40x
 The computer
EXAMPLE 2 rental in an internet
shop varies directly as the numbers of
hours used. Bernard used a computer
for 1 hour and paid P20.00. Write a
function C that represent the cost of
rental in relation to the number of
hours x used.

C(x) = 20x
EXAMPLE
George cuts2 grass. He charges a
P250 fee just for coming to the
house and P30 per hour. Write a
function that represents the cost,
C, as a function of h, the number of
hours it takes to cut the grass.

C(h) = 30h + 250

PIECEWISE
FUNCTIONS
 A Globe subscriber
EXAMPLE 3 is charged Php 300.00
monthly for a particular mobile plan, which
includes 100 free text messages. Messages in
excess of 100 are charged Php 1.00 each.
Represent the amount of consumer pays each
month as a function of the number of messages
m sent in a month.
EXAMPLE
A jeepney ride4costs Php 8.00 for the first 4
kilometers, and each additional integer
kilometer adds Php 1.50 to the fare. Use a
piecewise function to represent the jeepney fare
in terms of the distance d in kilometers.
EXAMPLE 5
A videoke machine can be rented for Php
1,000.00 for three days, but for the fourth day
onwards, an additional cost of Php 400.00 per
day is added. Represent the cost of renting a
videoke machine as a piecewise function of the
number of days it is rented and plot its graph.
 The cost of hiring JLT catering service to serve food
for a party is Php 150 per head for 20 persons or less,
Php 130 per head for 21 to 50 persons, and Php110
per head for 51 to 100 persons. For more than 100
persons, the cost is at Php 100 per head. Represent
the total cost as a piecewise function of the number
of attendees of the party.
EXAMPLE 7
Mark started selling snacks in Dingras NHS. In
one day he spends Php 200.00 for rent and Php
25.00 for each snack item he prepares. His
expenses in a single day can be expressed as the
function C(x) = 25x + 200, where x is the number
of items and C(x) is his daily expenses in pesos.
How much are his expenses if he prepares 100
snack items?

Php 2,700.00
In real life, however, functions are
represented by a combination of
equations, each corresponding to a part
of the domain.
These are called piecewise functions.
•One equation gives the value of
f(x) when x ≤ 1
•And the other when x>1
EVALUATE F(X) WHEN X=0, X=2, X=4

• First you have to figure out which equation to use

• You NEVER use both
X=0
This one fits
X=2 X=4
Into the top This one fits here This one fits here
equation So:
So: So:
2(2) + 1 = 5 2(4) + 1 = 9
0+2=2
f(0)=2 f(2) = 5 f(4) = 9
GRAPH:

• For all x’s < 1, use the top graph (to the left of 1)

• For all x’s ≥ 1, use the bottom graph (to the

• right of 1)
x=1 is the breaking
point of the graph.

To the left is the top

equation.

To the right is the

bottom equation.
GRAPH:

Point of Discontinuity