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MODULE I
FUNCTIONS

CONTENTS:

Lesson 1: Functions and Functional Notation

Lesson 2: Piecewise Defined Functions
Lesson 3: Domain and Range of Functions
Lesson 4: Graphs of Functions
Lesson 5: Operations on Functions

OVERVIEW OF THE MODULE:

One of the fundamental concepts that students deal with in calculus is

functions. In this module, we will define and develop the concept of functions,
their graphs, ways of transforming and combining functions and enumerate some
important functions that plays very important role in calculus.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES:

After completing this module, the students are expected to accomplish the
following:

 define functions;
 evaluate functions;
 graph functions;
 determine the domain and range of functions;
 transform one function into another function and combine functions to
obtain new functions; and
 enumerate some important functions and study their basic properties.
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HISTORICAL NOTES:

“The Calculus” is a phrase we use to denote that branch of mathematics

which studies properties of functions (“curves”) which are associated with the
limit process (continuity, differentiation, integration). Calculus is the introductory
level of a more general branch of mathematics which is called “analysis.”
Analysis deals generally with infinite processes and includes such areas as real
analysis, complex analysis, and differential equations. Kline calls the calculus
one of the two greatest creations in the history of mathematics.

The term function – Latin functio – first appeared in a mathematical article in

the Acta Eruditorem to denote various tasks that a straight line may accomplish
with respect to a curve, such as forming a chord, tangent, or normal. The article
was signed O.V.E. but is attributed to Gottfried von Leibniz, the German
mathematician. In an article from 1694, also in Acta Eruditorem, Leibniz gave
the term “function” a more specific meaning by letting it denote the slope of a
curve, a definition that has very little in common with the present day
mathematical definition of a function.

The Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler in 1749 defined a function as a

variable quantity that is dependent upon another quantity, thereby approaching
today’s definition. The notation f(x) is attributed to him and he wrote one of the
most influential algebra books of all time.

Euler’s definition was challenged when the French physicist and

mathematician Joseph Fourier in 1822 presented his work on heat flow (Theorie
analytique de la Chaleur). For his investigations, Fourier introduced series with
sines and cosines as terms, which led to the concept that a given representation
of a function may be valid for only a certain range of values.

Based on Fourier’s investigations, the German mathematician Lejeune

Dirichlet in 1837 proposed that, from the mathematical point of view, a function is
a correspondence that assigns a unique value of the dependent variable to every
permitted value of an independent variable. There will be a reason to return to
this definition many times in this text.

Another milestone in the development of analysis was the appearance of

The Theory of Analytic Functions, by Joseph Louis Lagrange, in 1797. This may
be thought of as the beginning of the modern theory of functions of a real
variable. (adapted from Mathematics From the Birth of Numbers by Jan
Gullberg, 1997)
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SUGGESTED READINGS:

Goldstein, Lay and Schneider. Calculus and its Applications (7 th edition).

Prentice Hall, Singapore: 1998.

Anton, Howard. Calculus Brief Edition (6th edition). Wiley, Singapore: 1999.

Stewart, James. Calculus – Concepts and Contexts (2nd edition).

Brooks/Cole, Singapore: 2001.
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LESSON 1: Functions and Functional Notation

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this lesson, the students are expected to accomplish the
following:
 define functions;
 distinguish between dependent and independent variables;
 represent functions in different ways; and
 evaluate functions.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES:

Class discussion using highly-expository instructional method is encouraged

to be used in this topic. Students are expected to complete the exercises in this
lesson before introducing the next lesson. The instructor will use a portion of the
class time to discuss problems in Exercise 1.1 while other problems may be
assigned as homework for mastery.

This lesson may also be introduced using the illustration below:

A software consulting company monitored the costs of different software

development projects and summarized observations in a table:

Project Name Duration Cost

( in months) ( in P1,000)
001 15 315
002 10 215
003 50 1,015
004 25 515
005 10 215
006 25 515
007 15 315

Let them think about this question: “Did you notice that there is a simple
relationship between duration and cost? Can you write a formula to compute the
cost based on the value of the duration?”

If we look at the table, we find that Cost = 15 + 20 * Duration. This is a much

compact and useful description of the data than the table. You can use this
formula to describe any project in the table and also to estimate the cost of a new
project.
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In order to gauge the students’ understanding of the concept of functions, ask

your students to collect clippings that illustrate functions. Ask your students to
illustrate the function using the different representations of functions. Identify the
dependent and independent variables.

DISCUSSION OF THE TOPICS:

In many practical situations, the value of one quantity may depend on the
value of a second quantity. For example,

 The area A of a square depends on the value of its edge s. The rule
that associates A and s is given by A = s2, such that for each value of s
there corresponds one value of A.
 The person’s salary S may depend on the number of hours h worked.
 The fare F on public utility jeepney depends on distance d traveled.
For instance, for the first 4 kilometers, F is equal to P4.00 and an
additional P0.50 for the next succeeding kilometers, that is
F = 4, 0d4
F = 4 + 0.50d, d>4
The value of F depends on the value of d.

Such relationships can often be represented mathematically as functions.

A function is a correspondence from a set X of real numbers x to a set Y

of real numbers y, where the number y is unique for a specific value of x.

This definition is illustrated in Figure 1.1.

X Y

 
 

Figure 1.1

A variable y is a function of x if a relationship between x and y produces

exactly one value of y for each value of x.
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Example 1.1. According to a certain function, a number is obtained by

subtracting 1 from the square of a certain number. What number
does this function assign to 2?
Solution:

If we let y as the number produced by applying the function to the certain

number, say x, then the function is expressed as
y = x2 – 1.

Thus, if x = 0, y = -1; if x = 1, y = 0; if x = -1, y = 0; if x = 2, y = 3; etc.

Illustrating these values on a table, we have

x 0 1 -1 2
y -1 0 0 3 
Therefor e, the number assigned to 2 is
3.

Furthermore, in example 1.1, the set of values of x with its corresponding

values of y can be denoted by (x, y), called an ordered pair. Thus, the set of all
(x, y), say set A, as described in the function is A ={(0, -1), (1, 0), (-1, 0),
(2, 3), . . .}.

The numerical value of the variable y is determined by a chosen value of the

variable x. For this reason, y is sometimes referred to as the dependent variable
and x as the independent variable.

In order to have a function, there must be one value of the dependent

variable for each value of the independent variable. Or, there could also be two
or more independent variables for every dependent variable. These
correspondences are called one-to-one correspondence and many-to-one
correspondence, respectively. Therefore, a function is a set of ordered pairs of
numbers (x, y) in which no two distinct ordered pairs have the same first number.
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Example 1.2. Determine whether or not each of the following sets represents a
function:
a. A = {(-1, -1), (10, 0), (2, -3), (-4, -1)}
b. B = {(2, a), (2, -a), (2, 2a), (3, a2)}
c. C = {(a, b)| a and b are integers and a = b2)
d. D = {(a, b)| a and b are positive integers and a = b2}
e. E = {(x, y)| y2 = x  4 }

Solutions:
a. A is a function. There are more than one element as the first component of
the ordered pair with the same second component namely (-1, -1) and
(-4, -1), called a many-to-one correspondence. One-to-many
correspondence is a not function but many-to-one correspondence is a
function.
b. B is a not a function. There exists one-to-many correspondence namely,
(2, a), (2, -a) and (2, 2a).
c. C is not a function. There exists a one-to-many correspondence in C such
as (1, 1) and (1, -1), (4, 2) and (4, -2), (9, 3) and (9, -3), etc.
d. D is a function. The ordered pairs with negative values in solution c above
are no longer elements of C since a and b are given as positive integers.
Therefore, one-to-many correspondence does not exist anymore in set D.
e. E is not a function because for every value of x, y will have two values.

As we have seen in the discussions above, functions can be represented in

four basic ways:

 numerically by tables or set notations;

 geometrically by graphs (to be illustrated later);
 algebraically by formulas; and,
 verbally by descriptions.

Function Notation. A versatile notation for function is widely used. A

letter such as f is chosen to stand for the function itself, and the value that the
function assigns to x is denoted by f(x) where x is called the argument of the
function. The symbol f(x) is read as “f of x.” Other letters such as h, g, F, G and
H may also be used to denote functions.
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Example 1.3. If f(x) = x 2 –1, find: (a) f(3), (b) f(0), (c) f(a), (d) f(a 2 +1), (e)
[f(a)]2, and (f) [f(a + h)]2.
Solutions:
a. f(3) = 32 – 1
=8
b. f(0) = 02 – 1
= -1
c. f(a) = a2 – 1

d. f(a2 + 1) = (a2 + 1)2 – 1

= a4 + 2a2 + 1 – 1
= a4 + 2a2

e. [f(a)]2 = (a2 –1)2

f. [f(a + h)]2 = [(a + h)2 –1]2

= [(a2 + 2ah + h2) – 1]2
= (a2 + 2ah + h2 – 1)2

g( x  h)  g( x )
Example 1.4. Find (a) g(2 + h), (b) g(x + h), (c) where h  0 if
h
x
g(x) = .
x 1
Solutions:

2h 2h 2h

a. g(2 + h) = = = .
( 2  h)  1 2  h  1 3h
xh
b. g( x  h) 
x  h 1
x h x (x  1)(x  h)  x(x  h  1)

g(x  h)  g(x) x  h  1 x  1 (x  h  1)(x  1)
c.  
h h h
x 2  hx  x  h  x 2  hx  x h
 
h(x  h  1)(x  1) h(x  1)(x  h  1)
1
 .
(x  1)(x  h  1)
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k
Example 1.5. Given that F(x) = 1/x, show that F(x + k) – F(x) = .
x  kx
2

Solution:
1
F(x) = 1/x and F(x + k) = , then
xk
1 1
F(x + k) – F(x) = 
xk x
x  x k

x( x  k )
k

x  kx
2

Example 1.6. Given H(y) = 4y , show that H(y + 1) – H(y) = 3H(y).

Solution:
H(y) = 4y; H(y + 1) = 4y + 1, then
H(y + 1) – H(y) = 4y + 1 – 4y
= 4y (4 – 1)
= 3(4y); but H(y) = 4y.
Therefore: H(y + 1) – H(y) = 3 H(y).

Example 1.7. If f(x, y) = x3 + 4xy2 + y3 , show that f(ax, ay) = a3f(x, y).
Solution:
Since f(x, y) = x3 + 4xy2 + y3 , then
f(ax, ay) = (ax)3 + 4(ax)(ay)2 + (ay)3
= a3x3 + 4a3xy2 + a3y3
= a3(x3 + 4xy2 + y3); but f(x, y) = x3 + 4xy2 + y3
Therefore: f(ax, ay) = a3f(x, y).
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uv  1 1
Example 1.8. If f(u, v) = , find f  ,   f(u, v).
uv u v 
Solution:
1 1 v u

uv  1 1  v -u
f(u, v) = , and f  ,   u v  uv  , then
uv u v  1  1 v u u v
u v uv
 1 1 v -u u-v v -u-u v
f  ,   f(u, v).   
 u v  u  v u  v uv
- 2u  2v uv  uv
  2  ; but f(u, v) 
uv  u  v  u v
 1 1
Therefore, f  ,   f(u, v)  -2f(u, v).
u v 
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EXERCISES:

1. Which of the following represents a function?

a. A = {(2, -3), (1, 0), (0, 0), (-1, -1)}
b. B = {(a, b)|b = ea}
c. C = {(x, y)| y = 2x + 1}
d. D = {(a, b)|b = 1 a2 }
e. E = {(x, y)|y = (x -1)2 + 2}
f. F = {(x, y)|x = (y+1)3 – 2}
g. G = {(x, y)|x2 + y2 = 1}
h. H = {(x, y)|x  y}
i. I = {(x, y)| |x| + |y| = 1}
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j. J = {(x, y)|x is positive integer and x = y  3  7 }

2. Given the function f defined by f(x) = 2x2 + 3x – 1, find:

a. f(0) f. f(3 – x2)
b. f(1/2) g. f(2x3)
c. f(-3) h. f(x) + f(h)
d. f(k + 1) i. [f(x)]2 – [f(2)]2
f ( x  h)  f ( x )
e. f(h – 1) j. ;h  0
h

3. Given F(x) = 2x  3 , find:

a. F(-1) d. F(1/2)
F( x  h)  F( x )
b. F(4) e. ;h  0
h
c. F(2x + 3)

4. If (x) = cos x, find (0), (/2), (), (-x) and ( - y).

5. If G(x) = tan x, find G(/6), G(x - /2), G(-x) and express G(2x) as function
of G(x).

3 4
6. Find all real values of x such that f(x) = 0 for f ( x )   .
x 1 x  2

7. Find the values of x for which f(x) = g(x) where f (x)  2x  1 and
g(x) = x – 1.

8. Let f(x) = ax such that f(1) = 6. What is the value of a? What is the value
of a if f(1/2) = 1/8?

9. If h(x) = sin x, show that h(2x) = 2 h(x) h(/2 – x).

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y 1
10. If g(y) = 1  y , show that [g( y )  g(  y )]  g( y 2 ).
2

11. If H(x) = logb 1/x, show that H(b-1/z) = 1/z.