2 Functions of one variable

2.1 Purely mathematical

28. Find the domain of the following functions:

(a) f (x) = x−0.5
x+0.5

(b) f (x) = x+5

x2 +x−6
√
(c) f (x) = x−3
√
(d) f (x) = 4x + 3
3

(e) f (x) = √1
3−x
(f) f (x) = e x

(g) f (x) = 1
log3 x

(h) f (x) = ln(x2 + 2x − 3)

29. Find the range of the following functions:
(a) function of part c in question 28
(b) function of part d in question 28
(c) function of part e in question 28
(d) function of part f in question 28
(e) function of part g in question 28
30. Find a function (one for each) the domain of which is equal to
(a) ] − 4, +∞[
(b) R \ {−1, 0, 1}
(c) ] − 4, −1[ ∪ ] − 1, +∞[
31. The graph of a function of one variable is given in each case. Find its domain and range.

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32. Do the following implicit equations define a function or a relation which is not a function? Find explicit
equations where possible.
(a) 2x − 23 · y + 37 = 0
(b) 2xy + 3y − x + 1 = 0
(c) x2 + y 3 = 1
(d) y 2 − x2 + 1 = 0
(e) x2 + y 4 = 1
(f) 4x2 y 2 + 4xy 2 − 15y 2 − 4 = 0
(g) y 2 + xy − 2x2 = 0
(h) ex + ey = 1
(i) ex − 2ey = 1
(j) (ex )2 + (ey )2 = 1
33. The following exercises give an implicit equation expressing a relation between two variables, and a value
for one of these variables. Find the corresponding value(s) of the other variable.
2 2 2
−7)
(a) (µ−5)
16 + (σ 36 = 1 and µ = 8, where the variable σ only takes positive values
(b) y 2 − 4xy + x2 = 1 and x = 2
(c) y 3 − xy 2 + xy − y = 0 and x = 0
(d) xey + 2e−y − x2 = 2 and x = 1
34. In each of the following case, find the equation of the inverse function f −1 .
(a) f (x) = x − 7
(b) f (x) = 2x
(c) f (x) = 4 − 5x
(d) f (x) = x3
(e) f (x) = 3x
√
(f) f (x) = 3 x + 5
√
5
(g) f (x) = x−17
(h) f (x) = log3 (x + 1)
35. Consider the function f (x) = x/(x − 1).
(a) Show that the graph of f is symmetric about the line y = x, based on calculations.
(b) This implies that f is its own inverse. Verify explicitly that this is the case by computing f (f (x)).
36. Consider the function f given by y = x4 + ax3 + bx2 + cx + d, where a, b, c and d are constant numbers.
The graph of f is symmetric about the y-axis and its zeros are −1, 0 and 1. Determine the values of the
constant numbers a, b, c and d.

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37. Consider the case-defined function
if 0 ≤ x < 3

x

f (x) = x − 1 if 3 ≤ x ≤ 5
4 if 5 < x ≤ 7



(a) Draw the graph of f .

(b) Find the domain of f .
(c) Find the range of f .
(d) Is f continuous at all x-values?
(e) Is f one-to-one? If so, find the inverse function f −1 .
x2 −3x+2
38. Consider the function f (x) = x−1 .
(a) Draw the graph of f using your calculator. What do you see? Explain!
(b) Is f continuous at x = 1?
39. Make a sign chart of the following continuous functions:
(x2 −1)2
(a) f (x) = x2 +1
(b) f (x) = ln(2 − x2 )
 
(c) f (x) = log 2x−1
x+1
 2 
(d) f (x) = ln x2 +5x+9
x −5x+6

√
3x−6
(e) f (x) = 2
x−4
−8

40. Solve the following inequalities.

(a) ln(1 + x) < 2
(b) x(x − 1)(x − 4) ≤ 0
(c) x2 + 1 > 0
(d) x2 − 3 ≤ x3 − 3x
x2 −6x+5
(e) x ≥0
41. Determine the domain of the following functions:
(a) f (x) = √ 4x−3
2− x2 −7x+10
√3 2
(b) f (x) = √ x −4
√
x+3− 4 9−x

−1
(c) f (x) = 3 + log0.5 (12x − x2 − 27)
 2 
(d) f (x) = ln 7x−x
x −5x+6
2 −12

(e) f (x) = log2 (log3 (log4 x))

42. Find limx→−∞ (x3 − 4x2 − 1 + x).
43. Find the horizontal asymptote(s), if any, of the function y = (3x − 5)/(x − 2).
log3 (16−x2 )
44. Consider the function g defined by g(x) = x+3 .
(a) Find the domain of g.
(b) Use your graphical calculator to make a graph of g. Use an appropriate scale. Make a sketch of the
graph on your paper, based on what you see on the screen. Also indicate the scale used on your
graph.
(c) Based on this graph, determine limx→−3− g(x).
(d) Find all vertical asymptotes of g.

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2.2 Applications

45. The inverse demand function for a certain product is given by the function p = f (q) = 26 − q/40, where
p denotes the unit price of the product and q the demand.
(a) Determine the domain of f .
(b) Determine the range of f .
(c) Draw the graph of f .
46. The revenue function of a firm producing one product is given by r = 1000q − 2q 2 , where q denotes the
demand for the product.
(a) Determine the domain of r(q).
(b) Determine the range of r(q).
(c) For which demand(s) q is the revenue of the firm equal to 0?
(d) Draw the graph of the revenue function.

47. An open box is formed by cutting a square piece out of each corner of a 10-by-8 inch metal plate, as
shown in the picture below. We denote the length of the side of these square pieces, measured in inches,
by x.

(a) Determine the equation of the function which expresses how the volume V of this box depends on x.

(b) Find the domain of the function V (x).

48. At one time, income tax in Belgium was determined as follows:

• If you earn at most €6430, you do not pay any tax.
• If you earn more than €6430, but not more than €7900, taxes amount to 25% of your income minus
€1607.50.
• If you earn more than €7900, but not more than €11 240, taxes amount to 30% of your income
minus €2002.50.
• If you earn more than €11 240, but not more than €18 730, taxes amount to 40% of your income
minus €3126.50.
• If you earn more than €18 730, but not more than €34 330, taxes amount to 45% of your income
minus €4063.
• If you earn more than €34 330, taxes amount to 50% of your income minus €5779.50.
Find a function equation to find the amount of tax T to be paid in terms of the income I and make a
graph of the function T (I).

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49. A company produces two versions of a product. We denote by q1 the amount sold of the first version and
by q2 the amount sold of the second version (expressed in some non-specified unit). The joint weekly
production (i.e., for both products together) equals 16 units, which we assume sell out completely during
the week. The inverse demand functions for both versions of the product are given by p1 = 14 − q1 and
p2 = 36 − 3q2 , respectively. The unit prices p1 and p2 are expressed in some monetary unit.
(a) Find the function equation that expresses the weekly revenue R in terms of q1 only.
(b) Find the domain of the revenue function R. (Take all aspects of the market into consideration!)
(c) Find the minimum and the maximum weekly revenue. Determine in each case the amounts sold of
both versions of the product and the corresponding unit prices.
50. In a certain firm, the total production cost function and a demand function are given by the equations

T C = 0.16q 3 − 0.72q 2 + 2.08q + 1.46 and q = 5 − 0.5p.

(a) Is the demand function one-to-one? Explain your answer. If yes, find its inverse.
(b) Find the equation of the function expressing the profit P in terms of the quantity q.
(c) Is this profit function one-to-one? If yes, find its inverse. (Hint: use your graphing calculator.)
(d) Find q such that P = 6. (Hint: use your graphing calculator.)
51. The total cost to produce 100 units of a certain commodity in a certain firm amounts to €2800. Producing
500 units leads to a production cost of €6000. Assume that the total production cost c (in euro) is a
linear function of the number q of units produced.
(a) Give the equation of the production cost function.

The inverse demand function is given by p = 1000 − 1.25q, where p denotes the price of one unit of the
product.
(b) Find the demand function.
(c) Express the total production cost c in terms of the price p.

Let P denote the profit (in euro).

(d) Show that the profit P is given by P = −1.25q 2 + 992q − 2000.
(e) Find the production levels for which the firm makes a profit between €50 000 and €150 000. Round
your answer to two decimals.

52. The demand function of a certain good is given by q = 400 − 4p and the production cost function by
c = 193 + 3q.
(a) Give the equation of the function c(p).
(b) Give the equation of the inverse (of the) demand function.
(c) Find out for which values of q (mind the variable!) the company makes a profit.
(d) Which of the following functions are one-to-one functions: demand function, cost function and profit
function? Explain your answers.

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53. The demand function for a certain product is given by q = 500 − 2p.
(a) Is the demand function one-to-one? Explain why (not). If it is a one-to-one function, is the inverse
function also a linear function? Explain why (not).
(b) Assume that the equation p = 21 + 0.4t describes how the price p changes in terms of the time t.
Is the demand q a linear function of the time? Explain.

Now assume that the demand function for a certain product q = f (p) is a non-constant general linear
function.
(c) Is the function f necessarily a one-to-one function? Explain why (not). If it is a one-to-one function,
is the inverse of f again a linear function? Explain why (not).
(d) Assume that the price p evolves as a non-constant linear function of the time t. Is the demand q a
linear function of the time? Explain.

The demand function for a second product, q = g(p), is a quadratic function.

(e) Is the function g necessarily a one-to-one function? Explain why (not). If it is a one-to-one function,
is the inverse of g again a quadratic function? Explain why (not).
(f) Assume that the price p evolves as linear function of the time t. Is the demand q a quadratic
function of the time? Explain.
54. The Richter scale is commonly used to measure the intensity of an earthquake. The function f that
gives the magnitude M of an earthquake in terms of the energy E released (measured in Joules), is given
by
2
 
E
f : M = log .
3 104.4
(a) If an earthquake has an energy of 2 · 1013 Joule, what will the magnitude of the earthquake be?
(b) Find the inverse of the function f .
(c) Determine the growth factor of the energy, based on your result in part b.
(d) Use the result in part c to decide whether the energy grows faster or slower than the function
h(E) = 101.6E .
55. A company produces a certain good for which the (inverse) demand function is given by p = 15 − 2q,
where p is the unit price (expressed in some monetary unit) and q is the quantity sold (expressed in
some non-specified unit). The fixed costs amount to 6.5 monetary units and the variable costs amount
to 1 monetary unit per non-specified unit of the good. We assume that all goods produced are sold.
(a) Find the function equation for the profit functionP in terms of the quantity q.
(b) Find the domain of the profit function P .
(c) Determine for which production levels q the company makes a profit.

56. When a certain product is sold at a price of 40 monetary units, 400 items are sold. Each time the price
decreases by 0.1 monetary unit, sales increase by 5 units. Denote by x the number of times the price is
decreased by 0.1 monetary units.
(a) Express p and q in terms of x.
(b) Express x in terms of p.
(c) Express q in terms of p.
(d) Originally, the revenue is 16 000 monetary units. Find for which values of p the company has
revenue exceeding 16 000 monetary units.

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57. A plumber charges €100 for the first hour of work at your house and €75 for every hour (or fraction of
an hour) afterwards. The maximum time for a visit is 4 hours. The cost C for what an x-hour visit will
cost you, in euro, is given as a function of time t in hours by

0 if t = 0



100 if 0 < t ≤ 1




C(t) = 175 if 1 < t ≤ 2
250 if 2 < t ≤ 3





325 if 3 < t ≤ 4



Compute limt→1 C(t) and limt→2.5 C(t) if possible.

58. The total cost for the production of a commodity is given by T C = 100 + 1.3q where q is the amount
produced. Let AC denote the average cost per unit for an output of q units.
(a) Find limq→+∞ AC.
(b) Give a graphical interpretation of your answer to part a.
(c) Express your result in plain words.

t+3 . Find
59. The population size of a certain small city in t years’ time is predicted to be P (t) = 40 000 − 5000
the population size in the long run.

60. The number of individuals N in a population evolves in terms of the time t, expressed in years, according
to the equation N = 1+e −0.05t .
500 000

(a) What was the original number of individuals in the population?

(b) When will the size of the population be 400 000?
(c) Show that in the long run the number of individuals stabilizes around a fixed value. Find this value.

(d) Explain what the result obtained in part c means in terms of the graph of the functionN (t).
61. When a pizza comes out of the oven, it has a temperature of 200 ◦ C. This temperature slowly cools
down to room temperature, which is 20 ◦ C. At 5:30, the temperature of the pizza is 39.3 ◦ C, at 5:35,
it is only 26.3 ◦ C. The temperature of the pizza as a function of time t can be modelled by a function
of the form T = a · b−t + c, where T is the temperature of the pizza (in ◦ C), t is the time in minutes
starting from 5:30 and a, b and c are positive constants (and b > 1). Note that we do not measure time
from the moment the pizza comes out of the oven: that would complicate the calculations unnecessarily.
(a) Find the value of the constant c. (Hint: consider the temperature evolution of the pizza in the long
term.)
(b) Find the value of the constant a. (Hint: consider the situation at t = 0.)
(c) At what time did the pizza get out of the oven?
62. An insurer estimates the value V of a certain property, expressed in multiples of €100 000, as a function
of time t, expressed in number of weeks, by an equation of the form V (t) = 7t+a t+b , where a and b are
parameters to be determined. The insurer observes that V (0) = 10 and V (100) = 8.
(a) Determine the parameters a and b.
(b) What is the long-term value of the property (assuming the insurer’s formula is correct)?

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