REAL FUNCTIONS

Calculus is an important branch of mathematics that deals with

change or variation. The fundamental objects in calculus are
functions which provide a concise and precise way to express
the relations between physical quantities in real world.

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Basic concepts
I Consider only real numbers x and y, i.e. x, y ∈ R1 .
I Each pair of values (x, y) represent a point on the Cartesian
plane2 .
I An equation involving x and y describe a set of points on
the Cartesian plane which describes a curve (which could
be a straight line). Any point will have its (x, y) values
satisfying the equation. Any point with (x, y) values NOT
satisfying the equation is NOT on the curve.
I A relation is a set of values (x, y) described by the equation,
i.e. a curve is also a relation.
1
The symbol R denotes all possible negative and positive number, i.e.
−3.2 or 5.9. The notation ∈ is from the concepts of sets so that x ∈ R means
that x belong to the set of all real numbers, i.e. x is a real number.
2
A review of coordinate geometry is required if you have forgotten the
concepts there.
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An example of a relation is given by the equation
x2 + y2 = 9 = 32
This equation describes a curve with the set of points on the
circle of radius 3. Any (x, y) value on the circle satisfies the
equation, e.g. (x, y) = (3, 0) satisfies the equation. The curve is
shown in the diagram below:

Q: Consider the following relation:

x2 − y2 = 22 = 4
√
Which point(s) satisfy the relation? (a) (2,0); (b) (3,1); (c) (4,2 3).
Tick those that apply. 3 / 33
Definition of a function:
I A function f maps a x value (independent variable) to a y
value (dependent variable):

f :x→y or f : independent → dependent

and is a special type of relation.

I The notation usually used is:

y = f (x)

The thing inside the bracket, i.e. x, is the object the function
f operates or acts on to give the output y.
I Pictorially, a function is a relation for which any vertical
line cuts the curve at most once.

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Q: Does the equation of circle x2 + y2 = 9 = 32 describe a function?
Why? Hint: Do the vertical line test for the diagram of the circle
shown above.

Definitions:
I The DOMAIN of f is the set of all possible x values that the
function operates on.
I The RANGE of f is the set of all possible y values, i.e.
outputs.

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Example: if y = f (x) = x2 + 1 (parabola)

Domain: all real x. Range: y ≥ 1

Note: Any vertical line will cut the curve at only one point.

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 √
Example: Find the domain and range of y = f (x) = 9 − x2 .

Domain restrictions: For many functions, the domain is ‘all x’

and is also written more formally as x ∈ R (the real line). A
simple example is the polynomial function given by:

y = 3x3 + 2x2 − 6

For some functions there are some restrictions:

u(x)
1. With quotients of functions, y = υ(x) , x values for which
υ = 0 are excluded from the domain.
p
2. With functions involving square roots, y = u(x), x values
for which u(x) < 0 are excluded from the domain.

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Example: Find the domains of

1
(i) y = f (x) =
x+3
√
(ii) z = f (t) = t − 4
Note: The symbols for the domain and range are different but
the same principles apply.

Exercise: Find the domain of

1
(i) y = f (x) =
(x − 3)(3x + 1)
4z
(ii) h = f (z) = 2 .
z −1
√
4 z+2
(iii) h = f (z) = .
5z − 15

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MODULUS FUNCTION |x|

The modulus function is important in many engineering and

scientific application but is a little different to functions most
students have seen so far. The basic idea behind the function is
simple but often students have problem when dealing with this
function because they do not follow (and understand) the basic
principle of splitting the function into two pieces when
performing algebraic manipulation.

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Definition: (
x, if x > 0
|x| =
−x, if x < 0
The purpose of the negative sign in second line to change a
negative number to a positive number. An easy way to
remember the effect of modulus is that it ’removes the negative
sign’. In other words, the modulus gives the size of the number.
For example |3| = 3 (as 3 > 0) and | − 3| = 3 (as −3 < 0.)

Q: Determine the following (a) | − 4|; (b) | − 4| − 3; (c) (3 − | − 4|)2

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Goemetrically, on the x-axis, the modulus of x, |x| (or absolute
value of x) is the distance of x from the origin.

The graph of y = |x| is found by joining the straight lines y = x

(for x > 0) and y = −x (for x < 0).

For the modulus function y = f (x) = |x|,

I the domain: all x (x ∈ R)
I the Range: y > 0.
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More generally, when the modulus is applied to a function u(x).
(
u(x), if u(x) > 0
y = |u(x)| =
−u(x), if u(x) < 0

This is an example of a piecewise function, i.e. containing several

pieces. Each line of the equation above can be considered as
one piece.

Q: For all possible values of x, are the following statement correct: (a)
|x2 | = x2 ; (b) |x3 | = x3 .

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Solving modulus equation: equations of the form
|u(x)| = |υ(x)| can be solved by using u(x) = ±υ(x), or in other
words there are two equations to consider:
u(x) = v(x) and u(x) = −v(x)

Example: Solve for a in terms of b for the equation

|a − 1| = |b − 1|
There are two equations to solve that gives two solutions. The
first equation is given by
a − 1 = +(b − 1)
and the solution is a = b. The second equation is given by
a − 1 = −(b − 1)
and the solution is a = −b + 2.
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Q: Solve the equation |c + 3| = 5 for two possible values of c.

Example: Use the definition of |x| to sketch:

1. y = |x + 10|
2. y = |2x − 1|

Exercise: Sketch the graph of

1. y = |2x − 4|
2. y = |x| − x.
3. y = |x2 − 1|

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COMPOSITE FUNCTIONS

Some functions encountered in calculus can be quite

complicated. These functions are usually constructed using
simpler functions. A common way to do the construction is the
process of composition. This is a very important concept which
will be needed in future sections.

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A composite function is obtained by applying two (or more
functions) in sequence or in tandem. Given 2 functions f and g

f g g f
x −→ y −→ z; or x −→ y −→ z

Definition: g(f (x)) and (f (g(x)) are composite functions from f

and g.
I The order where the functions are applied are important.
I For g(f (x)), the function f (x) is applied first and the
function g(x) is applied second.
I For f (g(x)), the function g(x) is applied first and the
function f (x) is applied second.

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 √
Example: if f (x) = x, and g(x) = x2 + 1,
√ √
then g(f (x)) = g( x) = ( x)2 + 1 = x + 1
√
also, f (g(x)) = f (x2 + 1) = x2 + 1

NOTE: In general, f (g(x)) 6= g(f (x)).

√
Q: If f (x) = x − 1 and g(x) = (x + 1)2 , what are f (g(x)) and
g(f (x))?

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Example: With the composite function h(x) = f (g(x)) = sin(x2 ),
what are the constituent functions f (x) and g(x)?

If f (x) = sin(x) and g(x) = x2 , then f (g(x)) = f (x2 ) = sin(x2 ), so

the constituent functions are f (x) = sin(x) and g(x) = x2 .

Remark:
I General rule to identify constituent functions is to start
where x appears first, then determine the sequence of
processes that modify the value. For example with sin(x2 ),
(i) x is first squared; (ii) the squared value is then put into
the sine function.
I Being able to identify constituent functions is important
when the chain rule of derivatives is used (to be covered in
Week 2).

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Q: If h(x) = f (g(x)) = (sin x)2 = sin2 x, what are f (x) and g(x)?

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ODD FUNCTIONS AND EVEN FUNCTIONS

Some functions exhibit certain kind of symmetries which have

important implications both in practice and theory. We study
two most commonly encountered symmetry.
Objective:
I To demonstrate understanding of the definition of odd and
even functions.
I To demonstrate ability to test if a given function is either
odd, even or neither.

Definition: If f (−x) = f (x) for all x, f is EVEN.

If f (−x) = −f (x) for all x, f is ODD.

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An even function is symmetric about the y axis.

An odd function is symmetric about the origin.

NOTE: Many functions are neither odd nor even.

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Simple test for eveness or oddness of a function f (x)
1. Calculate f (−x) (replace x with −x).
2. Calculate f (x) − f (−x) and simplify as much as possible. If
the result is identically 0, then f (x) is even.
3. Calculate f (x) + f (−x) and simplify as much as possible. If
the result is identically 0, then f (x) is odd.
4. If 2 and 3 is not 0, then function is neither even nor odd.

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Q: True or False?
1. If f (x) − f (−x) = 0, then the graph of f (x) is symmetric about
the y-axis.
2. If g(x) + g(−x) = 3, then the graph of f (x) is symmetric about
the origin.

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Example: Are the following functions even, odd or neither?
(i) f (x) = x2 + 3

(ii) f (x) = x + 3
5
(iii) f (x) = 2x3 − x

Exercises: Are the following functions even, odd or neither?

x3 +x
(i) f (x) = x5 +3x
x
(ii) f (x) = x3 +1

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ONE-TO-ONE FUNCTIONS
In some applications, we need to be able to invert a function.
The inverse of a function is described in the section. However
not all function has an inverse. Only function that has the
one-one property can be inverted.

Definition: y = f (x) is a one-to-one function if, for each

possible y value, there is exactly one x value.

Pictorially, a function is one-to-one if any horizontal line cuts

the curve at most once.

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Algebraic determination: to show, using algebra, that y = f (x)
is one-to-one, write f (a) = f (b), and solve for a.

If a = b is the only solution, f is one-to-one. Otherwise, f is not

one-to-one.

Example: Determine if the function y = f (x) = x2 + 7 is

one-to-one.

Exercise: Determine if the function y = f (x) = |2x − 1| is

one-to-one. Hint: remember the definition of modulus function
defined previously and how to deal with modulus function, i.e.
two equations.

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INVERSE FUNCTIONS

Functions, as discussed earlier, can be thought of a mapping an

input value to an output value, i.e. x −→ y. Sometimes we
would like to have a reverse mapping and this is where the
concept of the inverse function comes in.

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Basic ideas:
1. An inverse can only be defined for a one-to-one function.
This means that not all functions can have an inverse.
2. The symbol for the inverse function is f −1 (x). Now f −1 (x)
1
does not mean f (x) (which is the reciprocal).
3. An inverse function basically undo the operation of a
(one-to-one) function f

f f −1
x −→ y −→ x;

so that the composite of a function and its inverse gives the

original value, i.e. f −1 (f (x)) = x.

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For example if f (−1) = 3, i.e. the value −1 is mapped to 3, then
f −1 (3) = −1, i.e. the inverse function maps the value 3 back to
−1.

Q: For a function f (x) with f (3) = −9 and f (−9) = 2, determine (a)

f −1 (2); (b) f −1 (−9); (c) f −1 (f (2)).

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Determining the inverse function:
1. Check that the function y = f (x) is one-to-one.
2. Swap x and y can to give x = f (y).
3. Solving the equation x = f (y) for y gives a new function,
the inverse function, denoted by y = f −1 (x).
4. The graphs of y = f (x) and y = f −1 (x) are reflections of
each other along the line y = x. This means that the points
at which the graphs y = f (x) and y = f −1 (x) intersect lie
along the line y = x.

Q: Can one determine an inverse for the following functions (a)

f (x) = 2x; (b) f (x) = |x|; (c) f (x) = x2 .

a^x <—> loga(x), a > 0

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Example: For the function y = f (x) = 4x − 7,
1. Determine the inverse f −1 (x).
2. Sketch the graphs of f (x) and f −1 (x).
3. Determine the points where the two graphs intersect.

Exercise: For the function y = f (x) = x3 , determine

1. Determine the inverse f −1 (x).
2. Determine the points where the graphs of f (x) and f −1 (x)
intersect.

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FUNCTIONS WITH RESTRICTED DOMAINS

Basic ideas8:
1. If a function is not one-to-one, it may be possible to restrict
the domain so that it becomes a one-to-one function.
2. It is then possible to find an inverse using the technique
described section 1.6.

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 x2 +6
Example: For the function y = f (x) = 7 ,
1. Sketch the graph and determine a suitable domain
restriction so that the function is a one-to-one.
2. Find its inverse f −1 .
3. Sketch f and f −1 on the same set of axes, and label all
intersections.
√
Exercise: For the function y = f (x) = 10x − 25
1. Determine the domain and range.
2. Find its inverse f −1 .
3. Sketch f and f −1 on the same set of axes, and label all
intersections.

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