MTH101: Calculus I Lecture 1: Functions and Their Representations
MTH101: Calculus I Lecture 1: Functions and Their Representations
MTH101: Calculus I Lecture 1: Functions and Their Representations
Definition 1
A function f is a rule that assigns to each element x in a set D
exactly one element, called f (x) in a set E .
D = the domain of f
E = the range of f
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Example 1:
Find the domain of a given function
1
(a) f (x) = 2
x −1
√
(b) g (x) = 4−x
Definition 2
The graph of a function f (x) is the set of order pairs (x, y ) in the
xy −plane, where x is in the domain of definition of f , and
y = f (x).
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|x|
Example 5: Graph the function g (x) = .
x
Example 6: Graph the function
2
x , if x < 0;
f (x) = x + 1, if 0 ≤ x < 4;
10 − x, if x ≥ 4.
Even Functions
Function f (x) is said to be an even function if
f (−x) = f (x)
Example 8: cos x is
Odd Functions
Function f (x) is said to be an odd function if
f (−x) = −f (x)
Definition
A function f (x) is said to be decreasing on an interval I if
Linear Functions
A linear function f (x) has the form
f (x) = ax + b
Polynomial Functions
A polynomial P(x) is a function that has the following form
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Polynomial functions are defined for all x ∈ (−∞, ∞).
Example 12:
P(x) = x 15 + x 7 + 120x is a polynomial
all linear functions f (x) = ax + b are polynomials; Note that
n = 1 (if a 6= 0)
Power Functions
A function of the form f (x) = x a , where a is a real constant, is
called a power function.
P(x)
f (x) = .
Q(x)
Trigonometric Functions
sin x, cos x, tan x
and their reciprocals csc x, sec x, cot x
Exponential Functions
An exponential function has the form f (x) = ax , where the base a
is a positive constant. The domain of f (x) = ax is (−∞, ∞), and
its range is (0, ∞).
Logarithmic Functions
The logarithmic functions f (x) = loga x, where the base a is
positive constant, are the inverse functions of exponential
functions.
Transformations of Functions
Vertical and Horizontal Shifts
Let c > 0.
The graph of y = f (x) + c is obtained by shifting the graph of
y = f (x) by c units upward
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The graph of y = f (x) − c is obtained by shifting the graph of
y = f (x) by c units downward
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The graph of y = f (x − c) is obtained by shifting the graph of
y = f (x) by c units to the right
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The graph of y = f (x + c) is obtained by shifting the graph of
y = f (x) by c units to the left
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Vertical and Horizontal Stretching and Reflecting
Suppose that c > 1. To obtain the graph of y = cf (x), stretch the
graph of y = f (x) vertically by a factor of c
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To obtain the graph of y = (1/c)f (x), compress the graph of
y = f (x) vertically by a factor of c.
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To obtain the graph of y = f (cx), compress the graph of y = f (x)
horizontally by a factor of c
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To obtain the graph of y = f (x/c), stretch the graph of y = f (x)
horizontally by a factor of c
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To obtain the graph of y = −f (x), reflect the graph of y = f (x)
about the x-axis
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To obtain the graph of y = f (−x), reflect the graph of y = f (x)
about the y-axis
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x −1
Example 1: Graph y =
x
x −1 1 1
Write = 1 − = − + 1.
x x x
1
We start with the graph of y = and use needed transformations.
x
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Combinations of Functions
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fg is defined on A ∩ B, by:
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Definition
Given two functions f and g , the composition f ◦ g is defined by
(f ◦ g )(x) = f (g (x))
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1 √
Example 2: Let f (x) = x and g (x) = x. Find
(a) f ◦ g
(b) g ◦ f
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(c) find g ◦ (f + h) and f ◦ g ◦ h, where h(x) = x + 1
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