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Math2200ch7 4notes-Workings

This document discusses reciprocal functions and their graphs. It begins with examples of determining the reciprocal of functions like f(x) = 2x + 3 and graphing the original function and its reciprocal. It then discusses key aspects of graphing reciprocals like vertical asymptotes and horizontal asymptotes. Several examples are worked through, including finding the reciprocal, vertical asymptotes, invariant points, and graphing the original and reciprocal functions for various functions like f(x) = 2x + 6 and f(x) = x^2 - 4. It concludes with practice problems from the textbook.

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30 views

Math2200ch7 4notes-Workings

This document discusses reciprocal functions and their graphs. It begins with examples of determining the reciprocal of functions like f(x) = 2x + 3 and graphing the original function and its reciprocal. It then discusses key aspects of graphing reciprocals like vertical asymptotes and horizontal asymptotes. Several examples are worked through, including finding the reciprocal, vertical asymptotes, invariant points, and graphing the original and reciprocal functions for various functions like f(x) = 2x + 6 and f(x) = x^2 - 4. It concludes with practice problems from the textbook.

Uploaded by

DaRealTruth
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Math 2200

7.4 Reciprocal Functions

Recall from arithmetic, the product of a number and it’s reciprocal is always equal 1. For
3 4 3 4 12
example, 4 is the reciprocal of 3 and (4) ∙ (3) = 12 = 1

1
So for any non-zero, real number 𝑎, the reciprocal of 𝑎 is 𝑎. For a function, 𝑓(𝑥), its
1
reciprocal is , where 𝑓(𝑥) ≠ 0.
𝑓(𝑥)

We will be graphing these functions by hand, but I encourage you to use Desmos graphing
to verify your work and to become more familiar with the concept of reciprocal functions.

Example 1:
What is the reciprocal of 𝑓(𝑥) = 2𝑥 + 3?

Graphing Functions and their Reciprocals

We will investigate graphing reciprocal functions by looking at the table of values and the
1
graphs of the function 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 and its reciprocal, 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝑥 .
asymptote: a line whose distance from a given curve approaches zero.

vertical asymptote: for reciprocal functions, occurs at the non-permissible values of the
function.

horizontal asymptote: describes the behavior of a graph when |𝑥| is very large.

The horizontal asymptote will be 𝑦 = 0 for all reciprocal graphs discussed in this course.
Using the current example, the reason for this only needs to be explained once. The reason
is as follows:

1
Graph of 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 and 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝑥:
Summary

Example 2:
Consider the function 𝑓(𝑥) = 2𝑥 + 6

(A) Determine the reciprocal of the function.

(B) Determine the vertical asymptote of the reciprocal function.

(C) Determine the invariant points of the function and its reciprocal.
(D) Graph the function y
and its reciprocal.

        











Example 3:
Example 4:
Consider the function 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 2 − 4

(A) Determine the reciprocal of the function.

(B) State the non-permissable values of 𝑥 and the equations of the vertical asymptotes
of the reciprocal functions.

(C) What are the 𝑥-intercepts and 𝑦-intercepts of the reciprocal function?

(D) Determine the invariant points of the function and its reciprocal.
y
(E) Graph the function
and its reciprocal. 

        










Example 5:

Textbook Questions: page 403 - 405 #1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

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