1

FUNCTIONS
AND RELATIONS

E



PL
Function definitions and notation

Domain and range

 Even and odd functions

 Composite functions
M
 Review Chapter 1
 Investigation Task
SA

 Investigation Task
CHAPTER 1
2 Chapter 1: Functions and relations

Exercise 1A
Function definitions and notation

Fundamentals

Fundamentals 1
(a) Ar between two sets is a collection of ordered pairs containing an element from
each set.
(b) If the relation associates an element x to only one element , then the relation is called
af .

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(c) If an element x is associated with two or more elements y, then it is just called a r .

(d) The ‘vertical line test’ determines whether a graph represents a f or a r .

(e)
ar .
PL
If the vertical line intersects the curve at or more locations, then the graph represents

(f) If the vertical line intersects the curve at and only location, then the graph
represents a f .
(g) The equation is read as "f of a is equal to b".
(h) Piece-wise defined functions are functions that have different e in different
M
d .

Question 1 Determine whether the following represent functions or relations.

SA

 
(a) (2, 2), (3, 3), (4, 6), (4, 9) (b) (−4, 1), (3, 1), (5, 2), (7, −2)

(c) (x, 3) for all x ∈ R. (d) (3, y) for all y ∈ R.

Question 2 Categorise the following as either one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one or many-to-

many.

(a) (b)
a 1 1
a
b 2 2
c b
3 3
c
d 4 4
d
5

M ASTERING M ATHEMATICS
 1A Function definitions and notation 3

(c) (d)
a 1 a 1
b 2 b 2
c 3 c 3
d 4 d 4

Question 3 Draw arrows in each of the following diagrams to indicate a relation being
(a) one-to-one. (b) one-to-many.

a 1 a 1

b 2 b 2

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c 3 c 3

(c) many-to-one. PL (d) many-to-many.

a 1 a 1

b 2 b 2

c 3 c 3
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Question 4 Determine whether the following relations are also functions. Categorise each graph as
either one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one or many-to-many.
(a) (b) (c)
y y y
SA

2 x
x
x

(d) (e) (f)

y y y
1
1
2π
−1 1 x −2π x −1 0 1 x
−1
−1
4 Chapter 1: Functions and relations

(g) (h) (i)

y y y
1
1

x x x

−1

(j) (k) (l)

y y y

x x

E
x
−1

Question 5
(a) f (x) = 3x + 1
PL
For each of the following functions below, find f (2)
(b) f (x) = 1 − x2
√ x+1
(c) f (x) = 5x − 1 (d) f (x) =
x−1

Question 6 Let f (x) = 2x + 1. Find the following.

M
√
(a) f (−3) (b) f (−a) (c) f (a2 ) (d) f (2a) (e) f ( a)
1
 
(f) f (1 + a) (g) f (3a − 2) (h) f (a + b) (i) f (ab) (j) f
a
SA

Question 7 Let f (x) = 3x2 − 2. Find the following.

√
(a) f (3t) (b) f (−2t) (c) f ( t) (d) f (t − 1)

1
Question 8 Let f (x) = . Find the following.
x2
1 1
   
(a) f (b) f √ (c) f (xy) (d) f (x + y)
x x

Question 9 Consider the piece-wise defined function

(
x2 , for x ≤ 1
f (x) =
2 − x, for x > 1
Find the following.
(a) f (−2) (b) f (1) (c) f (3) (d) f (−3)

M ASTERING M ATHEMATICS
 1A Function definitions and notation 5

Question 10 Consider the piece-wise defined function


 2 − x,
 for x < −2
f (x) = 4, for −2 ≤ x ≤ 2

 x + 2, for x > 2

Find the following.

(a) f (0) (b) f (5) (c) f (−3) (d) f (3) − f (−1)

Question 11 Let f (x) = x2 . Determine whether the following statements are true or false.
(a) f (4x) = 16f (x) (b) f (xy) = f (x) × f (y)
x f (x)
 

2
(c) f = (d) f (x2 ) = f (x)
y f (y)
√
√
√

(e) f (x + y) = f (x) + f (y) (f) f x+y =f x +f y
1 1
   

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(g) f (x + y) + f (x − y) = 2 f (x) + f (y) (h) f x+ = 2 + f (x) + f
x x

Question 12 Find f (k) − f (k − 1) in simplest form if

(a) f (x) = x2 (b) f (x) = 3x2 + 2x

(c) f (x) =
1
x
PL (d) f (x) = 2x

Question 13 Let f (x) = 4x . Show the following results.

(a) f (2x) = 16x (b) 4f (x) = f (x + 1) (c) f (x + 1) − f (x) = 3 × f (x)
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2 1
 
Question 14 Let f (x) = . Simplify f (x) ÷ f .
x x

Question 15 [Recursions]
SA

For the following functions, find f (3).

(a) f (n) = f (n − 1) + 3, where f (1) = 3 (b) f (n) = n × f (n − 1), where f (1) = 1

Question 16 Let f (x) = 2x . Show that f (x) × f (−x) = 1

Question 17 Let f (x) = x − x3 . Show that f (−x) = −f (x).

x 1
 
Question 18 Let f (x) = . Show that f (x) + f = 1.
x+1 x

x 1
 
Question 19 Let f (x) = 2
. Show that f = f (x).
x +1 x

Question 20 Let f (x) = px2 − x. Find the value of p if f (−3) = 2f (2).

6 Chapter 1: Functions and relations

Challenge Problems

Problem 1 Find the original function f (x) if

(a) f (x + 3) = x + 7 (b) f (x − 2) = x2 − 4
x
(c) f (x + 1) = x2 − 3x + 4 (d) f (2x) =
3x − 1

Problem 2 Let
x
f (x) = .
x2 −1
Show that
1
 
f (x) + f = 0,
x
where x 6= 0.

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Problem 3 Define the functions

f (x) = 2x + 2−x
PL g(x) = 2x − 2−x

Show that
(f (x))2 − (g(x))2 = 4

Problem 4 [Self-inverse functions]

M
Let a and b be any non-zero real numbers, and define the function
a−x
f (x) = .
1 + bx
Show that
a−x
 
SA

f = f (x).
1 + bx

M ASTERING M ATHEMATICS
 1B Domain and range 7

Exercise 1B
Domain and range

Fundamentals

Fundamentals 1
(a) The interval can be re-written as x ∈ [a, b].
(b) The interval a < x < b can be re-written as
(c) The interval can be re-written as x ∈ [a, b).
(d) The interval a < x ≤ b can be re-written as .

E
Fundamentals 2
(a) The domain of a function is the set of
PL -values that a function can accept.
(b) The r of a function is the set of y-coordinates that a function can output.

Fundamentals 3
1
(a) The domain of f (x) = is all real x except x = .
x
√
(b) The domain of f (x) = x is x .
M
1
(c) The domain of f (x) = √ is x , noting that x cannot be z .
x

Fundamentals 4
SA

(a) The range of y = x2 is y since a perfect square cannot be n .

√
(b) The range of y = x is y since square rooting a number cannot result in a n
number.
(c) In general, the r of a function can be found by examining the behaviour of the
outputs in response to various inputs.

Question 1 Convert each of the following to interval notation.

(a) 1 ≤ x ≤ 3 (b) −2 < x ≤ 5 (c) −7 ≤ x < −3
(d) x≥4 (e) x > −2 (f) x≤3

Question 2 Re-write the following intervals using inequalities.

(a) x ∈ (2, 6) (b) x ∈ [−5, 10] (c) x ∈ (1, 4]
(d) x ∈ [−2, 3) (e) x ∈ (−∞, 3] (f) x ∈ (−2, ∞)
8 Chapter 1: Functions and relations

Question 3 Convert each of the following to interval notation.

(a) (b)
−2 −3 1
(c) (d)
2 4 −4 −2
(e) (f)
−3 −2 0
Question 4 State the domain and range of the following graphs.
(a) (b) (c)
y y y

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x
x

(d)
y
PL (e)
y
(f)
y
2

x −2 2 x
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1
−2
3 x

(g) (h) (i)

y y y
SA

1 1
2π
−2π x x

−1
x

(j) (k) (l)

y y y

x x

M ASTERING M ATHEMATICS
 1B Domain and range 9

(m) (n) (o)

y y y

2 3
3
1 2
−3 3x
−1 4 x
−2
−3 3 x

Question 5 State the domain and range of the following graphs.

(a) (b) (c)
y y y

E
2 x x x
PL −1

(d) (e) (f)

y y y
π
2 1

x
2 x
M
x −2
−1
− π2
SA
10 Chapter 1: Functions and relations

Question 6

(a) We can find the domain of functions with x’s inside a square root by letting the inside be p .

(b) Hence, find the domain of the following functions.

√ √
(i) f (x) = x (ii) f (x) = x−2
√ √
(iii) f (x) = 5−x (iv) f (x) = 7 − 2x

Question 7

(a) We can find the domain of functions with x’s in the denominator by letting the denominator
equal z and then excluding these values.

E
(b) Hence, find the domain of the following functions.

1 1
(i) f (x) = (ii) f (x) =
x x−1
(iii) f (x) =
1
2x − 3
2
PL (iv) f (x) =
x
x+2
1
(v) f (x) = +3 (vi) f (x) =
x−7 (x − 3)2

Question 8 Use a combination of techniques from Question 6 and Question 7 to find the domain
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of the following functions.
1 x+1
(a) f (x) = √ (b) f (x) = √
x x+4
2 3
f (x) = √ f (x) = √
SA

(c) (d)
3x − 9 4 − 2x

Question 9

(a) Find the solutions to the equation (x − 1)(x − 2) = 0.

1
(b) Hence, find the domain of f (x) = .
(x − 1)(x − 2)
(c) Use a similar technique, find the domain of the following functions.

1 1
(i) f (x) = (ii) f (x) =
(x + 1)(x − 3) (2x − 1)(3x − 1)
x x2 − 1
(iii) f (x) = 2
(iv) f (x) =
x −4 x2 − 4x + 3

M ASTERING M ATHEMATICS
 1B Domain and range 11

Question 10 Use graphing software to obtain the graph of the following, and hence state the domain
and range.
1
(a) f (x) = 2x + 2−x (b) f (x) =
1 + x2
1 1
(c) f (x) = x + (d) f (x) = 2
x x −1

Question 11

(a) State the coordinates of the vertex of the equation f (x) = (x − 2)2 + 1.
(b) Sketch a graph of the parabola, labelling the vertex and the y-intercept.
(c) Hence, state the range of f (x) = (x − 2)2 + 1.
(d) Similarly, find the range of the following functions.

E
(i) f (x) = (x + 1)2 − 4 (ii) f (x) = (x − 2)2 + 3
(iii) f (x) = x2 − 4x (iv) f (x) = x2 + 6x + 11

(e)
PL
In all of the above, you had to complete the square first and obtain the form f (x) = (x − h)2 + k.
What did you notice about the value of k and the range of the function?

Question 12 Recall that the range of f (x) = x2 is y ≥ 0 because x2 cannot be negative. Use this
fact to determine the range of the following.
(a) f (x) = 4x2 (b) f (x) = x2 + 3 (c) f (x) = 3x2 − 4
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(d) f (x) = −x2 (e) f (x) = −x2 + 6 (f) f (x) = 5 − x2
(g) f (x) = 3 − 4x2 (h) f (x) = (x − 3)2 + 2 (i) f (x) = 10 − (x + 2)2

√ √
Question 13 Recall that the range of f (x) = x is y ≥ 0 because x cannot be negative. Use this
SA

fact to determine the range of the following.

√ √ √
(a) f (x) = 2 x (b) f (x) = x + 3 (c) f (x) = x − 5
√ √ √
(d) f (x) = − x (e) f (x) = − x + 4 (f) f (x) = 3 − x

Question 14

(a) Determine the range of y = 9 − x2 and hence find the maximum value of y.
√
(b) Hence, find the range of f (x) = 9 − x2 .
√
(c) Use a similar technique to find the range of g(x) = 9 + x2 .
12 Chapter 1: Functions and relations

Challenge Problems

Problem 1 Find the domain of

√ √
2−x+ 2+x
f (x) =
4 − x2

Problem 2
x
(a) Use graphing software to sketch the graph of f (x) = .
x2 − 1
(b) Hence, state the range of f (x).

x
Problem 3 Explain why the domain of f (x) = is x ∈ R, x 6= 0
x

Problem 4 Find the domain of the following functions.

E
x+1 x+1
(a) f (x) = (b) f (x) =
x+1 x2 − 1
x−2 x2
(c) f (x) = 2 (d) f (x) = √
x − 5x + 6 x2 + 1

Problem 5
PL
Find the domain and range of the function
√ √
f (x) = x − 1 + 1 − x

Hint: A graph is not needed for this question.

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Problem 6 Find the domain and range of the following functions by thinking about the
possible inputs and the resultant outputs.
1 1
(a) y = √ (b) y = 2
SA

x x
√ 1
(c) y = x2 − 4 (d) y = √
2
x +4

M ASTERING M ATHEMATICS
 1C Even and odd functions 13

Exercise 1C
Even and odd functions

Fundamentals

Fundamentals 1
(a) If a function is even, then f (−x) = .
(b) If a function is odd, then f (−x) = .

Fundamentals 2

E
(a) Even functions are symmetric across the -axis.
(b) Odd functions have rotational symmetry about the o .

Question 1
(a)
y
PL
Classify the following graphs as either even, odd or neither.
(b)
y
(c)
y

x
M
x x

(d) (e) (f)

y y y
1 π
SA

−1 1 x

x
−1 1 x

Question 2 For each of the following functions, find f (−x) and hence determine whether they are
even, odd or neither.
(a) f (x) = 2x (b) f (x) = x2 + 1 (c) f (x) = x2 + x
1
(d) f (x) = x3 (e) f (x) = x − x3 (f) f (x) =
x
√
(g) f (x) = 2x (h) f (x) = x4 − x2 + 1 (i) f (x) = 1 − x2
x 1 x−1
(j) f (x) = (k) f (x) = x + (l) f (x) =
x2 + 1 x x+1
14 Chapter 1: Functions and relations

Question 3 Complete the following diagrams to make the graphs represent even functions.
(a) (b)
y y

(c) (d)
y y

E
2
PL x
1

x
−1

Question 4 Complete the following diagrams to make the graphs represent odd functions.
(a) (b)
y y
M
SA

(c) (d)
y y

1 −π − π2
x x
2
−1
−1

M ASTERING M ATHEMATICS
 1C Even and odd functions 15

Challenge Problems

22x + 1
Problem 1 Show that f (x) = is an even function.
2x

Problem 2 Let f (x) and g(x) both be even functions. Define the function

h(x) = f (x) + g(x).

(a) Show that h(−x) = f (x) + g(x).

(b) Hence, what kind of function is h(x)?
(c) Complete the following statement, that you just proved.

The sum of two even functions is .

E
Problem 3 By defining a function

h(x) = f (x) × g(x)

or
PL h(x) = f (x) + g(x)

and then simplifying h(−x), prove the following statements.

(a) The sum of two odd functions is odd.
(b) The product of two even functions is even.
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(c) The product of two odd functions is even.

Problem 4 Determine whether the following statements are true or false.

SA

(a) The difference of two even functions is neither.

(b) The difference of two odd functions is odd.
(c) The quotient of an even and odd function is even.
16 Chapter 1: Functions and relations

Exercise 1D
Composite functions

Fundamentals

Fundamentals 1
In a composite function, the output of the ‘inside’ function becomes the i of the
‘o ’ function.

Fundamentals 2
(a) When calculating f (g(x)), the function is applied first to x, and then the function
is applied afterwards to the new expression.

E
(b) When calculating g (f (x)), the function is applied first to x, and then the function
is applied afterwards to the new expression.

Question 1

(a) Find f (g(2)).

PL
Let f (x) = 3x + 4 and g(x) = 3 − 2x.

(b) Find g (f (2)).

(c) Show that f (g(x)) = −6x + 13.
M
(d) Show that g (f (x)) = −6x − 5.

√
Question 2 Let f (x) = x and g(x) = x + 4.
SA

(a) Find f (g(x))

(b) Find g (f (x))
(c) Find g (g(x))
√
(d) What combination of compositions will produce x + 8?

Question 3 For the following pairs of functions f (x) and g(x), find and simplify f (g(x)) and
g (f (x)).

(a) f (x) = x − 2, g(x) = 2x + 5 (b) f (x) = 2x, g(x) = 3x

1 √
(c) f (x) = x2 , g(x) = x3 (d) f (x) = , g(x) = x
x

x
Question 4 Let f (x) = . Find f (f (x)).
x+1

M ASTERING M ATHEMATICS
 1D Composite functions 17

Question 5 A function f (x) is said to be an self-inverse if f (f (x)) = x. Determine which of the

following are self-inverse functions.
1 x
(a) f (x) = (b) f (x) =
x x−1
x−1 x+1
(c) f (x) = (d) f (x) =
x x

2
Question 6 Let f (x) = and g(x) = x2 .
x−9
(a) Find f (g(x)).
(b) Find g (f (x)).
(c) Find domains of f (g(x)) and g (f (x)). Are they the same?
Not the same

E
Question 7 [Commutativity under composition]
Two functions f (x) and g(x) are said to commute under composition if f (g(x)) = g (f (x)). Determine
which of the following pairs of functions commute under composition.
PL
(a) f (x) = x − 2, g(x) = x + 5 (b) f (x) = ax, g(x) = bx
(c) f (x) = 3x + 1, g(x) = 2x − 1 (d) f (x) = xm , g(x) = xn

√
Question 8 Let f (x) = x − 2 and g(x) = x.
(a) Find f (g(x)).
(b) Hence, state the domain of f (g(x)).
M
(c) Find the domain of g(f (x)).

√
Question 9 Let f (x) = 2x − 3, g(x) = x and h(x) = x2 + 1.
SA

Simplify the following, and hence state the domain.

(a) f (g(x)) (b) g(f (x)) (c) h(f (x))
(d) g(h(x))

1
Question 10 Let f (x) = . For simplicity, denote f (f (x)) = f2 (x) and so on.
x
(a) Simplify f2 (x).
(b) Simplify f3 (x).
(c) Hypothesise a formula for fn (x), where n is a positive integer.
Hint: Express your answer as a piecewise-defined function.
18 Chapter 1: Functions and relations

Challenge Problems

Problem 1 Define two even functions f (x) and g(x). Define their composition

h(x) = f (g(x)) .

(a) Show that h(−x) = f (g(x)).

(b) What can we say about the function h(x)?
(c) Hence, what can we say about the composition of two even functions?

Problem 2 By defining
h(x) = f (g(x))
and using a similar technique, prove the following statements.
(a) The composition of two even functions is even.

E
(b) The composition of two odd functions is odd.
(c) The composition of an even and odd function is even.
Hint: You will have to consider two different cases here.
PL
√
Problem 3 Let f (x) = x and g(x) = −x2 − 1.
(a) Simplify g(f (x)).
(b) Simplify f (g(x)).
(c) One of the above does not work. Find out which one, and explain why it does not work.
M
Problem 4 Let a and b be any non-zero real numbers.
Show that the function
a−x
f (x) =
1 + bx
SA

satisfies the equation f (f (x)) = x.

M ASTERING M ATHEMATICS
 Chapter 1 Review 19

Chapter 1 Review
Functions and relations

Review

Question 1 Categorise the following as either one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, or many-

to-many.
(a) (b)
y y

E
x

(c) (d)
y y

x
PL
x
M
Question 2 Which of the graphs in the above questions represent functions?

Question 3 Convert each of the following to interval notation.

(a) (b)
SA

1 1 5
(c)
−3

Question 4 For each of the following, find the value of a if

(a) f (x) = 3ax + 1; f (−2) = 7 (b) f (x) = ax2 − 3; f (−2) = 2f (1)

Question 5 Re-write the following intervals using inequalities.

(a) x ∈ [−2, ∞) (b) x ∈ (−1, 4] (c) x ∈ (−∞, 6]
20 Chapter 1: Functions and relations

Question 6 For each of the following graphs, state if it is a function, write down the domain
and write down the range.
(a) (b)
y y
3

−3 3 x 1
x
−3 −1

(c) (d)
y y

E
1
x

(e)
PL (f)
x

y y
3

2
M
x

x
SA

Question 7 Let f (x) = x2 + 4 and g(x) = x − x3 . Define the function h(x) = f (x)g(x).
(a) Show that h(−x) = −h(x).
(b) Note that f (x) and g(x) are even and odd functions respectively. What do you hypothesise
is true about the product of an even and odd function?

(c) Prove your guess from part (b).

Question 8 Let f (x) = 3x . Find f (x + 1) − f (x) and express your answer in terms of f (x).

Question 9 [Factorials]
f (n)
Let f (n) = 1 × 2 × 3 × . . . × n. Simplify .
f (n − 1)

M ASTERING M ATHEMATICS
 Chapter 1 Review 21

Question 10 Define the following piece-wise defined function.


 x+3
 for x < −1
f (x) = x2 for −1 ≤ x ≤ 1
 √
 x for x > 1

Evaluate the value of

1
 
3f (4) + f (−2) − f −
2

Question 11 Define the following piece-wise defined function.


2
 c(x − 2)
 for x < 0
f (x) = ax + 4 for 0 ≤ x ≤ 2
bx − 4

 for x > 2

E
Find the values of a, b and c if f (3) = 5, f (1) = 3 and f (−2) = 8.

3x + 3−x
Question 12 Let f (x) = . Show that f (2x) = 2 [f (x)]2 − 1.
2

Question 13
PL
Let f (x) =
x2
x−1
. Show that f

x
x−1

= f (x).

1
Question 14 Let f (x) = x + . Find and simplify
x
1
  
1
  √ 
(a) f (b) f x + (c) f 2+ 3
M
x x

Question 15 State the domain of the following.

√ 1 1
(a) f (x) = x + 3 (b) f (x) = √ (c) f (x) =
x+3 x2 +9
SA

1 1 √
(d) f (x) = (e) f (x) = (f) f (x) = 6 − 3x
x2 −9 x2 − 5x + 6
x3 1 x
(g) f (x) = (h) f (x) = √ (i) f (x) =
x2 − 1 6−x x3 +x

Question 16 Categorise the following functions as either even, odd, or neither, and provide
reasoning for each answer.
2x2 − 1
(a) f (x) = x3 − 2x (b) f (x) = x4 + x3 (c) f (x) =
3 − x2
2x − 2−x x3 x
(d) f (x) = (e) f (x) = (f) f (x) =
x x+1 x3 −x
x 32x + 1
(g) f (x) = (h) f (x) = x3 − x + 1 (i) f (x) =
2
x −5 3x
22 Chapter 1: Functions and relations

Question 17

(a) Can a quadratic function be an odd function? Explain your answer.

(b) Can a quadratic function be an even function? Explain your answer.
(c) If a quadratic function is an even function, then what is the coefficient of x?
(d) Hence, or otherwise, find the value of p so that f (x) = (x − 1)2 + px is an even function.

√
5−x
Question 18 Find the domain of f (x) = .
x+1

Question 19 If f (x) = ax2 + bx + c, then simplify f (x) − f (−x).

Question 20 Complete the graphs below so that they represent even and odd functions. Draw
your graphs on separate axes.

E
(a) (b) (c)
y y y
PL x x x
−1
−1

1
M
Question 21 Define the functions f (x) = x2 − 1, g(x) = 3x − 2 and h(x) = . Find the
x
following.
(a) g(−3a) (b) f (3 − a) (c) f (g(1))
(d) g (f (0)) (e) f (h(2)) (f) f (g(x))
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(g) g (g(x)) (h) f (f (x)) (i) h (f (x))

Question 22 Find f (x) if

(a) f (x + 2) = x + 5 (b) f (x − 1) = x2 − 1 (c) f (2x) = 4x2 − 4x + 1

M ASTERING M ATHEMATICS
 Chapter 1: Investigation Task 23

Investigation Task

Group Theory

Define the following set G of functions over the domain x ∈ R, x 6= 0, 1.

x−1 1 1 x
a(x) = x, b(x) = 1 − x, c(x) = , d(x) = , e(x) = , f (x) =
x x 1−x x−1

Question 1

(a) Find c (f (x)) and show that it becomes another element of G. Which function does it
become?

(b) Calculate the composition the other way around. In other words, calculate f (c(x)). Which
element of G does this become? Is it the same one?

E
Question 2 A set of functions like the above is said to form a group under composition, if the
composition of any two functions always yields another function in the same set. Show that G
forms a group.
PL
Hint: There should be 36 ways to do the compositions in total, but you will find that many of
them are immediately obvious. Don’t forget about functions being composed with themselves.
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SA
24 Chapter 1: Functions and relations

Investigation Task

Odd and Even Functions

So far, we have covered functions that are themselves odd or even functions. We also covered
functions that were neither. However, it turns out that actually many ‘neither’ functions have a
close relationship with odd and even functions. This investigation task aims to show what this
relationship is.

Let f (x) be any function with domain being all real x. Furthermore, define the following functions.

f (x) + f (−x)
E(x) =
2
f (x) − f (−x)
O(x) =

E
2
Question 1

(a) Show that E(x) is an even function and that O(x) is an odd function.
(b)
(c)
PL
Show that f (x) = E(x) + O(x).
What is the significance of this result?

Question 2 Let f (x) = 2x .

(a) Show that f (x) is neither even nor odd.
M
(b) Express f (x) as the sum of an even and odd function.
(c) Use graphing software to sketch E(x) and O(x) and verify graphically that they are even
and odd respectively.

(d) Ask a friend to provide you with some new functions f (x) that are neither nor odd. Repeat
SA

part (b) for these new functions.

Question 3 What happens if f (x) itself is already even or odd? Experiment with a few even
and odd functions and comment on your findings. In hindsight, were these findings obvious?

Question 4 Earlier in this investigation task, f (x) was defined to be a function with domain
being all real x. Investigate to find out why this is so important and give a few examples
demonstrating what can go wrong if the domain is not all real x.

M ASTERING M ATHEMATICS