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2.1 FUNCTIONS

• EQUATIONS IN TWO VARIABLES

• DEFINITION OF A FUNCTION
• FUNCTIONS SPECIFIED BY EQUATIONS
• FUNCITON NOTATION
• APPLICATIONS
EQUATIONS IN TWO VARIABLES

Sketch the graph of the equation. y = x2 – 4

Table of solutions:

DEFINITION OF A FUNCTION

A _____________________________ is a correspondence between two sets of elements such that to each

element in the first set (input), there corresponds one and only one element in the second set (output).
The first set in such a correspondence is called the _______________________ of the function.
The second set in such a correspondence is called the ______________________ of the function.
The graph of a function is the set of all ordered pairs (x, y).

Example 1
The correspondence below represents a function since each element of the first set is assigned one and only
one element in the second set (for example -2 is assigned to -8 only and not any other value)

x -7 17 7 -7
y 2 4 5 6
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Example 2 Does the correspondence below represent a function? Why or why not?

A. =B. f ( x ) {( 2,3) , ( 9, 7 ) , ( 3, 4 ) , ( −1, 6 )}

FUNCTIONS SPECIFIED BY EQUATIONS

We can use the _________________________ _________________ ________________ to determine if a

graph represents a function.

If any vertical line intersects a graph in no more than one point, then the graph
represents a function.

Example 3: The graph represents a function since no vertical line crosses it

more than once.

Example 4: Determine in each case if the given represents a function.

A) B) C)

x −3
D) g ( x=
) 2x −1 E) f ( x) =
x
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FUNCTION NOTATION

Function notation gives an alternate method for naming functions so that the correspondence between specific
______________________ and ________________________ values can be easily shown.

We can use the notation 𝒇𝒇(𝒙𝒙) = 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 + 𝟓𝟓 . We read 𝒇𝒇(𝒙𝒙) as “f of x”. This is known as function notation.

Remember that 𝑦𝑦 = _______ This implies that if 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = 𝑦𝑦, the point (𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦) is on the graph of 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥).

3𝑥𝑥+9
Example 5: Consider the functions 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = 8𝑥𝑥 − 2 and 𝑔𝑔(𝑥𝑥) = 𝑥𝑥+3

a) Find 𝑓𝑓(3) When 𝑥𝑥 = 3, 𝑦𝑦 = __________ and the ordered pair ___________is on the graph of 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥).

b) Find g(−1) When 𝑥𝑥 = −1, 𝑦𝑦 = __________ and the ordered pair ___________is on the graph of g(𝑥𝑥).

ACTIVITY:
Use the graph of 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) to answer the questions below.

a) Find 𝑓𝑓(0)

b) Find 𝑓𝑓(3)

c) Find 𝑓𝑓(−1)

d) Find 𝑥𝑥 so that 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = 0

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FINDING DOMAINS OF FUNCTIONS GIVEN BY AN EQUATION
If a function is specified by an equation and the domain is not indicated, then we assume that the domain is the
set of all real-number replacements of the independent variable (inputs) that produce real values for the
dependent variable (outputs). The range is the set of all outputs corresponding to input values.

The _____________________ of a function that only has terms with whole powers of x is all real numbers .

𝒇𝒇(𝒙𝒙)
To find the domain of 𝒈𝒈(𝒙𝒙)
Division by ________ is undefined so the function is undefined when 𝑔𝑔(𝑥𝑥) = 0

Step 1: Solve 𝑔𝑔(𝑥𝑥) = 0 (set the denominator equal to 0)

Step 2: The domain is all real numbers excluding solution of the equation in step 1.

To find the domain of 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = �𝑔𝑔(𝑥𝑥) The square root of a _____________ number is not a real number
Step 1: Set radicand (what is beneath the square root symbol) g ( x) ≥ 0 and solve for the solution set.
Step 2: The domain is the set of all x’s that satisfies the inequality.

Find the domain of each function.

Example 6:

2𝑥𝑥+9
a) 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = 5𝑥𝑥 3 − 4𝑥𝑥 + 2 b) ℎ(𝑥𝑥) = c) 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = √𝑥𝑥 − 5
4𝑥𝑥+20

FUNCTION EVALUATION
12
Example 7: For f ( x) = 1 − x 2 , and h( x) =
, g ( x) = x − 1, evaluate:
x−2

f (3)
A. f(–2) B. g(–1) C.
h(5)
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APPLICATIONS
Price-demand Analysis:
A price-demand function, p(x) specifies the relationship between demand for a product, x, and the price of the
product, p. The point (x, p) is where x items can be sold at a price of $p per item.
A reduction in price results in an increase in demand, thus the graph of the price-demand function is expected
to go downhill as prices increase from left to right.

Price-demand function, p(x) = m – n∙x x is the number of items that can be sold at per item.

EX: The supply and demand for printed

baseball caps for a particular week are given
where p is the prince in dollars and q is the
quantity in hundreds…
price-supply equation p=
( x) 0.4 x + 3.2
price-demand equation p ( x) =
−1.9 x + 17

a) Find the supply and demand if p=$4.

b) Find the supply and demand if p=$9

c) Find the equilibrium price and quantity.

Profit-loss Analysis: Companies use Profit-loss analysis to support decisions regarding the pricing of products
and appropriate levels of production to maximize company profit.
Cost function, C(x) = a + b∙x C = fixed costs + variable costs
A manufacturing company has costs, C, which include fixed costs (plant overhead, product design, setup, and
promotion) and variable costs (costs that depend on the number of items produced).

Revenue function, R(x) = x∙p(x) = x(m – n∙x) R = number of items sold times the price $p per item.
The revenue (income) for a company, R, is the amount of money the company receives from selling its product.

Profit function, P(x) = R(x) – C(x) The profit function represented as P(x) where x, represents the number of
items manufactured and sold
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C( x) = R( x)
Break-Even and Profit-Loss Analysis:
( x) R( x) − C ( x)
P=
Break Even Point is where the Cost = Revenue. It is the point at which the company is not making any money
but also not losing money. This is also where the Profit = 0

ACTIVITY:
A manufacturer of a popular digital camera wholesales the camera to retail outlets throughout the US. Using
statistical methods, the financial department produced the price-demand data in Table 4, where p is the
wholesale price per camera at which x million cameras are sold.

The price-demand function is p(x) = 94.8 – 5x, 1 < x < 15 was found as a model for the data.

(A) Describe the price-demand function. What is the input and what is the output?

(B) What is the company’s revenue function R(x) for this camera, and what is its domain?

(C) Assuming that the cost function is given by C(x) = 15 + 20x

Write the profit function P(x) and find its domain.