Week 2

Topic 1. Functions (Stewart, pp. 8 – 21)

1 Functions, domain and range

Definition 1. A Function f from a set X to a set Y associates every element x ∈ X with one
element f (x) ∈ Y .
The notation f: X →Y is short for “f is a function from X to Y ”.
There are four ways to reprent a function: algebraic, graphically/visually, with words, and with a
table. See pages 8 – 13 in the textbook (there are also examples how to move between representa-
tions).
Most of the functions we will consider in this module, are functions between subsets of R and will
be described (algebraically) by a formula, for example

y = f (x) = x2 − x + 1, where f : R → R

The x in y = f (x) is called the independent variable, while y is called the dependent variable.
Definition 2. Consider a function f : X → Y .
• The domain Df of f is the set on which f is defined: Df = X.
• The range Rf [or Wf ] of f is the set of all the values f can obtain: Rf = {f (x) | x ∈ Df }.
Definition 3. The graph of a function f : X → Y is the set of all ordered pairs


Graph(f ) = x, f (x) x ∈ X

If X, Y ⊆ R, then we can visually represent f on the Cartesian or xy-plane.

Example 4. Consider the function f which is described by the following graph:

From the graph we see that Df = [0, 7] and Rf = [−2, 4]

Theorem 5 (Verticle line test). A curve in the Cartesian plane is the graph of a function if and
only if there is no verticle line that cuts the graph more than once.

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 The graph of a function Not the graph of a function.

Exercise 6 (Recommended). See Exercises 15 – 18 on page 18 in the textbook.

For the following examples, by “determine the domain” we mean “what is the biggest subset of R
for which the expression is defined”.
Example 7. Determine the domain of the following functions
√ 4 1
(a) f (t) = 3 + 2t + (b) g(x) = p
3t − 7 1 − |3x + 2|

Solution:
(a) This expression is defined when

3 + 2t ≥ 0 and 3t − 7 ̸= 0

We have

3 + 2t ≥ ⇐⇒ t ≥ − 32 , and 3t − 7 ̸= 0 ⇐⇒ t ̸= 7
3

Thus Df = − 32 , 37 ∪ 73 , ∞


(b) This expresion is defined when

p
1 − |3x + 2| ≥ 0 and 1 − |3x + 2| =
̸ 0, or simply 1 − |3x + 2| > 0

We have

1 − |3x + 2| > 0 ⇐⇒ 1 > |3x + 2| ⇐⇒ −1 < 3x + 2 < 1 ⇐⇒ −1 < x < − 13

1


Thus Df = −1, − 3

Example 8. Determine the domain and range of

p
f (x) = 3 + 2 − |x + 1|

Solution: This expression is defined when 2 − |x + 1| ≥ 0

We have

0 ≤ 2 − |x + 1| ⇐⇒ |x + 1| ≤ 2 ⇐⇒ −2 ≤ x + 1 ≤ 2 ⇐⇒ −3 ≤ x ≤ 1

Thus Df = [−3, 1]

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To determine the range, we will do it step-by-step:
Expression Range
x+1 R
|x + 1| [0, ∞)
−|x + 1| (−∞, 0]
2 − |x + 1| (−∞, 2]
p  √ 
2 − |x + 1| 0, 2
p  √ 
3 + 2 − |x + 1| 3, 2 + 3
 √ 
So, Rf = 3, 2 + 3

Example 9. Determine the domain of

√
r
2 t
(a) g(x) = x − x2 + (b) h(t) =
3x − 1 |t| − 1

Solution:
(a) This expression is defined when
x − x2 ≥ 0 and 3x − 1 ̸= 0
We have
x − x2 = x(1 − x) ≥ 0
With a number line, we find the solution set is [0, 1]. This, together with x ̸= 31 , gives
Dg = 0, 13 ∪ 31 , 1



(b) This expression is defined when

t
≥0 and |t| − 1 ̸= 0
|t| − 1
Notice that |t| − 1 ̸= 0 ⇐⇒ t ̸= ±1
Further
1
>0 ⇐⇒ |t| − 1 > 0 ⇐⇒ |t| > 1 ⇐⇒ t < −1 or t > 1
|t| − 1
1
That is, is positive on (−∞, −1) ∪ (1, ∞) and negative on (−1, 1).
|t| − 1
This, together with t is positive on (0, ∞) and negative on (−∞, 0), we can determine where
t
is positive and negative:
|t| − 1
t − + − +
|t| − 1 −1 0 1

Consequently is Dh = (−1, 0] ∪ (1, ∞)

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2 Even and odd functions
Definition 10. Consider a function f with domain Df .
• We say that f is even when f (−x) = f (x) for all x ∈ Df .
• We say that f is odd when f (−x) = −f (x) for all x ∈ Df .
Visually even functions are symmetric around the origin. If one rotates the graph of an odd function
by 180◦ around the origin, then we will get the same graph.
Even function Odd function

Example 11. Determine which of the following functions are even, odd, or neither even nor odd.
(a) f (x) = 2x2 − 1 (b) f (x) = x3 + x
(c) f (x) = x2 + 2x + 1 (d) f (x) = x x2 − 1 − x3

Solution:
(a) Since 2(−x)2 − 1 = 2x2 − 1, it is an even function.
(b) Since (−x)3 + (−x) = −x3 − x, it is an odd function.
(c) This function is neither odd nor even:
f (−1) = 0, f (1) = 4, −f (1) = −4; =⇒ f (−1) ̸= f (1) and f (−1) ̸= −f (1)

(d) Since (−x) (−x)2 − 1 − (−x)3 = − x x2 − 1 − x3 , it is an even function.

3 Increasing and decreasing functions

Definition 12. A function f is increasing on an interval I if for all x1 , x2 ∈ I,
x1 < x2 =⇒ f (x1 ) < f (x2 )
A function f is decreasing on an interval I if for all x1 , x2 ∈ I,
x1 < x2 =⇒ f (x1 ) > f (x2 )

Example 13. Consider a function f whose graph is the following.

From the graph:

f is increasing on [0, 1] and [3, 4]
f is decreasing on [1, 3]

1 3 4

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Definition 14. An interval I is open if it contains no boundary points. An interval is closed if
it contains all boundary points.
For any a, b ∈ R, with a < b,

(a, b), (−∞, b), (a, ∞) open intervals

[a, b], (−∞, b], [a, ∞] closed intervals
(a, b], [a, b) neither open nor closed

Example 15. For f (x) = |x + 1|, determine on which open intervals f is increasing and decreasing.

Solution: We have

−x − 1 as x < −1
f (x) =
x + 1 as x ≥ −1

We can make a sketch to see where it increases and decreases. Alternatively, we could argue it
algebraically as follows. If x ∈ (−∞, −1), then

x1 < x2 =⇒ −x1 > −x2 =⇒ −x1 − 1 > −x2 − 1 =⇒ f (x1 ) > f (x2 )

If x ∈ (−1, ∞), then

x1 < x2 =⇒ x1 + 1 < x2 + 1 =⇒ f (x1 ) > f (x2 )

Consequently, f is increasing on (1, ∞) and decreasing on (−∞, −1)

Exercise 16. On which open intervals is f (x) = |x + 3| − |2x + 1| increasing and decreasing?

Answer: Increasing on −∞, 12 and decreasing on 1

2, ∞ .