Lecture 1: Functions and their graphs

August 1, 2016
Lecturer: Chandra Vaidyanathan

1. Introduction to functions
One of the first steps we take towards modeling the real world around us is through the notion of a function.
The grade one obtains in this class depends on the effort one puts in, the temperature at which water boils
depends on the elevation above sea level, the area of circle depends on its radius, the volume of a cube
depends on the length of its sides. So how do we make explicit this dependency? It is through the concept
of a function.
It was Leibnitz who introduced the term function, to refer to certain kinds of mathematical formulae, but
its scope was widened over time and we now define, a function as a correspondence which associates with
each element of a set X, one and only one element of another set, Y . The set X is called the domain
of the function. Those elements of Y associated with the elements in X form a set called the range of the
function. The domain and range of a function can be any set of objects and do not necessarily have to consist
of numbers.
QUESTION: 1.1. Give an example of a function whose domain or range is not a set of real numbers.

Remark 1. When we define a function, f (x), with a formula and the domain is not stated, the
domain is assumed to be the largest set of x-values for which the formula gives real y-values. This
is the functions natural domain.

Remark 2. Suppose we assign an area to a plane region. When we do this, we associate a number
with a set S in the plane. We thus, have a function, which assigns a real number a(S), to each set S
in some given collection of sets. Such a function is a set function.

EXAMPLE: 1.1. Lets verify the natural domains and associated ranges of some simple functions.

Function Mathematical Formula Domain(x) Range(y)

Identity function y=x

Constant functions y=k
Linear functions y = 3x + 5
Power functions y = x4
Polynomial functions y = 2x3 + x2 x + 1
 Remark 3. In our course, we will primarily deal with functions whose domain and range are sets of
real numbers. Such functions are called real valued functions of a real variable or more briefly, real
functions.

QUESTION: 1.2. Find the domain and range of the following functions:

1. f (x) = 4 x2
1
2. f (x) =
x3
x
3. f (x) = 2
x 1

2. New functions from old

If f and g are two functions, we can generate a new function, f + g, called the sum, with the following
definition:
(f + g)(x) = f (x) + g(x)

QUESTION: 2.1. What can we say about the domain of f + g?

We can similary define the difference function, f g, which would defined as:

(f g)(x) = f (x) g(x)

with the domain of definition being identical to that of the sum function.

QUESTION: 2.2. Can you think of other ways of generating new functions from old, together with
an expression for the domain of the new function?

Remark 4. f.g and f /g can be defined similarly, with the obvious caveat that the denominator
cannot be zero for the quotient function.

Another completely different way to generate a new function is through composition of functions, f g,
defined as: (f g)(x) = f (g(x)). The definition says that two functions can be composed, when the range
of the first lies in the domain of the second. Here, we ought to be a bit careful about the domain of the
composed function. Its domain is given by the set of all x such that x is in the domain of g and g(x) in the
domain of f .

QUESTION: 2.3. Find the following if f (x) = x and g(x) = x + 1:

(f g)(x), (g f )(x), (f f )(x), (g g)(x)

3. Graphs, symmetries and odds and ends about functions
The graph of a function is the graph of y = f (x), with (x, f (x)) being the coordinate for every point x in
the domain of the function f . For some useful graphs, refer to pg. 21 of Thomas and Finney.

3.1. Symmetries of a function

A function is said to be even, if f (x) = f (x), for all x in the domain of f . The graph of an even function
is symmetric about the y-axis. A function is said to be odd, if f (x) = f (x) for all x in the domain of f .
The graph of an odd function is origin symmetric.

QUESTION: 3.1. Explore the symmetries of the following functions:

f (x) = x2 , f (x) = x3 , f (x) = sin(x), f (x) = cos(x)

3.2. Periodic functions

A function, f (x) is said to be periodic, if f (x + T ) = f (x), for all x. The smallest such T for which this
equation is satisfied is called the period of the function.

QUESTION: 3.2. Is sin(x) periodic? If it is periodic, what is its period? Is it also symmetric about
either the y-axis or the origin?

QUESTION: 3.3. What about tan(x)?

3.3. Piecewise functions

Sometimes we need to define a function with different formulas for different parts of its domain. Such a
function is called piecewise function.

EXAMPLE: 3.1. The absolute value function, f (x) = |x|, is a piecewise function, since for those
values of x between and 0, |x| = x and those between 0 and , |x| = x.

QUESTION: 3.4. Can you think of other piecewise functions?

READING ASSIGNMENT: pg. 1-22

Thomass Calculus and Analytic Geometry, Thomas, Weir and Hass, Twelfth edition, Pearson
HOME ASSIGNMENT:
Ex. 1.1: 2, 4, 6, 21, 22, 25, 27, 29, 33, 42, 46, 52, 54, 63, 64, 69, 72
Ex. 1.2: 11, 13, 17, 18, 19, 28, 29, 33, 34, 55, 56, 61, 64, 66