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So, first things first. What are we talking about here? In calculus, we study quantities that change.
This is why calculus can be so fascinating and useful. It can be applied to any quantity that changes.
In nature, we not only see quantities that change. We also see that some quantities are connected to one
another in some way.
For example, we see that it is hotter during the day. During the night it is colder. To understand better
this connection between things we invented mathematical functions.
"If two variables are connected in some way, so that for each value of one corresponds one value of
the other, we say that one is a function of the other."
It doesn't matter how that connection is expressed. As you'll see, a function can be repr esented by an
equation, a graph or a table.
If L starts to change, that is, it becomes a variable, A also changes. If L becomes bigger, A becomes
bigger.
Do you recognize what that means? It means that A is a function of L! That equation gives us the
instructions to obtain the area, given the length of the side.
Mathematical functions that are defined by equations like this one are very useful. In fact, these are the
functions we will mostly focus on.
There are many ways to express the same function, though. For example:
This table expresses the same function. We can even graph the function like this:
What am I trying to show you with these examples? That you don't need to know the equation that
defines it. To have a function, the only thing we need is two variables that are related.
What will happen if L=-4? We can't have a negative length, but we didn't specify that on the equation. If
we give that equation to a computer, it will "think" that it is also defined for negative values of L.
This means that L can only be positive or zero. The symbol between L and 0 means that L can be greater
or equal than 0. We often use that symbol in calculus, you'll get used to it.
Although this is the correct way to express a function using an equation, we often don't put the second
part. If there is no specification, it usually means that both variables can take any valu e.
To learn more about this, go to Domain of a Function: Understanding and Finding It.
Function Notation
Now I will introduce you to some notation. That is, how we write functions. In calculus we like to name
the variables "x" and "y". When we have an equation that defines a function, for example:
We like to say that y is the "dependent variable" and x is the "independent variable". This means that x
is independent, it can take up any value you want, as long as it agrees with the definition. The variable y
depends on the value that x takes.
This is only a convention. There is no reason why x couldn't be the dependent variable. But this is a
useful convention.
These are the fundamentals of mathematical functions. To keep learning more, follow some of the
following links.
Conclusion
These are the things I want you to leave with:
What do I mean by a rule which asigns an output to an input? Consider a box, like the one below:
The functions we use in calculus are rules that relate numbers. So, in our case, the "x " in the box
represents any real number.
In this case, we say that the function f(x) is evaluated at 1. We read f(1) "f of 1".
Me Example
You may already have an idea of what is a function after taking algebra. When thinking about functions
you probably think only about numbers.
Don't think that functions are only about numbers. In fact, almost anything can be considered a function!
Here are some hilarious examples of functions. I saw Salman Khan from the KhanAcademy teach using
them, and I found them very useful.
Let's say that I am a function. Let's study the Pablo function. In case you don't know, Pablo is my name.
What will happen if you give the Pablo function the input "food"? Let's see:
Now, let's consider the "you" function. Let's give "you" the input "calculus pages":
You(Pablo(food)) = ?
This may seem convoluted, but is very simple. Let's replace Pablo(food) by its equal, "calculus pages":
You may or may not find these examples useful. I found them hilarious when I saw them.
They are useful to show what is a function and that they are not limited to relationships between
numbers.
Solved Problem 1
Let's do some function problems. Let's say that:
What is f(-1)?
Solved Problem 2
Now, let's a do a slightly more complicated problem. Until now, to design a function we've been using
only the letter f, as in f(x).
When we have more than one function, we need other letters to name the functions. The favorites are "g"
and "h".
And finally:
Solved Problem 3
Here we have another interesting problem:
Let's think. What is f(x)? It is 1/(1+x). So,
Exercises
Here's a little exercise for you:
Answers
Conclusion
There are many ways to understand what is a function, because it is a very general concept.
One way that is very useful is as a box, which given an input, gives an output.
Do some function problems!
Finding the Domain of a Function Step by Step
What is the domain of a function? In what is a function we saw that we can think of a function as a rule.
This rule, given an input, gives an output.
You could also say that it is a rule that "maps" the input to the output. In calculus, we often use this
notation:
This means that "y" is a function of "x". Here, x is the input, often called the independent variable. And
y is the output, and it is called the dependent variable.
So, back to the domain of a function. What is it? It is just the set of values that x can take. You can think
of the domain as a bag. This bag contains all the x's you can choose as input for the function.
The domain of a function can be defined explicitly or implicitly, but it is always defined.
Example 1
As an example of a domain defined explicitly, let's say I give you the expression:
Here I tell you that x must be greater than 0. You can't choose any x. In the bag you only have positive
x's.
This function has an implicitly defined domain. I don't specify the valid values of x. So, it is implicit that
the domain is the set of all real numbers.
Example 2
A more interesting example of an implicitly defined domain is the function:
At first glance you may think this is the same as the previous case. However, what would happen if x=2?
We'll get
And 1/0 doesn't make sense. (if you're not completely sure why division by zero doesn't make sense,
here's a simple explanation).
Because f(2) doesn't make sense, we take the 2 out of the bag, and the domain is the set of all real
numbers that are not 2.
More examples...
Example 3
Let's consider the function:
In the real numbers, the squareroot of a number is defined only for positive numbers. The s quareroots of
negative numbers do exist, but we won't consider them here.
So, our function is only defined when there is a positive number inside (or zero!) the square root sign.
That means that x-3 must be positive:
And the domain of this function is the set of all numbers equal or greater than 3. A fancy way of saying
this is that the domain is:
Conclusion
The domain of a function is the set of all values the independent variable can take.
The domain can be specified explicitly or implicitly. When it is implicit, the domain is the set of all
real numbers for which the function makes sense.
Remember that we need to specify the domain to have a function properly defined.
In this case, f circle g is defined for all valid values of g(x). Why? Because g(x) is the argument!
But what are the valid values of g(x)? sin(x) is well defined for all real values of x. So, the domain is the
set of real numbers.
Example 1
Let's say we have the functions:
We want to find:
So, we have:
Because we have the (t) at the end, what we wanto to find is the value of the function at t. According to
our definition:
So, finally:
What do you think? Will it be the same result? Let's find out:
No matter where you put the parenthesis, you get the same value.
Example 3
Now we'll solve the reverse of what we were doing previously. Let's say we have the function defined
by:
We can solve this in two ways, but getting the same result. We have:
We can start analyzing the "outer" function sin. We have a function sin(something). Our s(x) is defined
as sin(x), so we have:
Ok, now we have to express 2 to the x using our functions. This one is easy. We already have:
So,
What is the othe way of doing this problem? You could also had started repalcing first the 2 to the x. As
an exercise, you might want to do the same with the function:
Conclusion