Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Functions - Complex, Piecewise


The last post introduced you to functions and how they work, but there are few other things worth discussing. The first is more about function notations.

When I introduced functions, I referred to the standard notation as f(x). However, you will quickly come across problems that use different letters, but mean the same things. You will probably see things like g(x) or h(x), and they are just used to differentiate between different functions. An example will probably clear this up:

f(x) = 2x + 3
g(x) = x - 8
h(x) = 4x + 1

That shows that function f (or g, or h) is equal to the given expression. So f(x), g(x), and h(x) all represent different functions. It's the equivalent of saying 3x = 12, or 5a = 10... the math is the same, just with different letters.

So, with multiple expressions, we can do slightly more complicated things. If we say solve f(1), we substitute 1 in for x, and solve it to get 5:

f(x) = 2x + 3
f(1) = 2(1) + 3
f(1) = 5

However, we can now ask for something like f(g(x))... read as "f of 'g of x'." Looks complicated, but keeping in mind what the function notation is saying, we can easily solve this by substituting the expression for g(x) in for x (instead of just subbing in a single number like before):

f(x) = 2x + 3, g(x) = x - 8
f(g(x)) = 2(x - 8) + 3
f(g(x)) = 2x - 16 + 3
f(g(x)) = 2x - 13

Furthermore, if we wanted to solve f(g(5)), we can do one of two things. We can evaluate the expression as we just did, then solve when x= 5... or we can solve g(5) first, then substitute that into f(g(x)):

Method 1:
f(g(x)) = 2x - 13
f(g(5)) = 2(5) - 13
f(g(5)) = (-3)

Method 2:
g(x) = x - 8
g(5) = 5 - 8
g(5) = (-3)...
then...
f(x) = 2x + 3
f(g(5)) = f(-3) = 2(-3) + 3
f(g(5)) = (-3)

Both methods get the same answer, because they are doing the same things. It's just a matter of what you are more comfortable with. Function notation can get very confusing like this, but for problems like this, you just have to basically work from the inside out, just as in any other math expression you've seen! (eg. (2x + 7(3x -4) + 2).... solve the inside bracket first, then the outside). They may seem tricky, but you will be surprised at how easy they are when you see through the notation and know what they are asking!

Another point to discuss is functions that are not described by a single equation, but remain continuous. Remember back to what we said a function is... a way of relating two variables, where each number in the domain corresponds to ONLY ONE number in the range. Also remember the vertical line test. But we never said anything about it being entirely expressed by one equation! So then, we can say that the following is also a function:



Obviously, it is composed of two straight lines, each having their own equation. This is called a PIECEWISE FUNCTION. Since it is just one line with two distinct 'pieces,' it is a single function, not two, and it is written as:
That says that f(x) is described by two separate equations, over the domains of x stated after each equation. Given this graph or equation, if you were then asked to solve f(2), you must look to see within which domain x = 2 falls, and evaluate that expression. For this example, f(2) is in the top equation, so f(2) = 3. You can check by looking at the graph to see that when x = 2, the function evaluates to (y equals) 3. Alternately, f(4) is within the bottom expression, so f(4) =3/2.

Try to remember that as difficult and tricky as some functions look, they aren't that difficult if you relate to them what you know already about solving math problems and you pay attention to what is being asked! Remember, if you need something clarified further, don't hesitate to post a comment!


3 comments:

  1. I'm slightly confused. first of all, how did you derive that equation from the graph? Wouldn't it be x + 1and (-5/2)x + 11 1/2? Also, can you explain the inequalities? I feel I missed an important concept.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Jason,

    Thank you for your comment! You were right that I had an error in my equation for the graph in the figure. The equation for the range of 3<=x<=5 is -(5/2)x + (23/2). (I converted your 11 1/2 to 23/2.)

    To clarify the inequalities (the ranges of the graph pieces), you can determine that just from looking at the graph. In this case, the piecewise function is defined by two different straight lines, given by the equations that we just discussed. Actually, as I am typing this, I notice that there is a second error in this problem. The range of the x+1 segment should be -4<=x<=3, while the second part is as I showed, 3<=x<=5.

    What these inequalities are saying is: "Over the range of -4 to 3, the graph is defined as the equation f(x)=x+1. For the range of 3 to 5, the graph is defined by f(x)= -(5/2)x + (23/2)". The two pieces of the graph are defined by two separate equations, and those equations apply only within the ranges specified.

    It is also worth noting that at x=3, f(3) can be defined by using either equation, as that point lies on both lines.

    I hope that clarifies things for you. Thanks again for finding my errors. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Is solving for f pretty much like solving for y? When solving for the functions there are two equation things, would you solve them separately or put them together? If suppose to be done separate, is it wrong if the answers for each are two numbers? What if their are three different line slope things, could you get that with two egations or do you have to have three This was really helpful though, thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts