11.

1 Rational Functions Practice Problems

1. Describe the horizontal asymptotes of the following rational functions.
3x 1 3
(a) f (x) = y=
2 5x 5
x+7
(b) h(x) = 2 y=0
x 6x + 8
x2 6x + 8
(c) l(x) = No horizontal asymptote
x+7
7x2 3x + 2x3 + 6 2
(d) n(x) = y=
4x x 2 5x
2 3 5
4 3
(2x + 5) (6 x) 2
(e) o(x) = y=
(3x 1)(x 2) 6 3
2. Find all vertical asymptotes, horizontal asymptotes, holes, x-intercepts, and y-intercepts
for the following rational functions. Show the algebra that justifies your answer. Graph
these functions.
3x 1 3 2
(a) f (x) = Horizontal Asymptote:y = , Vertical Asymptote: x = ,
2 5x 5 5
1 1
x-intercept ( , 0), y-intercept (0, )
3 2
3
2
1

4 3 2 1 1 2 3
1
2
3
4
2x
(b) g(x) = Horizontal Asymptote:y = 2, Vertical Asymptote: x = 7,
x+7
x-intercept (0, 0), y-intercept (0, 0)

20 15 10 5 5

10

1
 x+7
(c) h(x) = Horizontal Asymptote:y = 0, Vertical Asymptote:
6x + 8
x2  
7
x = 2 and x = 4, x-intercept (7, 0), y-intercept 0,
8

10 5 5

10

15

20
x+7
(d) k(x) =
x2 + 6x 7