Linear Functions Linear Functions The basic fundamental function, the one that calculus is based upon, is the

linear function. A linear function is a function whose graph consists of segments of one straight line throughout its domain. Such a line is, you may remember, determined by any two points on it, say (a, f(a)), (b, f(b)). Thus, you can pick any a and any b in its domain and determine the line from the two values, f(a) and f(b). What is a formula for such a function? We can determine the linear function which takes value f(a) at a and f(b) at b by the following formula:

because the first term is 0 when x is b and is f(a) when x is a, while the second term is 0 when x is a and is f(b) when x is b. A more convenient and suggestive form for this function is given by:

The number m which occurs here is called the slope of this line. Notice that it is given by the ratio of the change of f between x = b and x = a to the change in x between these two arguments. If f is plotted on the y axis, then we call c here the y-intercept of this line; it is the value of y when x is 0, which describes the intersection point between the line and the y-axis. A quadratic function f is a function of the form f(x) = ax2 + bx + c where a, b and c are real numbers and a not equal to zero. The graph of the quadratic function is called a parabola. It is a "U" shaped curve that may open up or down depending on the sign of coefficient a. Examples of quadratic functions a. f(x) = -2x2 + x - 1 b. f(x) = x2 + 3x + 2

Any quadratic function can be written in the standard form f(x) = a(x - h)2 + k where h and k are given in terms of coefficients a, b and c. Let us start with the quadratic function in general form and complete the square to rewrite it in standard form.

Given function f(x) f(x) = ax2 + bx + c factor coefficient a out of the terms in x2 and x f(x) = a[ x2 + (b/a)x ] + c add and subtract (b/2a)2 inside the parentheses f(x) = a[ x2 + (b/a)x + (b/2a)2 - (b/2a)2 ] + c Note that x2 + (b/a)x + (b/2a)2 can be written as [x + (b/2a)]2 We now write f as follows f(x) = a[ x + (b/2a) ]2 - a(b/2a)2 + c which can be written as f(x) = a[ x + (b/2a) ]2 - (b2/4a) + c This is the standard form of a quadratic function with h = -b/(2a)

k = c - b2/(4a)

When you graph a quadratic function, the graph will either have a maximum or a minimum point called the vertex. The x and y coordinates of the vertex are given by h and k respectively. Example : Write the quadratic function f given by f(x) = -2x2 + 4x + 1 in standard form and find the vertex

of the graph. Solution

given function f(x) = -2x2 + 4x + 1 factor -2 out f(x) = -2(x2 - 2x) + 1 We now divide the coefficient of x which is -2 by 2 and that gives -1. f(x) = -2(x2 - 2x + (-1)2 - (-1)2) + 1 add and subtract (-1)2 within the parentheses f(x) = -2(x2 - 2x + (-1)2) + 2 + 1 group like terms and write in standard form f(x) = -2(x - 1)2 + 3 The above gives h = 1 and k = 3. h and k can also be found using the formulas for h and k obtained above. h = -b/2a = -4/(2*-2) = 1 k = c - b2/(4a) = 1 - 42/(4*-2) = 3

The vertex of the graph is at (1,3).

The x intercepts of the graph of a quadratic function f given by f(x) = ax2 + bx + c are the real solutions, if they exist, of the quadratic equation ax2 + bx + c = 0 The above equation has two real solutions and therefore the graph has x intercepts when the discriminant D = b2 - 4ac is positive. It has one repeated solution when D is equal to zero. The solutions are given by the quadratic formulas x1 = (-b + sqrt(D))/2a and x2 = (-b - sqrt(D))/2a

Example: Find the x intercepts for the graph of each function given below

a. f(x) = x2 + 2x - 3 b. g(x) = -x2 + 2x - 1 c. h(x) = -2x2 + 2x - 2 Solution a. To find the x intercepts, we solve x2 + 2x - 3 = 0 discriminant D = 22 - 4*1*(-3) = 16 two real solutions: x1 = (-2 + sqrt(16))/(2*1) = 1 and x2 = (-2 - sqrt(16))/(2*1) = -3 The graph of function in part a) has two x intercepts are at the points (1,0) and (-3,0) b. We solve -x2 + 2x - 1 = 0 discriminant D = 22 - 4*(-1)*(-1) = 0 one repeated real solutions x1 = -b/2a = -2/-2 = 1 The graph of function in part b) has one x intercept at (1,0). c. We solve -2x2 + 2x - 2 = 0 discriminant D = 22 - 4*(-2)*(-2) = -12 No real solutions for the above equation No x intercept for the graph of function in part c). The y intercept of the graph of a quadratic function is given by f(0) = c. Example: Find the y intercept of the graph of the following quadratic functions.

a. f(x) = x2 + 2x - 3 b. g(x) = 4x2 - x + 1 c. h(x) = -x2 + 4x + 4 Solution a. f(0) = -3. The graph of f has a y intercept at (0,-3). b. g(0) = 1. The graph of g has a y intercept at (0,1). c. h(0) = 4. The graph of h has a y intercept at (0,4). A polynomial is an expression of one variable in the form a n x n + a n-1 x n-1 +... + a 2 x 2 + a 1 x + a 0 , where a 0, a 1,, a n are real numbers with a n 0and n is a positive integer. Many real-life situations are easily modeled by polynomial functions. Some of the most familiar are quadratic functions, which are functions of the form f (x) = ax 2 + bx + c . Other polynomial functions are also commonly seen in mathematical models. In the following sections we'll study the general form of polynomials, what a polynomial function looks like, and how to find the roots of a given polynomial function. The roots of a polynomial function are the values of x for which the function equals zero. In a related topic, we'll take a look at rational functions, which are functions that can be written as a quotient of two polynomials. After an in-depth look at polynomial functions, they will be easy to deal with in calculus.

Piecewise Functions A Function Can be in Pieces You can create functions that behave differently depending on the input (x) value.

A function made up of 3 pieces

Example: A function with three pieces:

when x is less than 2, it gives x2, when x is exactly 2 it gives 6 when x is more than 2 and less than or equal to 6 it gives the line 10-x It looks like this:

(a solid dot means "including", an open dot means "not including") And this is how you write it:

The Domain is all Real Numbers up to and including 6: Dom(f) = (-, 6] (using Interval Notation) Dom(f) = {x | x 6} (using Set Builder Notation) And here are some example values: X Y -4 -2 0 1 2 16 4 0 1 6

The Absolute Value Function The Absolute Value Function is a famous Piecewise Function. It has two pieces:

below zero: -x from 0 onwards: x

f(x) = |x|

The Floor Function The Floor Function is a very special piecewise function. It has an infinite number of pieces:

The Floor Function

Greatest Integer Function posted in: Integers | updated on: 29 May, 2012 Greatest Integer function as the name suggests does the greatest integer number that exists in the number. Simplifying the words, we can say that it is the integer number lesser than or equal to the given number. It is represented by [number] (big bracket). Now the question arises that in which case it will be equal to the given number, and in which case it will be lesser than the given number. So it is quite obvious from the definition that, if we have to find the greatest integer function for an integer number then it will be equal to the given number and if we have to find for a non-integer number then the integer part of it will be the greatest integer function of it. We can say that the greatest integer function of a given number is the closest integer number on the number line to the left of the given number. This is our number line: -|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Example 1: Find the greatest integer function of 7? Solution: [7] = 7 Explanation: As the given number is an integer number, hence the closest integer number to the left of the given number is the same number. Example 2: Find the greatest integer function of 4.7? Solution: [4.7] = 4 Explanation: As the closest integer number to the left of the given number on the number line is 4. Example 3: Find the greatest integer function of -3.4? Solution: [-3.4] = -4, Explanation: As the closest integer number to the left of the -3.4 is -4