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3: Functions

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    • 3.1: Functions and Function Notation
      A jetliner changes altitude as its distance from the starting point of a flight increases. The weight of a growing child increases with time. In each case, one quantity depends on another. There is a relationship between the two quantities that we can describe, analyze, and use to make predictions. In this section, we will analyze such relationships.
    • 3.2: Domain and Range
      In creating various functions using the data, we can identify different independent and dependent variables, and we can analyze the data and the functions to determine the domain and range. In this section, we will investigate methods for determining the domain and range of functions.
    • 3.3: Rates of Change and Behavior of Graphs
      In this section, we will investigate changes in functions. For example, a rate of change relates a change in an output quantity to a change in an input quantity. The average rate of change is determined using only the beginning and ending data. Identifying points that mark the interval on a graph can be used to find the average rate of change. Comparing pairs of input and output values in a table can also be used to find the average rate of change.
    • 3.4: Composition of Functions
      Suppose we want to calculate how much it costs to heat a house on a particular day of the year. The cost to heat a house will depend on the average daily temperature, and in turn, the average daily temperature depends on the particular day of the year. The cost depends on the temperature, and the temperature depends on the day. By combining these two relationships into one function, we have performed function composition, which is the focus of this section.
    • 3.5: Transformation of Functions
      Often when given a problem, we try to model the scenario using mathematics in the form of words, tables, graphs, and equations. One method we can employ is to adapt the basic graphs of the toolkit functions to build new models for a given scenario. There are systematic ways to alter functions to construct appropriate models for the problems we are trying to solve.
    • 3.6: Absolute Value Functions
      Distances in the universe can be measured in all directions. As such, it is useful to consider distance as an absolute value function. In this section, we will investigate absolute value functions. The absolute value function is commonly thought of as providing the distance the number is from zero on a number line. Algebraically, for whatever the input value is, the output is the value without regard to sign.
    • 3.7: Inverse Functions
      If some physical machines can run in two directions, we might ask whether some of the function “machines” we have been studying can also run backwards. In this section, we will consider the reverse nature of functions.

    Thumbnail: This relationship is a function because each input is associated with a single output. Note that input q and r both give output n.

    Contributors

    • Lynn Marecek (Santa Ana College) and MaryAnne Anthony-Smith (formerly of Santa Ana College). This content produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 license.

    This page titled 3: Functions is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by OpenStax via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.