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A Level

A Level Mathematics
C3 Functions (Answers)

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 C3 - Functions (Answers)
MEI, OCR, AQA, Edexcel

1. Consider the functions f (x) = x + 2 and g(x) = x2 . Find the composite functions:

(a)

f g(x) = f (g(x))
= f (x2 )
= x2 + 2.

[2]

(b)

gf (x) = g(f (x))

= g(x + 2)
= (x + 2)2
= x2 + 4x + 4.

[2]

2. Consider the function f (x) = 2x − 1:

(a) f −1 (x) = 21 (x + 1). [3]

(b)

f −1 f (x) = f −1 (f (x))
= f −1 (2x − 1)
1
= ((2x − 1) + 1)
2
= x.

[2]

(c) Again, f f −1 (x) = x. [2]

3. A function is invertible if and only if it is a bijection. In other words, the function must be one-to-one
and onto. [2]

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4. A function f (x) is said to be an odd function if f (−x) = −f (x). Similarly, f (x) is said to be an even
function if f (−x) = f (x):

(a) Let f (x) and g(x) be two odd functions. Denote s(x) to be the function obtained by adding these
two functions together. Thus,

s(x) = f (x) + g(x).

Now we just need to show that s(x) is an odd function: we need to show that s(−x) = −s(x). Let’s
compute s(−x) then:

s(−x) = f (−x) + g(−x)

= −f (x) − g(x)
= − (f (x) + g(x))
= −s(x).

Hence this proves that the sum of two odd function is odd, as required.

[3]
(b) Let f (x) and g(x) be two odd functions. Let p(x) be their product. Thus

p(x) = f (x)g(x).

Now let’s compute p(−x):

p(−x) = f (−x)g(−x)
= [−f (x)] × [−g(x)]
= f (x)g(x)
= p(x).

Thus, p(−x) = p(x) so we know that p(x) is an even function. Thus, the product of two odd
functions gives an even function. [3]

(c)

h(−x) = f (−x)g(−x) + g(−x)

= −f (x)g(x) − g(x)
= − [f (x)g(x) + g(x)]
= −h(x).

Thus, h(x) is an odd function! [4]

(d) If f (x) is an even function then its graph is symmetrical about the y axis. [2]

(e) If g(x) is an odd function then its graph is antisymmetrical about the y axis. In other words, the
graph to the left-hand side of the y axis is a rotation by 180◦ of the graph on the right-hand side
of the y axis. [2]

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5. Consider the function f (x) = 2x + 2:

(a) f −1 (x) = 12 x − 1. [2]

Figure 1: The graphs of f (x), f −1 (x) and g(x) = x plotted on the same axes.

(b) The graph of f −1 (x) is a reflection along the line y = x. (This gives us a very easy way to sketch
inverse functions if we already have the graph of the function). [3]

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6. In order for a function to be invertible it needs to be one-to-one and onto. The function y = arcsin x (or
y = sin−1 x) is the inverse of the sine function y = sin x. The problem is that the sine function is not
one-to-one. In order to find the inverse we must restrict the domain. This can be done by only taking
x values in the range − π2 ≤ x ≤ π2 as shown in the plot below:

(a) [2]
y = x
π y = arcsin x
2

y = sin x

−π −1 1 π
2 2

−π
2

Figure 2: The graphs of y = x, y = sin x and y = arcsin x plotted on the same axes.

(b) The domain is now −1 ≤ x ≤ 1 and the range is (− π2 , π2 ). [2]

7. Sketch the following functions, clearly indicating any points of intersection with the axes and the location
of any minimum/maximum points:

(a) [2]

Figure 3: y = |x|.

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(b) [2]

Figure 4: y = |x| + 1.

(c) [2]

Figure 5: y = |x + 1|.

(d) [2]

Figure 6: y = |2x| + 1.

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8. Solve the following equations:

(a) x = ±1. [2]

(b) x = −1 and x = 4. [2]

9. Solve the following inequalities. Hint: you may find sketches to be helpful :

(a) −3 < x < 3. [2]

(b) −1 < x < 2. [2]

(c) −2 < x < 2. [3]

(d) − 13 < x < 1. [3]

(e) x < −1 and x > 12 . [3]

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