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1.5: Properties of Functions: Learning Goals

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12 views6 pages

1.5: Properties of Functions: Learning Goals

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Bumbafan180 Bumbafan180
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Math-115 Chapter 1: Graphs and Functions Fall 2024

1.5: Properties of Functions

We study functions because functions store information about real world processes. F (x) might report
the population of some town on a given date ‘x’, or it may report the effectiveness of some medicine at
dosage ‘x.’ So we want to be able to analyze functions in order to learn about the corresponding real-world
processes which they represents. We do this by studying the function’s properties.

Learning Goals. By the end of this section, students will be able to...

• define the terms increasing, decreasing, local extrema, even function, odd function, and average rate
of change,

• determine on what intervals a function is increasing, decreasing, and constant,

• find the local extrema of a function,

• determine whether a function is even, odd, or neither,

• calculate the average rate of change of a function over a given interval,

• recognize and reproduce the formula for a difference quotient,

• calculate the difference quotient of given functions.

1.5: Properties of Functions 1 of 6


Math-115 Chapter 1: Graphs and Functions Fall 2024

Whether some real world property goes up, down, or stays the same as the input variable increases is often
extremely important. It is one of the most basic yet informative qualities of a function which we will study.

Definition. A function f is said to be increasing on the interval (a, b) if for all x1 , x2 in the interval:
x1 < x2 implies than f (x1 ) < f (x2 )
A function f is said to be decreasing on the interval (a, b) if for all x1 , x2 in the interval: x1 < x2 implies
than f (x1 ) > f (x2 )
A function f is said to be constant on the interval (a, b) if for all x1 , x2 in the interval: f (x1 ) = f (x2 )

For any function we’ll deal with in this class, you can always break the domain of a function into intervals
where it is either increasing, decreasing, or constant on each one.
Example: On which intervals is the following functions increasing? On which is it decreasing? Constant?

1.5: Properties of Functions 2 of 6


Math-115 Chapter 1: Graphs and Functions Fall 2024

Definition. If a is a number in the domain of a function f such that on some interval (x1 , x2 ) containing
a the following holds: f (a) ≥ f (x) for all x in the interval (x1 , x2 )
then we say that f (a) is a local maximum of f

If b is a number in the domain of a function f such that on some interval (x1 , x2 ) containing b the following
holds: f (b) ≤ f (x) for all x in the interval (x1 , x2 )
then we say that f (b) is a local minimum of f

Numbers which are either local maximums or local minimums are called local extrema

Example: In the grid provided, draw the graph of a function which has a local maximum at x = 4, x = 7
and a local minimum at x = −1.
Report all local extrema of the function

10

-10 -5 5 10

-5

-10

1.5: Properties of Functions 3 of 6


Math-115 Chapter 1: Graphs and Functions Fall 2024

Definition:
A function f is said to be even if for all x in the domain of f , −x is also in the domain and f (−x) = f (x)
A function f is said to be odd if for all x in the domain of f , −x is also in the domain and f (−x) = −f (x)

Note that a function being even is the same as requiring symmetry about the .
Similarly, a function being odd is the same as requiring symmetry about the .
Therefore, we can identify if a function is even/odd exactly as we would identify its symmetry types.

Definition. If (a, f (a)) and (b, f (b)) are two points which satisfy a function f , then we say that the
average rate of change of f from a to b is defined to be:

change in y f (b) − f (a)


ARC of f from a to b = =
change in x b−a

This should look familiar!


This is the same as the of the line connecting the points and
The idea of average rate of change is that we want to know how fast the function is increasing/decreasing
“on average.” So we pretend it changed at a constant rate; ie we pretend the function is .

Example: Find the average rate of change of the function f (x) = x3 − 2x from 0 to 2.

1.5: Properties of Functions 4 of 6


Math-115 Chapter 1: Graphs and Functions Fall 2024

Definition. The difference quotient for a function f is the expression

f (x + h) − f (x)
h

where h is a non-zero real number

This is actually equivalent to the expression

f (x) − f (a)
x−a

for a ̸= x. Though most texts will prefer the version using an h.


The difference quotient of f is equivalently the

Example: Find and simplify the difference quotient of 2x2 − 3x + 5

1.5: Properties of Functions 5 of 6


Math-115 Chapter 1: Graphs and Functions Fall 2024

Combining Skills

Problem. For the following function, determine:


(a) On what intervals it is increasing, decreasing, and constant
(b) Find all local extrema (and identify which are maximums and which are minimums)
(c) Find the average rate of change between x = −1 and x = 3

1.5: Properties of Functions 6 of 6

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