Name: ____________________

Pre- Calc. 11

Date: _____________

Chapter 7 Absolute Value and Reciprocal Functions

Section 7.2B Graphing Absolute Value Functions of the Form continue
Notice the value is inside the absolute value. If this is the case, the absolute value
should be graphed using a completely different method.

Example 1: Sketch the graph of y 3x 1

Step 1 : Sketch the graph of
y-intercept:
slope:
Step 2 : Calculate the -intercept by setting in the
absolute value equation. The -intercept
can also be located graphically from step 1.
The -intercept of
is also the
-intercept of
. This is
called an invariant point.
Step 3 : Reflect in the -axis the part of the graph of
that is below the -axis. The V- shaped graph that results is the graph of
.
Step 4 : State the domain and range:
Since the right branch is from the equation
_________________________________ , the graph

and the left branch is from the equation

can be described as a piecewise function:

Invariant points are points that remain unchanged when a transformation is applied. What
other points on the graph are invariant points?

Example 2: Sketch the graph of

Piecewise function.

. State the domain and range, and express as a

Quadratic absolute functions

Graphing an Absolute Value Function of the Form

Example 3: Sketch the graph of

by first sketching the graph of

. Then state the domain and range of the absolute value graph only.
1) Factor the corresponding quadratic equation to find the roots (x-intercepts).
2) Complete the square on the function to find the vertex. Graph the parabola.
3) Reflect in the x-axis the part of the graph that lies below the x-axis in order to
build the absolute value graph. The negative y values in the original parabola will
have the absolute value applied to them, thereby making them positive.

The absolute value graph above is actually a combination of two parabolas. What are the
quadratic functions of the two parabolas?
We can define the absolute value function as a piecewise function of the two quadratic
functions:

Example 3: Sketch the graph of

and
a) State the domain and range of the absolute value graph.
b) Express the absolute value as a piecewise function.

Assignment: Pg. 376-379

Q. 7, 8, 10, 11cd, 13, 22