+
=
1 x
x
) x ( f . 1
2
0 x >
if
A piecewise defined function is defined by different
formulas on different parts of its domain.
Example:
=
3 x
x 9
x
) x ( f . 2
2
0 x s
1 x >
3 x 0 s <
if
if
if
Sometimes a function is defined by more than
one rule or by different formulas. This function is
called a piecewise define function.
if x<0
f(-2), f(-1), f(0), f(1), f(2)
A. Evaluate the piecewise function at the
indicated values.
+
=
1 x
x
) x ( f . 1
2
0 x >
if
+ =
2
) 2 x (
1 x
x 3
) x ( f . 2
f(-5), f(0), f(1), f(5)
0 x <
if
if
if
2 x 0 s s
2 x >
EXAMPLE:
B. Define g(x) = |x| as a piecewise defined
function and evaluate g(-2), g(0) and g(2).
EXAMPLE:
Solution:
From the definition of |x|,
<
>
=
0 x
0 x
if
if
x
x
) x ( g
2 ) 2 ( g
0 ) 0 ( g
2 ) 2 ( ) 2 ( g
Theref ore
=
=
= =
Sketch the graph of the following functions and
determine the domain and range.
EXAMPLE:
=
2
2 3
) ( . 2
3
2
4
) ( . 1
x
x
x f
x g
if
if
if
1
2 1
2
<
< s
>
x
x
x
if
if
1
1
>
<
x
x
> +
s
=
1 1 2
1
) ( . 3
2
x if x
x if x
x f
DEFINITION: ABSOLUTE VALUE FUNCTION
Recall that the absolute value or magnitude of
a real number is defined by
Properties of absolute value:
<
>
=
0 ,
0 ,
x if x
x if x
x
y ineaqualit triangle The b a b a . 4
values absolute the of ratio the is ratio a of value absolute The 0 b ,
b
a
b
a
. 3
values absolute the of product the is product a of value absolute The b a ab . 2
value absolute same the have negative its and number A a a . 1
+ s +
= =
=
=
The graph of the function can be obtained
by graphing the two parts of the equation
separately. Combining the two parts produces the V-shaped
graph. It may help to generate the graph of absolute value
function by expressing the function without using absolute
values.
x x f = ) (
<
>
=
0 if ,
0 if ,
x x
x x
y
Example:
Sketch the graph of the following functions and determine
the domain and range.
5 x 2 3 ) x ( f . 2
1 x 3 x ) x ( f . 1
+ + =
+ + =
DEFINITION: GREATEST INTEGER FUNCTION
greatest integer less than or equal to x
The greatest integer function is defined by
(
= x
Example:
(
= 0
(
= 1 . 0
(
= 3 . 0
(
= 9 . 0
(
= 1
(
= 1 . 1
(
= 2 . 1
(
= 9 . 1
(
= 2
(
= 1 . 2
(
= 4 . 3
(
= 4 . 3
(
= 9 . 0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
2
2
3
-4
-1
Graph of greatest integer function.
(
x y = Sketch the graph of
x
(
x y =
1 x 2 < s
0 x 1 < s
1 x 0 < s
2 x 1 < s
3 x 2 < s
2
1
0
1
2
x
y
o
EXERCISES:
2 2
2
2
4 : . 6
1
1 2
: . 5
3 : . 4
2 1 : . 3
1 : . 2
3 4 : . 1
x y h
x
x x
y g
x y h
x y G
x y F
x y H
+ =
+
=
+ =
=
+ =
+ =
( )( )
( )( ) 3 12
9 4 3
. 10
4 : . 9
2 3
2 1 1
1 3
: . 8
3 1 2
3 1
: . 7
2
2 2
+ +
+
=
=
>
< <
s
=
> +
<
=
x x x
x x x
y
x y G
x if
x if
x if
y f
x if x
x if x
y F
A. Given the following functions, determine the domain and
range, and sketch the graph:
EXERCISES:
B.Compute the indicated values of the given functions.
4 t
4 t 4
4 t
if
if
if
t
1 t
3
) x ( f
>
s s
<
+ =
) 16 ( andf ), 4 ( f ), 6 ( f
a.
<
s s
<
=
x 2
2 x 2
2 x
if
if
if
3
1
4
) x ( h
b.
c.
) 2 ( h and ), e ( h ,
2
h ), 2 ( h ), 3 ( h
2
|
.
|
\
|
t
=
=
=
3 x
3 x
if
if
2
4 x
) x ( F
2
|
.
|
\
|
3
2
F and ), 3 ( F ), 0 ( F ), 4 ( F
C. Define H(x) as a piecewise defined function and
evaluate H(1), H(2), H(3), H(0) and H(-2) given by,
H(x) = x - |x 2|.