Functions,

Ch1

Function
A rule that assigns to each element in a set A (the
domain), one and only one element in a set B (the
range)
Domain
A

mapping
1
3
-4

Range
B -1
1
-6

Function
A function is a rule that assigns to each object in a
set A exactly one object in a set B.
The set A is called the domain of the function, and
the set of assigned objects in B is called the range.

Function, or not?
f
A

YES

f
A

NO

f
NO

Function Notation
y 3 x 2 2 is a function, with values of x as
the domain and values of y as the range.
We write f ( x) in place of y.
This is read f of x.
2
f
(
x
)

3
x
2
So

NOTE: It is not f times x

 To be convenient, we represent a functional

relationship by an equation y f (x)
In this context, x and y are called variable,
furthermore, we refer to y as the dependent
variable and to x as the independent variable.
For instant, the function representation
y f ( x) x 2 4

Noted that x and y can be substituted by other

letters. For example, 2the above function can be
represented by s t 4

Function Notation
Example
Find f (2), f (0), and f (b 1), where f ( x) 3 x 2 2.

Solution
2

f (2) 3(2) 2 3(4) 2 14

Plug in 2

f (0) 3(0) 2 2 2

f (b 1) 3(b 1) 2 2
3(b 2 2b 1) 2 3b 2 6b 5

Piecewise-defined function
A piecewise-defined function is such a
function that is often defined using more than
one formula, where each individual formula
describes the function on a subset of the
domain.
Here is an example of such a function
f ( x)

1
if x 1
x 1
2
3 x 1 if x 1

Example 1

Find f(-1/2), f(1), and f(2), where the piecewise-defined

function f(x) is given at the foregoing slide.
Solution:
1
x

Since
satisfies x<1, use the top part of the formula to
2

find

1
1
1
2
f

3
2 1/ 2 1 3 / 2

However, x=1 and x=2 satisfy x1, so f(1) and f(2) are
both found by using the bottom part of the formula:
f (1) 3(1) 2 1 4 and f (2) 3(2) 2 1 13

Domain Convention
We assume the domain of f to be the set of all
numbers for which f(x) is defined (as a real
number).
We refer to this as the natural domain of f.
In general, there are two situations where a number
is not in the domain of a function:
1) division by 0
2) The even number root of a negative number

Domain of a Function
2x
Ex1. Find the domain of f ( x)
3x 1
Since division by zero is undefined we must
1
have 3 x 1 0 x .
3
The domain can be expressed as the intervals

1
1

,
and
,

Domain of a Function
Ex2. Find the domain of f ( x) 7 x 5
Since the square root of a negative number is
undefined we must have
5
7 x 5 0 7x 5 x .
7
5
The domain is all values of x that satisfy x .
7
The domain can be expressed as the interval

Example 3

Find the domain and range of each of these functions

1
a. f ( x )
x3

4
b.g (u ) u 2

Solution:
a. Since division by any number other than 0 is possible, the
domain of f is the set of all numbers except 3. The range of f is
the set of all numbers y except 0, since for any y0, there is an x
1
1
x

such that
; in particular,
.
y
x 3
b. Since negative numbers do not have real fourth roots, so the
domain of g is the set of all numbers u such as u-2. The range
of g is the set of all nonnegative numbers.

Graph of a Function
The graph of a function is the set of all points (x, y)
such that x is in the domain of f and y = f (x).
Given the graph of y = f (x),
find f (1).
y
f (1) = 2

(1, 2)
x

Graph of a Function
The graph of a function f consists of all points (x,y) where x is in
the domain of f and y=f(x), that is, all points of the form (x,f(x)).
Rectangular coordinate system, Horizontal axis, vertical axis.
The below example shows that the function can be sketched by
plotting a few points.

f ( x) x x 2
2

-3

-2

-1

f(x)

-10

-4

-4

-10

Application Example (Functions )

The total revenue is given by the product
R(x)=(number of items sold)(price per item)
=xp=xD(x)
If C(x) is the total cost of producing the x units, the profit is given
by the function P(x)=R(x)-C(x)=xD(x)-C(x)

Example

Market research indicates that consumers will buy x

thousand units of a particular kind of coffee maker when
the unit price is p 0.27 x 51 dollars. The cost of
producing the x thousand units is

C ( x) 2.23 x 2 3.5 x 85
thousand dollars.
a. What are the revenue and profit functions, R(x) and
P(x), for this production process?
b. For what values of x is production of the coffee
makers profitable?

Solution:

a. The demand function is

D( x) 0.27 x 51, so the revenue is

R ( x) xD( x) 0.27 x 51x

2

thousand dollars, and the profit is (thousand dollars)

P( x) R( x) C ( x)
0.27 x 2 51x (2.23x 2 3.5 x 85)
2.5 x 2 47.5 x 85

b. Production is profitable when P(x)>0. We find that

P ( x ) 2.5 x 2 47.5 x 85
2.5( x 2 19 x 34)
2.5( x 2)( x 17 ) 0

Thus, production is profitable for 2<x<17.

Application Example (Functions )

A shirt producer has a fixed monthly cost of $5000.
If each shirt costs $3 and sells for $12 find:
a.

The cost function

Cost: C(x) = 3x + 5000 where x is the number
of shirts produced.

b.

The revenue function

Revenue: R(x) = 12x where x is the number of
shirts sold.

c.

The profit from 900 shirts

Profit: P(x) = Revenue Cost
= 12x (3x + 5000) = 9x 5000
P(900) = 9(900) 5000 = 3100, or $3100.

Application Example 2 (Functions)

A division of Chapman Corporation manufactures a
pager. The weekly fixed cost for the division is
$20,000, and the variable cost for producing x
pagers/week is
V ( x ) 0.000001x 3 0.01x 2 50 x dollars.

The company realizes a revenue of

R ( x) 0.02 x 2 150 x 0 x 7500 dollars
from the sale of x pagers/week.

......

1. Find the total cost function.

The total cost function is the variable cost plus the
fixed cost:
3
2
C ( x) 0.000001x 0.01x 50 x 20,000
2. Find the total profit function.
The profit is the revenue minus the total cost

P ( x ) 0.02 x 150 x
2

0.000001x3 0.01x 2 50 x 20,000

P( x) 0.000001x3 0.01x 2 100 x 20, 000

......

3. What is the profit for the company if 2000 units

are produced and sold each week?
Since the profit function is

P ( x) 0.000001x 3 0.01x 2 100 x 20, 000

we have
P (2000)
0.000001(2000)3 0.01(2000) 2 100(2000) 20,000
132, 000, or $132,000

Linear Functions
A linear function is a function that changes at a
constant rate with respect to its independent
variable.
The graph of a linear function is a straight line.
The equation of a linear function can be written in the
form

y mx b

where m and b are constants.

Functions Used in Economics

A demand function p=D(x) is a function that relates the unit price
p for a particular commodity to the number of units x demanded
by consumers at that price.
The supply function S(x) for the commodity is the unit price
p=S(x) at which producers are willing to supply x units to the
market.

Some Economic Models

Demand Function: p=f(x)

Some Economic Models

Supply Function: p=f(x)

Market Equilibrium
The law of supply and demand: In a competitive market
environment, supply tends to equal demand, and when this
occurs, the market is said to be in equilibrium.
The demand function: p=D(x)
The supply function: p=S(x)
The equilibrium price:
pe D( xe ) S ( xe )
Shortage: D(x)>S(x)
Surplus: S(x)>D(x)

Example

Market research indicates that manufacturers will supply x

units of a particular commodity to the marketplace when the
price is p=S(x) dollars per unit and that the same number of
units will be demanded by consumers when the price is
p=D(x) dollars per unit, where the supply and demand
functions are given by
2
S ( x) x 14 D ( x) 174 6 x
a. At what level of production x and unit price p is market
equilibrium achieved?
b. Sketch the supply and demand curves, p=S(x) and
p=D(x), on the same graph and interpret.

Solution:

a. Market equilibrium occurs when S(x)=D(x), we have

x 2 14 174 6 x
( x 10)( x 16) 0
x 10 or 16

Only positive values are meaningful, pe D(10) 174 6(10) 114

Break-Even Analysis
At low levels of production, the manufacturer suffers
a loss. At higher levels of production, however, the total
revenue curve is the higher one and the manufacturer
realizes a profit.
Break-even point : The total revenue equals total cost.

Example

A manufacturer can sell a certain product for $110 per unit.

Total cost consists of a fixed overhead of $7500 plus
production costs of $60 per unit.
a. How many units must the manufacturer sell to break even?
b.What is the manufacturers profit or loss if 100 units are
sold?
c.How many units must be sold for the manufacturer to
realize a profit of $1250?
Solution:

If x is the number of units manufactured and sold, the total

revenue is given by R(x)=110x and the total cost by
C(x)=7500+60x

a. To find the break-even point, set R(x) equal to C(x) and

solve 110x=7500+60x, so that x=150.
It follows that the manufacturer will have to sell 150 units
to break even.
b. The profit P(x) is revenue minus cost. Hence,
P(x)=R(x)-C(x)=110x-(7500+60x)=50x-7500
The profit from the sale of 100 units is P(100)=-2500
It follows that the manufacturer will lose $2500 if 100
units are sold.
c. We set the formula for profit P(x) equal to 1250 and solve
for x, we have P(x)=1250, x=175. That is 175 units must
be sold to generate the desired profit.

Example

A certain car rental agency charges $25 plus 60 cents per

mile. A second agency charge $30 plus 50 cents per mile.
Which agency offers the better deal?
Solution:

Suppose a car is to be driven x miles, then the first agency

will charge C1 ( x) 25 0.60 x dollars and the second will charge
C2 ( x) 30 0.50 x . So that x=50.

For shorter distances, the first agency offers the better deal,
and for longer distances, the second agency is better.