Functions: Chapter Test
20 multiple-choice questions and 10 core practice problems, drawn from across the chapter and mixed together.
Multiple choice
20 questions, 100 points in total, 5 points each. Answer in any order and change your mind as often as you like. When you submit, your answers lock and every question shows its worked solution.
Core practice
10 problems from across the chapter. Work on paper, use hints when you need them, and check the answer or the full solution when you are ready.
Difficulty: Core (core-course level)
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Problem 1 The complete plotted record
The graph shows the complete function . Find .
The complete graph of . Text description of this figure
A square coordinate grid with equal unit lengths on both axes. The horizontal x-axis runs from negative four to four and the vertical y-axis from negative five to five, with tick marks, number labels and gridlines at every whole number, and the origin labeled 0. Four filled dots are plotted and they are the whole graph: one three units left of the y-axis and one unit above the x-axis, at negative three, one; one two units left and three units above, at negative two, three; one one unit right and four units below, at one, negative four; and one three units right and two units above, at three, two. No line or curve joins the dots, no dot is labeled with its coordinates, and no other point is shown.
- Hint 1
Read the height at each requested input before doing the arithmetic.
- Hint 2
Keep the factor outside the function attached to the output at input one.
Answer
.
Full solution
The plotted heights give and .
Therefore
which is .
The other plotted inputs do not enter this expression.
Answer
.
Key idea
Function notation selects outputs by input before ordinary arithmetic combines them.
- Hint 1
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Problem 2 The allowed real inputs
Let wherever this expression is real and defined. State its domain, and decide whether it ever produces a positive output.
- Hint 1
Each of the two roots, and the denominator, restricts the input.
- Hint 2
Within the surviving interval, compare the signs of the numerator and denominator.
Answer
Domain: . No positive output is produced.
Full solution
The first root requires , so .
The second root requires , so .
The denominator also requires , leaving
On that domain the numerator is nonnegative and the denominator is negative, so the quotient is at most zero.
At , the output is zero.
At every other allowed input the numerator is positive, so the output is negative.
Thus no positive output occurs.
Answer
Domain: . No positive output is produced.
Key idea
Separate domain conditions must all hold, and signs can rule out entire classes of outputs.
- Hint 1
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Problem 3 Three combined records
Advanced. This question goes beyond core Algebra I. It is not required by the course.
For all real inputs, let and . Give expanded polynomial formulas for and , and give the simplest formula and complete domain for .
- Hint 1
Check whether the two written rules produce the same outputs before combining them.
- Hint 2
Any input that makes the divisor output zero remains excluded after simplification.
Answer
; , both on all real inputs. for .
Full solution
Expanding the first rule gives , identical to .
Addition and subtraction therefore give
Their domains remain all real numbers.
The divisor is , so it is zero at and .
For every other input the same nonzero quantity appears above and below, giving
The two excluded inputs do not become legal when the fraction is canceled.
Answer
; , both on all real inputs. for .
Key idea
Identical function rules can simplify a quotient to a constant without removing the original divisor restrictions.
- Hint 1
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Problem 4 The two-stage run
Advanced. This question goes beyond core Algebra I. It is not required by the course.
A cutter produces tiles in a run lasting minutes, counting three test tiles at start-up and seven more each minute. Every tile has mass grams, and each batch is packed on a tray of mass grams, so a batch of tiles has packed mass grams. Give an expanded formula for the packed mass as a function of the run length, and use it for a run of minutes. A coworker computes instead: what number does that give, and why is it not the packed mass?
- Hint 1
Decide which quantity each rule takes in and which it hands back before chaining the two.
- Hint 2
The mass rule accepts a number of tiles, so the tile rule runs first; for the coworker's expression, work out the inner result before the outer one.
Answer
grams, giving grams for a minute run. The coworker gets , a number of tiles, not a mass.
Full solution
The mass rule needs a number of tiles, so the tile rule runs first and its whole output drops into .
That gives
which expands to grams.
A run of minutes produces tiles, and the formula gives
The packed batch has mass grams, which is grams for each of the tiles plus the gram tray.
The coworker's order sends the run length into the mass rule first, so , and then
That output is a number of tiles, produced by treating minutes as tiles and grams as a run length, so it is not the packed mass.
Because the two stages measure different quantities here, only one order hands each rule an input it can accept.
Answer
grams, giving grams for a minute run. The coworker gets , a number of tiles, not a mass.
Key idea
Here the two stages measure different quantities, so only one order hands each rule a quantity it is built to accept.
- Hint 1
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Problem 5 Two linked entries
Advanced. This question goes beyond core Algebra I. It is not required by the course.
The one-to-one function has domain . Two records say and . Find and .
- Hint 1
The forward entry and the inverse entry describe pairings in opposite directions.
- Hint 2
Solve the first equation for its input, and reverse the second entry before substituting into the rule.
Answer
, .
Full solution
The first entry gives , where .
Clearing the denominator and solving gives
This allowed input produces .
The inverse record means .
Hence
so .
Reversing the checked pair confirms the inverse record.
Answer
, .
Key idea
Forward and inverse notation can be combined by keeping track of which member of each pair is the original input.
- Hint 1
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Problem 6 A nested symbol
Advanced. This question goes beyond core Algebra I. It is not required by the course.
For all real inputs, define . Write as an expanded polynomial, and state the smallest value that expression can take and the input that produces it.
- Hint 1
Compute each inner rule before applying the square of a difference to the results.
- Hint 2
Simplify the difference of the two inner squares before squaring it, then recall which values a square can take.
Answer
; its smallest value is , produced only by .
Full solution
The two inner outputs are and .
Their difference is
Squaring this difference gives
A square is never negative, so for every real .
At the expression gives
Every other input has , so its output is positive.
The smallest value is therefore , produced only by .
Answer
; its smallest value is , produced only by .
Key idea
Nested custom operations take whole inner outputs, and when the result is a square that can equal zero, its least value follows from a square never being negative.
- Hint 1
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Problem 7 The simplified outputs
Advanced. This question goes beyond core Algebra I. It is not required by the course.
Let for , and let for . Give the simplest formulas and complete domains of both and .
- Hint 1
A simplified output does not erase restrictions from either stage of a composition.
- Hint 2
In the second order, determine when the square root equals the input rejected by the outer rule.
Answer
for . for and .
Full solution
For , the inner rule requires and produces .
The outer rule accepts that output, so
giving constant value for exactly .
For , the inner root requires .
Its output must not equal , so
excludes .
At every surviving input, the numerator and nonzero denominator in are equal, so the output is .
The formulas agree, but their domains differ.
Answer
for . for and .
Key idea
Compositions with the same simplified formula can still be different functions because their legal inputs differ.
- Hint 1
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Problem 8 A restricted machine
Advanced. This question goes beyond core Algebra I. It is not required by the course.
The function accepts exactly . The function accepts all real inputs. Give an expanded formula and the complete domain for , and decide whether exists.
- Hint 1
The inner output must fall inside the outer machine’s allowed interval.
- Hint 2
Apply both endpoints of that interval to the expression produced by the inner rule.
Answer
for ; is undefined.
Full solution
Substitution gives
which simplifies to .
The inner output must satisfy
The lower condition is automatic since
The upper condition gives
or
At , the inner output is , which exceeds the outer limit .
Thus the composition is undefined there, even though the polynomial expression alone could be evaluated.
Answer
for ; is undefined.
Key idea
A stated domain remains part of a function even when its algebraic formula accepts additional inputs.
- Hint 1
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Problem 9 The proposed reversal
Advanced. This question goes beyond core Algebra I. It is not required by the course.
Let on . Dara proposes on all real inputs as its inverse. Is Dara’s proposal, rule and domain together, correct? State the inverse function with its domain and range, and verify both compositions.
- Hint 1
Find the outputs actually produced by the original square root rule.
- Hint 2
The inverse input set must equal that output set, and the restriction controls the square root of a square in the check.
Answer
No. for , with range ; both compositions return on the respective domains.
Full solution
The root is nonnegative, so the range of is .
Every such value is reached by input .
Swapping and in the original rule gives
Thus , with inverse domain and range .
With restricted correctly, for the expression is , which equals .
For ,
Here , so this equals , hence .
Both checks hold.
Dara’s unrestricted rule fails, for example, at , where
Answer
No. for , with range ; both compositions return on the respective domains.
Key idea
An inverse formula needs the original range as its domain for both compositions to undo correctly.
- Hint 1
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Problem 10 A reduced graph
Advanced. This question goes beyond core Algebra I. It is not required by the course.
The graph shows the complete function . Delete as few plotted points as possible so the remaining function has an inverse, while retaining the point with input . Give every inverse pair and its domain and range, and verify that the two functions undo each other.
The complete graph of . Text description of this figure
A coordinate grid with equal unit lengths on both axes. The horizontal x-axis runs from negative three to six and the vertical y-axis from negative two to five, with tick marks, number labels and gridlines at every whole number, and the origin labeled 0. Four filled dots are plotted and they are all the points of the function: one two units left of the y-axis and one unit above the x-axis, at negative two, one; one on the y-axis four units above the x-axis, at zero, four; one three units right and one unit above, at three, one; and one five units right and one unit below, at five, negative one. No line or curve joins the dots, no dot is labeled with its coordinates, and no dot is marked out from the others.
- Hint 1
Each retained output must have a single original input if reversal is to be a function.
- Hint 2
Locate the repeated height, respect the point that must stay, and reverse the remaining pairs.
- Hint 3
Follow one retained pair forward and then back to check a direction of the undoing.
Answer
Delete . Inverse pairs: , , . Domain ; range . Both compositions return their inputs.
Full solution
Inputs and both produce output .
Because the point at input must stay, the point must be deleted.
The remaining three heights are distinct, so one deletion is sufficient and is the minimum.
The retained pairs are , , and .
Reversing them gives , , and .
The inverse domain is and its range is .
Each retained forward arrow is exactly reversed: the routes are to to , to to , and to to .
Starting instead at , , or follows each route in reverse and also returns to its start.
Thus both compositions are verified on all of their inputs.
Answer
Delete . Inverse pairs: , , . Domain ; range . Both compositions return their inputs.
Key idea
Removing repeated outputs can make a finite function invertible, after which reversing every pair verifies both directions.
- Hint 1