Comprehensive Oxford Mathematics and Physics Online School (COMPOS)

Year 12

Mathematics Assignment 09
Analysis and Graphic Representation of Functions
David Vaccaro, Vladimir Chernov, Alexander Lvovsky

Due 09 June, 2024

This is the ninth Mathematics assignment from COMPOS. This assignment is designed to stretch you
and no student is expected to complete all questions on the first attempt. The problems are hard, but
do not let this discourage you. Give each problem a go, and skip to the next one if you are stuck.
The questions in each section are arranged in the order of increasing complexity, so you should try all
sections. Very similar problems will be discussed in tutorials and webinars, so think of the questions
you would like to ask. We hope that eventually you will be able to solve most of the problems. Good
luck!

Total 64 marks

1 Domain and range

A function from set A to set B, written f : A → B, is a mapping in which every element of A is associated
with a unique element of B. Note in the definition of functions it is not necessarily the case that all elements
in B must be mapped onto. It is also possible that elements of B can be mapped onto more than once.

The set A is known as the domain and the set B is known as the codomain. The set of elements of B that are
mapped onto is called the range or the image and is written f (A). If every element in the range is mapped
onto exactly once then the function is known as one-to-one. A one-to-one function is invertible, and it is
possible to define the inverse function, f −1 : f (A) → A, that satisfies f −1 (f (x)) = x.

Example 1. What is the range of the function g : R → R defined by g(x) = x2 ? Is g invertible?

Solution. Whenever we square a real number the result is non-negative, and all non-negative numbers y are
√
2
mapped onto because y = y . Therefore the range is the set of non-negative numbers, {y : y ≥ 0}.

The function is not invertible, because strictly positive elements in the range are mapped onto more than
√ √
once. In fact they are mapped onto exactly twice by x = y and x = − y. The only element in the range
that is mapped onto exactly once is zero.

Example 2. What is the range of the function s : [− π2 , π2 ] → R defined by s(x) = sin(x)? Is the function s
invertible? Is the function sin invertible when it is defined on the domain of all real numbers?

Solution. The range of s is [−1, 1] because sin x assumes all values between −1 and 1 on the interval − π2 , π2 .
 

1
The function s is invertible, because as can be seen from the graph, s is strictly increasing on [− π2 , π2 ] and
each y value is obtained only once.

y y = s(x)
1

x
- π2 π
2

-1

In contrast, the function sin defined on R is not invertible because each y value in the range [−1, 1] is mapped
onto infinitely many times (either once or twice in each period).

As you know, the inverse of s is known as arcsin : [−1, 1] → − π2 , π2 and for an input x it defines the angle
 

θ in the range [− π2 , π2 ] that satisfies sin θ = x.

Example 3. The following functions are often thought of as “inverse” functions. Define their domain and
range and state the function for which they are the inverse.

√
a) f (x) = x;
b) g(x) = arccos x;
c) h(x) = ln x.

Solution. a) The domain of the square root function is the set of non-negative numbers and the output
is real, so f : {x : x ≥ 0} → R. Note it would also be correct to say that f : {x : x ≥ 0} → {y : y ≥ 0}, but
when defining a function it is not necessary to restrict the codomain to just those values that are mapped
onto, and it is fine to put the codomain as R for a real valued function.

The square root function always returns the positive square root, so the range is the set of non-negative
numbers {y : y ≥ 0}.

The square root function is the inverse of the function x 7→ x2 where the is domain restricted to non-negative
real numbers. Note that we saw in the first example that x 7→ x2 is not invertible when it is defined on R.

b) The domain of arccos is [−1, 1] since this is the range of the cos function. The output is real and so
arccos : [−1, 1] → R.

The value of arccos x is the principal value of the angle θ satisfying cos θ = x. In the case of cosine that is
the angle in the interval [0, π].

arccos is the inverse of the function cos : [0, π] → R. Note that, just like sin, if we do not restrict the domain
of arccos then the function is not invertible.

2
 c) The logarithm is defined on the set of positive numbers {x : x > 0} or R+ as this is the range of the
exponential function. The range is R as all real numbers are mapped onto. The natural logarithm is the
inverse of the real-valued function x 7→ ex defined on R. Here we do not need to restrict the domain of the
exponential function as x 7→ ex is an invertible function.

Problem 1 (2 marks). The domain of the functions

√
f (x) =x2 ;
√
2
g(x) = x

consists of all real values where the right hand side is well defined.

a) What is the domain and range in each case?

b) Can the functions be expressed more simply?

Problem 2 (2 marks). Sketch the following functions:

f (x) = cos (arccos x)

g(x) = arcsin sin x
h(x) = arcsin cos x

State the domain and range in each case. Give the simplest possible expression that describes the function.

Problem 3 (3 marks). The functions f : {x : x 6= 1} → R and g : {x : x 6= 2} are defined as

2x + 3
f (x) = ;
1−x
x−3
g(x) =
x+2

a) Find and simplify g(f (x)).

b) Find the domain and range of g(f (x)).

Hint: be careful. The domain in part (b) is not R even though the expression in part a) is defined everywhere.

Problem 4 (2 marks, PAT-2015). By sketching the function below, or otherwise, find what values of y the
function takes when x can take any real value.
 
8
y=− −3
x2 − 4

2 Odd and even functions

Some functions have symmetry. Two important types of symmetry are as follows:

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 • a function f is said to be even if for ever element in the domain, x, we have

f (−x) = f (x).

• a function f is said to be odd if for every element in the domain, x, we have

f (−x) = −f (x)

Notice for these definitions to make sense, for all x in the domain of f , −x is also in the domain. This means
that the domain is symmetric. Also, obviously, many functions are neither even nor odd.

Example 4. The function f : R → R is defined as f (x) = xn , where n is a positive whole number. For
which values of n is f and even function? For which values of n is f an odd function?

Solution. We have:

f (−x) = (−x)n = (−1)n xn = (−1)n f (x).

Hence if n is even, f (x) is an even function, and if n is odd, then f (x) is an odd function.

Problem 5 (4 marks). Determine which functions are odd or even. Plot the graphs:

a) y = cos x;
b) y = cos |x|;

c) y = cos(x + 1);
d) y = −x · |x|;
e) y = |x − 1| − |x + 1|.

We can see that a function’s property property of being even or odd relates to the symmetry of the graph:

• the graph of an even function has reflection symmetry about the y-axis.

• the graph of an odd function has rotational symmetry about the origin.

For example the graph of y = x2 is an even function and it has reflection symmetry about the y-axis, whereas
the graph of y = x3 is an odd function and it has rotational symmetry of 180◦ about the origin.

Example 5. Prove that any function with a symmetrical domain can be uniquely represented as a sum of
an odd and even function.

Solution. Let f be a function with a symmetric domain.

Let us begin by assuming that it is possible to write f as the sum of an even function E and an odd function
O:
f (x) = E(x) + O(x).

4
According to the properties of even and odd functions, we then also have
f (−x) = E(x) − O(x).
Solving these two equations gives
f (x) + f (−x)
E(x) =
2
f (x) − f (−x)
O(x) =
2
It is easy to check that E(x) and O(x) so defined are even and odd respectively. Hence, we have a unique
expression for f (x) as the sum of an even and an odd function.

Problem 6 (2 marks). Using the definition of the derivative as the limit

f (x + h) − f (x)
f 0 (x) = lim
h→0 h
show that if f (x) is a differentiable even function then f 0 (x) is an odd function. Show similarly that the
derivative of an odd function is even.

3 Monotonic functions

A function, f defined on an interval I is monotone increasing if for all x1 , x2 ∈ I

x1 < x2 ⇒ f (x1 ) ≤ f (x2 )

If the final inequality is strict then the function is described as strictly monotone increasing. A monotone
increasing function can perhaps be more accurately described as non-decreasing.

The definitions of monotone decreasing and strictly monotone decreasing are analogous. For differentiable
functions the sign of the first derivative can be used to determine the intervals on which a function is
monotone increasing or decreasing. If f 0 (x) > 0 for x in an interval I then f is strictly monotone increasing
on I, if f 0 (x) < 0 for x in an interval I then f is strictly monotone decreasing on I. If the derivative is equal
to zero at a single point, but the derivative does not change sign then the function is still strictly monotone.

Example 6. Describe the intervals on which these functions are monotone. Where they are monotone
describe whether they are the strictly increasing or strictly decreasing.

a) f : R → R, defined such that f (x) = x3 ;

1
b) g : R → R, defined such that g(x) = ;
1 + x2
c) h : R → R, defined such that
h(x) = 0 x ≤ 0,
h(x) = x 0 ≤ x ≤ 1,
h(x) = 1 x ≥ 1.

5
Solution.

a) This function is strictly monotone increasing. This is because if x1 < x2 then x31 < x32 . This fact could
also be established by noting that the derivative, f 0 (x) = 3x2 is non-negative on R. The gradient is zero at
x = 0 but because it positive either side of the critical point it is strictly monotone increasing.

b) This function is strictly monotone increasing on the interval (−∞, 0] because for x1 < x2 ≤ 0 we have
1 1
that < . This function is strictly monotone decreasing on the interval [0, ∞] because for
1 + x21 1 + x22
1 1
0 ≤ x1 < x2 we have that < .
1 + x22 1 + x21

−2x
Alternatively we can argue that the first derivative g 0 (x) = is such that g 0 (x) > 0 when x < 0,
(1 + x2 )2
and g 0 (x) > 0 when x > 0.

c) Sketching the graph of h(x) enables us to see that the function is monotone increasing. It is however not
strictly monotone increasing since the their are intervals for which the function remains constant.

y
(1, 1)

x
(0, 0)

Problem 7 (4 marks). For the functions

a) f (x) = ex 5 − 4x + x2 ;
√
b) y = x2 − 4 − x,

defined wherever the right-hand-side makes sense,

• State the domain.

• Find the intervals on which the function is monotonically increasing and monotonically decreasing.

4 Critical points

A critical (stationary) point of a differentiable function, f , is any point, x0 , at which the derivative is equal
to zero, i.e. f 0 (x0 ) = 0.

If the derivative changes sign at a critical point then it is called a turning point. If the derivative changes
from negative to positive as x increases (so the function f (x) changes from decreasing to increasing at x0 )
then the turning point is called a (local) minimum. If it changes from positive to negative then it is a (local)

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maximum. If the sign of the derivative is the same either side of a critical point then it is an example of a
point of inflection.

It is often important to determine the nature of a critical point, that is to say, to determine whether it is a
maximum, minimum, or point of inflection. This is most commonly done by considering the sign of the first
derivative, or by using the second derivative test. The second derivative test says that if f 00 (x) > 0 then
the critical point at x is a minimum. This is because a positive second derivative implies increasing first
derivative; since we also know that f 0 (x0 ) = 0, we can conclude that f 0 (x) is negative (f (x) decreasing) at
x < x0 and f 0 (x) is positive (f (x) increasing) at x > x0 . Similarly, if f 00 (x) < 0 then the critical point at x
is a maximum. The second derivative test gives no information when f 00 (x) = 0.

You can learn more about critical points by reviewing this Khan Academy section.

Example 7. Find the critical points of the graph

y = xn ex

where n is a positive integer. Distinguish between the case where n is odd and n is even.

Solution. We begin by differentiating using the product rule:

dy
= xn ex + nxn−1 ex
dx
= xn−1 (x + n)ex
The critical points are at x = −n and x = 0 (provided n ≥ 2).

When n is odd we have the following signs for the first derivative.

x < −n −n < x < 0 x>0

xn−1 +ve +ve +ve
(x + n) -ve +ve +ve
ex +ve +ve +ve
dy
dx -ve +ve +ve

Hence when n is odd there is a minimum at x = −n and a point of inflection at x = 0. (Note that if n = 1
then there is no critical point at x = 0).

When n is even we have the following signs for the first derivative.

x < −n −n < x < 0 x>0

xn−1 -ve -ve +ve
(x + n) -ve +ve +ve
ex +ve -ve +ve
dy
dx -ve +ve +ve

In this case we have a maximum at x = −n and a minimum at x = 0.

Problem 8 (4 marks). The polynomial f : R → R is defined as

f (x) = x4 − 12x3 + 48x2 − 72x + 22.

7
 a) Show that f 0 (3) = 0 and hence find the exact co-ordinates of all the turning points and determine their
nature.
b) Prove that y = f (x) has a vertical axis of symmetry in the line x = 3.
c) Sketch y = f (x).

Problem 9 (PAT-2006, 3 marks). Identify and classify the stationary points of the function

y = 5 + 24x − 9x2 − 2x3 .

5 Inflections

A point of inflection of a differentiable function is a point at which the first derivative has either a local
maximum or a local minimum. For a second differentiable function this corresponds to a point, x, at which:

• f 00 (x) = 0;
• The sign of f 00 (x) changes at x.

1
Example 8. Find the points of inflection on the graph y = f (x) where f (x) = 1+x2 .

Solution. We begin by computing the first and second derivatives:

−2x
f 0 (x) = ;
(1 + x2 )2
−2(1 + x2 )2 + 2x(4x(1 + x2 )) 2(3x2 − 1)
f 00 (x) = 2 4
= .
(1 + x ) (1 + x2 )3

We hence have that f 00 (x) = 0 at x = ± √13 . We should check that the second derivative changes sign at
these points:

x < − √13 − √13 < x < √1

3
x > √13
00
f (x) +ve -ve +ve

We can see that the first derivative has a local maximum at x = − √13 and a local minimum at x = √1 .
3

These points of inflection correspond to the points where the curve is steepest. A good way to understand
points of inflection is to take a road bike and cycle in a mountain range. You would probably notice the
point close to the top of a climb where you feel the hill staring to “flatten out”. This corresponds to the
point of inflection.

1
If we were to sketch y = 1+x2 then the steepest tangents would occur with x-values equal to ± √13 .

8
 y

   
− √13 , 34 √1 , 3
3 4

Problem 10. (5 marks) Find the co-ordinates of the point of inflection, (p, q), of the cubic function

y = x3 + 3ax2 + bx + c.

Show that the graph of this function has rotational symmetry of 180◦ with centre (p, q).

Hint: a function has rotational symmetry of 180◦ with centre (p, q) if f (p − x) = 2q − f (p + x)

6 Asymptotes

An asymptote of a curve is a line such that the distance between the curve and the line approaches zero as
one or both of the x or y coordinates tends to infinity. For a given function f (x), we can distinguish two
types of asymptotes.

• An oblique (slant) asymptote is a straight line y = mx + n such that

lim [f (x) − (mx + n)] = 0 or lim [f (x) − (mx + n)] = 0.

x→+∞ x→−∞

A particular case of oblique asymptotes is horizontal asymptotes, for which m = 0.

• A vertical asymptote is the line x = a if

lim f (x) = ±∞ or,

x→a

where x may approach a either from left or right, or both.

You can find some examples of using horizontal and vertical asymptotes in this Khan Academy video

This The Organic Chemistry Tutor video contains examples with slant asymptotes.

Example 9. Describe the asymptotic behaviour of the following functions:

x
a) y = √ , |x| ≥ 1;
x2 − 1

9
 sin x
b) y = , x 6= 0;
x

Solution.
x
a) The function is defined for |x| > 1. For large x → ±∞, we have √ → ±1, which defines two
x2
−1
horizontal asymptotes. Also, the denominator tends to zero for |x| → 1, resulting in two vertical asymptotes.
For x → 1+ (The superscript “+” means that x approaching 1 from the right), y → +∞, whereas for
x → −1− (x approaching −1 from the left), y → −∞.

b) Because the function sin x is takes values in the range [−1, 1], the function tends to zero for x → ±∞.
Another candidate for asymptotic behaviour is the point x = 0. However, as we’ve learned in one of
sin x
the previous assignment when we calculated the derivative of the cosine, limx→0 = 1 (see this Khan
x
Academy video to remind yourself). This means that there is no vertical asymptote at x = 0.

Problem 11 (6 marks). Determine the domain and describe the asymptotic behaviour of the following
functions:

ex − 1
a) y = ;
x
x2 + 1
b) y = .
x2 − 1
1
c) y = x sin ;
x

7 Periodic Functions

A function f (x) defined on R is called periodic if, for some constant a, known as period, and for any x ∈ R,

f (x) ≡ f (x + a).

In other words, a periodic function repeats itself at regular intervals. Such functions are especially important
in physics. The sound wave of a note of constant pitch, for example, is periodic.

In principle, a periodic function has infinitely many periods that satisfy the above definition. For example,
the function y = sin x equals sin(x + a) for a = 2π, 4π, 6π and so on. The smallest of all periods is called the
fundamental period. Oftentimes, the fundamental period is referred to as simply “the period”. For example
the period of sin x is 2π.

Example 10. What is the period of the function f (x) = cos 4x + cos 3x?

Solution. We begin by writing f (x) = 2 cos 7x x

2 cos 2 We can see that f (0) = 2 and therefore see that the period
x0 must satisfy f (x0 ) = 2 and for this to be the case either cos 7x2 0 = cos x20 = 1 or cos 7x2 0 = cos x2 = −1.
The first time one of these conditions (namely, the second) occurs is when x0 = 2π. We can verify that the

10
period is indeed 2π since

f (x + 2π) = cos 3(x + 2π) + cos 4(x + 2π)

= cos (3x + 6π) + cos (4x + 8π)
= cos 3x + cos 4x
= f (x).

Example 11. Sketch the graph of the function y = f (x) which is known to be

√
• equal to 1 − x2 when −1 ≤ x ≤ 1;
• be periodic with period 2.

√
Solution. We begin by noting that if y = 1 − x2 then x2 + y 2 = 1 and so for −1 ≤ x ≤ 1, the graph forms
part of a circle. Since y ≥ 0 we have that the curve is a semi-circle lying above the axis. We can then extend
this function with period 2.

x
(−2, 0) (−1, 0) (1, 0) (2, 0)

Problem 12 (4 marks). Sketch the following graphs.

a) y = cos (sin x);

b) y = sin (cos x).

What is the period in each case?

8 Analysis of functions

Full analysis of a function y = f (x) involves finding its primary features, including, when applicable:

• zeroes (values of x for which y = 0);

• intercept (f (0));
• asymptotes;
• stationary points and monotonic intervals;

11
 • inflection points;
• domain and range.

Example 12. Perform full analysis and plot the function

1
f (x) = x + .
x

Solution. The expression x + x1 is defined whenever x is non-zero. This means the domain of f is {x : x 6= 0}.

x2 + 1
It is possible to write y = . As the numerator is never zero (it is strictly positive), the function has
x
no zeroes. The function has no intercept because it is not defined at x = 0.

1 x2 − 1
The gradient function f 0 (x) = 1 − 2 = is negative for −1 < x < 1 and positive for x < −1 and
x x2
x > 1, which tells us the monotonic intervals of the function.

x < −1 −1 < x < 0 0<x<1 x>0

x2 − 1 +ve -ve -ve +ve
x2 +ve +ve +ve +ve
x2 −1
x2 +ve -ve -ve +ve

This allows us to establish that there is a maximum at x = −1 (with corresponding y-value of y = −2) and
a minimum at x = 1 (with corresponding y-value of y = 2).

2
The second derivative f 00 (x) = 3 has a constant sign except for the point x = 0 where the function is not
x
defined, hence there are no inflection points.

The asymptotes are y = x (oblique) and x = 0 (vertical). We have y → +∞ when x → 0+ and y → −∞

when x → 0− .

Having found these details, we can now complete the sketch.

1
y =x+ x
y
y=x

(1, 2)

(1, 2)

12
Sketching this graph would also have been a way of establishing the range can see that the y-values are
always less than or equal to −2 (for negative x) or greater than or equal to 2 (for positive x). We can again
conclude that the range is {y : y ≤ −2} ∪ {y : y ≥ 2}.

The following function also has some quite interesting asymptotic behaviour.

1
Example 13. Analyze and sketch the function f : {x 6= 0} → R defined by f (x) = e x .

1 1
Solution. Firstly when |x| is large x ≈ 0 and e x ≈ e0 = 1. So the graph has a horizontal asymptote of y = 1.

The behaviour at x → 0 depends on whether x is positive or negative. If x is small and positive, then x1 is
1
large and positive and e x is large and positive. If however, x is negative then x1 is large and negative which
1
means that e x is close to zero. So we get the following asymptotic behaviour:

1
e x → ∞, x → 0+
1
e x → 0, x → 0−

1 1
The derivative function is f 0 (x) = − e x is always negative so the function is monotone decreasing on
x2  
00 2 1 1
both the intervals (−∞, 0) and (0, ∞). The second derivative f (x) = + 4 e x takes a zero value at
x3 x
x = −1/2, corresponding to an inflection point.

It is important to understand the behaviour of this function’s derivative as x → 0− . By denoting N = −1/x,

1 1
we have f 0 (x) = − 2 e x = −N 2 /eN . This function tends to zero as N → +∞ (x → 0− ) because the
x
exponential function (denominator) grows faster than any polynomial function (numerator).

The above information allows us to complete the sketch. We see that the range of the function is {y : 0 ≤
y < 1} ∪ {y : y > 1}

y=1
inflection point (− 21 , e−2 )
x

Problem 13 (8 marks). Analyze and sketch the functions

13
 x+1
a) ;
(x − 1) (x + 2)
b) y = x − 13 x3 .

1 − x − x2
Problem 14 (PAT 2012, 3 marks). Sketch .
x2

9 Transformations of graphs

You should be familiar with this topic from the A-level course. You can find more information and examples
on tyhis Khan Academy page.

Example 14. Describe carefully the transformations that take the graph on the left to the graph on the
right.

1 x
a) from y = to y = ;
x x+1
b) from y = x2 to y = x2 − 4x + 9;

c) from y = sin x◦ to y = sin(2x + 10)◦

Solution.

x 1 1
a) Writing = 1− , we can see that the graph of y = x has been transformed in the following
x+1 x+1
ways.

a) Translated one unit to the left parallel to the x-axis.

b) Reflected in the x-axis.
c) Translated one unit upwards parallel to the y-axis.

 
−1
Note that the reflection in the x-axis and the translation by could be done in the opposite order.
0
 
2
b) Writing x2 − 4x + 9 = (x − 2)2 + 5 we see that the graph of y = x2 has been translated by the vector .
5

c) Writing sin(2x + 10)◦ = sin(2(x + 5))◦ , we can see that the graph has been contracted by a factor of 2
parallel to the x-axis and then translated by 5 to the left parallel to the x-axis. You do need to be careful
about the order here!

14
Problem 15 (6 marks). Given a graph of f (x)

S(s, t)

R(0, r)

P (p, q)

x
U (u, 0)

sketch the following graphs:

a) |f (x)|; b) f (|x|); c) |f (|x|)|; d) f (x + 1);

e) f (2x); f) f (2x + 1); g) f (x) + 1; h) 2f (x) + 1;

Label clearly where the points corresponding to P, R, S and T on the new graph and determine their co-
ordinates.

Problem 16 (6 marks). Express the following functions as transformations of functions you are already
familiar with and hence plot them:

x+3
a) y = ;
x−3
1 + ex
b) y = ;
ex
x2
c) y = . [Hint: this graph is the transformation of the graph from Example 12]
x−1

10 Additional problems (optional).

Problem 17 (3 marks). Find the ranges of the functions

x+1
a) ;
x2 + 1

15
 r
x−1
b) f (x) = .
x2 − 9

Problem 18 (4 marks). Find the critical points of the function

x2 + 32x − 104
y= .
x2 − 8
Explain the apparent paradox that the y-coordinate of the maximum is below that of the minimum.

Problem 19 (4 marks). For which values of k is the function f : R → R

f (x) = kx − ln(1 + x2 )

strictly monotone increasing?

Problem 20 (3 marks).

a) Sketch the graphs of y = tan x and y = x on the same axes.

b) Write down the equation of the asymptotes of y = tan x.
c) How many roots of the equation x = tan x for values of x in the interval [0, 100π]? Give an estimate
for the largest root in that range.

16