Lesson 1
Representing Real-life Situations
using Rational Function
General Mathematics
A polynomial function p of degree n is a function that can be
written in the form
Where and n is a positive integer. Each summand is a term
of the polynomial function. The constants are the
coefficients. The leading coefficient is and the constant
term is .
Rational function
a function of the form where p(x) and q(x) are
polynomial functions, and q(x) is not the zero
function, . The domain of f(x) is all values of x
where .
Example 1. An object is to travel a distance of 10 meters. Express the
velocity v as a function of travel time t, in seconds
Solution. The following table of values show v for the various
values of t.
t(seconds) 1 2 4 5 10
10 5 2.5 2 1
or
The function can represent v as a function of t.
Example 2. Suppose that (in mg/mL) represents the
concentration of a drug in a patient’s bloodstream t
hours after the drug was administered. Construct a
table of values for for . Round off answers to three
decimal places. Use the table to sketch a graph and
interpret the results
Solution: Using the rational function
We will substitute the values for
t 0 1 2 5 10
c(t) 0 2.5 2 0.962 0.495
Solution: To get the graph of the function, we
will use the table of values
t 0 1 2 5 10
c(t) 0 2.5 2 0.9262 0.495
Interpretation
The graph indicates that the maximum drug
concentration occurs around 1 hour after the drug was
administered. After 1 hour, the graph suggests that
drug concentration decreases until it is almost zero.
Lesson 2
Rational Function, Equations
And Inequalities
General Mathematics
The table below shows the difference among ration
equations, rational inequalities, and rational functions
Rational Equation Rational Inequality Rational Function
An equation involving An inequality A function of the form of
rational expressions involving rational where p(x) and q(x) is not
expressions the zero function
Definition
Example
A rational equation or inequality can be
solved for all x values that satisfy the
equation or inequality. Whereas we solve an
equation or inequality, we do not “solve”
functions. Rather, a function expresses a
relationship between two variables (such as x
and y), and can be represented by a table of
values
Lesson 3
Solving Rational Equation and
Inequalities
General Mathematics
Procedure for Solving Rational Equations
To solve rational equations:
Eliminate denominators by multiplying each term of the
equation by the least common denominator (LCD).
Note that eliminating denominators may introduce
extraneous solution. Check the solutions of the
transformed equation with the original equation.
Solve for x.
Solution
Solve for
Solution: The LCD is
Upon reaching this step, we can use strategies for solving
polynomial equations.
Check for extraneous solutions by
substituting the answers back into the
original form. Since will make the
original equation undefined, it is an
extraneous solution. Since satisfies the
original equation, it is the only solution.
Example 3: In an inter-barangay
basketball league, the team from
Barangay Parang has won 12 out of 25
games, a winning percentage of 48%.
How many games should they win in a
row to improve their win percentage to
60%
Solution. Let x represent the number of games that
they need to win to raise their percentage to 60%. The
team has already won 12 out of their 25 games. If
they win x games in a row to increase their
percentage to 60%, then they would have played
games out of games. The equation is
Solution: Since is the only denominator, we multiply it to both
sides of the equation. We then solve the resulting equation:
Since represents the number of
games, this should be an integer.
Therefore Barangay Parang needs
to win 8 games in a row to raise
their winning percentage to 60%
Procedure for Solving Rational Inequalities
To solve rational inequalities:
Rewrite the inequality as a single fraction on one
side of the inequality symbol and 0 on the other
side
Determine over what intervals the fraction takes on positive and
negative values.
Locate the for which the rational expression is zero or undefined (factoring
the numerator and denominator is a useful strategy)
Mark the numbers found in (i) on a number line. Use a shaded circle to
indicate that the value is included in the solution set, and a hollow circle to
indicate that the value is excluded. These numbers partition the number line
into intervals
Select a test point within the interior of each interval in (ii). The sign of the
rational expression at this test point is also the sign of the rational
expression at each interior point in the aforementioned interval
Summarize the intervals containing the solutions
Warning!
It is not valid to multiply both sides of an inequality by a variable.
Recall that
Multiplying both sides of an inequality by a positive number
retains the direction of the inequality; and
Multiplying both sides of an inequality by a negative number
reverses the direction of the inequality
Since the sign of a variable is unknown, then it is not valid to multiply
both sides of an inequality by a variable.
Interval and Set Notation
An inequality may have infinitely many solutions. The set of all
solutions can be expressed using set notation or interval notation.
These notations are presented in the table below:
Example 4: Solve the inequality
Solution: (a) Rewrite the inequality as a single fraction on
one side, and 0 on the other side.
(b) The value is included in the solution since it
makes the fraction equal to zero, while makes
the fraction undefined. Mark these on a number
line. Use a shaded circle for and an unshaded
circle for
(c) Choose convenient test points in the interval determined by -
1 and 1 to determine the sign of in these intervals. Construct a
table of signs as show below.
(d) Since we are looking for the intervals where the fractions
is positive or zero, we determine the solution intervals to be .
The solution set is
.
Example 5: Solve:
Solution. (a) Rewrite as an inequality with zero on
one side.
(b) The fraction will be zero for and undefined for 0
and 2. Plot on a number line. Use hollow circle since
these values are not part of the solutions.
c) Construct a table of signs to determine the sign of
the function in each interval determined by -1, 0, and
2.
d) Summarize the intervals satisfying the
inequality.
The solution set of the inequality is
the set
Try This!
Lesson 4
Representation of Rational
Functions
General Mathematics
Scenario 1:
Average speed (or velocity) can be computed by
the formula . Consider a 100-meter track used
for foot races. The speed of a runner can be
computed by taking the time it will take him to
run the track and applying it to the formula ,
since the distance is fixed at 100 meters
Example 1: Represent the speed of a runner as a function
of the time it takes to run 100 meters in the track.
Solution. Since the speed of a runner depends on the time it takes the
runner to run 100 meters, we can represent speed as a function of time.
Let x represent the time it takes the runner to run 100 meters. Then the
speed can be represented as a function as follows:
Example 2: Continuing the scenario 1 above, construct a table of
values for the speed of a runner against different run times
Solution. Let x be the run time and be the speed of the runner in
meters per second, where The table of values for run times from
10 seconds to 20 seconds is as follows
10 12 14 16 18 20
10 8.33 7.14 6.25 5.56 5
From the table we can observe that the
speed decreases with time. We can use
a graph to determine if the points on
the function follow a smooth curve or
a straight line.
Example 3: Plot the points on the table of values on a
Cartesian plane. Determine if the points on the function
follow a smooth curve or a straight line.
Solution. Assign points on the Cartesian Plane for
each entry on the table of values above:
Plot these points on the Cartesian plane.
𝐴 (10 ,10 ) 𝐵 ( 12,8.33 ) 𝐶 (14 ,7.14 )
For the 100-meter dash scenario, we have
constructed a function of a speed against time
and represented our function with a table of
values and a graph that follow a smooth
curve.
Lesson 5
Domain and Range of Rational
Function
General Mathematics
Finding the Domain and Range
The domain of a rational function is all the values of x
that will not make equal to zero
To find the range of a rational function is by finding the
domain of the inverse function.
Another way to find the range of a rational function is to
find the value of horizontal asymptote.
Example 1: Find the domain and range of the rational function
Solution: (a) To find the domain we first equate
the denominator to zero
Therefore, the domain of is the set of all real
numbers except 3.
Solution (b): To find the range we need to the get the inverse
function of
We will now equate the denominator to zero to find the limit of range
Therefore, the range of is the set of all
real numbers except zero.
Example 2: Find the domain and range of the rational function
Solution: (a) to find the domain we will
equate the denominator to zero
Therefore, the domain of is the set of all
real numbers except 3 and 1
(b) To find the range we will apply the concept
of horizontal asymptote
Let n be the degree of the numerator and m be the
degree of the denominator
If , the horizontal asymptote is y=0
If , the horizontal asymptotes is , where a and b is the
leading coefficient of the numerator and b is the leading
coefficient of the denominator.
If , there is no horizontal asymptote.
Expand the function
Both numerator and denominator have the same
degree which is 2. Therefore, we will use the
concept of horizontal asymptote and
Therefore, the range of is the set of
all real numbers except 1.
Thank You!
