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LESSON 3: Domain and Range of Functions

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this lesson, the students are expected to accomplish the
following:
define domain and range of a function and
determine the domain and range of a function.
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES:
In order for the students to understand the concept of domain, it is
suggested that you discuss the following topic:
A calculator is designed to give the user an answer when the user entered a
value. The calculator processes the input to produce the desired output. The
processing that the calculator performs corresponds to the function. When the
calculator produced an error message, it simply means that the input is not within
the domain of the function. Enumerated below are some calculator keys, the
equivalent function, input giving error message and domain.
KEY

x-1

Sin-1x

FUNCTION

INPUT GIVING
ERROR MESSAGE

DOMAIN

f(x) = 1/x

x=0

all real numbers except 0

f(x) =

x<0

all nonnegative integers

f(x) = Sin-1x

x > 1 or x < 1

[-1, 1]

Ask your students to experiment on the following keys and construct

a table similar to the above:
ln x, 3 x , Sin-1x, x2, Tan-1x

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DISCUSSION OF THE TOPICS:
A function has three elements, namely: the domain, the range and the rule of
correspondence.
Definition
If y = f(x), then its domain is the set of all possible inputs (x-values) and
its range is the set of outputs (y-values) that result when x varies over the
domain of f.
In the definition, the x variable represents the independent variable while the
y variable represents the dependent. Hence the above definition may be restated
as follows:
In a function, the domain is the set of values that the independent variable is
allowed to assume and the range is the set of all values that the dependent
variable assumes.
The rule of correspondence, or simply rule, is the formula which assigns to
each element of the first set one and only one element in the second set.
In the given figure below (Figure 1.1), set X refers to the domain and set Y
refers to the range of the function defined.
X

Figure 1.1

Example 3.1. Consider the set of ordered pairs {(2, 5), (3, 7), (4, 9), (5, 11)}.
What are its domain, range and rule?
Solution:
The set of all first elements
----- D: {2, 3, 4, 5}
The set of all second elements ----- R: {5, 7, 9, 11}
The rule
----- y = 2x +1.

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If a function is given by a formula and the domain is not stated explicitly, the
convention is that the domain is the set of all numbers for which the formula
makes sense and defines a real number.

Example 3.2. Find the domain of each function: a) f(x) = 5x 4

b) g( x )

x
2x 7 x 4
2

c)

h( x )

x2 2x 3

Solution:
a) The function f(x) = 5x 4 is defined for all values of x R, meaning, any
real number can be an input to f producing a real and unique output.
Thus, the domain of f is the set of all real numbers { x/x R } or (-, +).
b) Since
g( x )

x
x

2x 7 x 4 (2x 1)( x 4)
2

and division by 0 is not allowed, we see that g(x) is not defined when
x = 1/2 or x = -4. Thus the domain of g is {x|x 1/2 or x -4} or
(-, +) {-4, }.
c) Because the square root of a negative number is not defined as a real
number, the domain of h consists of all values of x such that
x2 2x - 3 0 or (x 3)(x+ 1) 0
Since (x 3)(x +1) 0, it follows that there are two possible cases that
occur depending on the signs of the factors (x 3) and (x + 1).
Case 1: x 3 0 and x + 1 0. This is equivalent to x 3 and x -1.
The values of x that satisfy these two inequalities is the interval
[3, ).
Case 2: x 3 0 and x + 1 0 is equivalent to x 3 and x -1. The
values of x fall in the interval (-, -1].
Combining the solution of case 1 and case 2, gives us the domain of the
function f which is (-, -1] [3, +) or the set of all real numbers except
the interval (-1, 3).

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From the above examples, you can draw conclusions and formulate the
following theorems on the domain determination of functions.

Theorem 1. The domain of a polynomial function is the set of all real

numbers or (-, +).
A function P is called a polynomial if
P(x) = anxn + an-1xn-1 + + a2x2 + a1x + a0
where n is a nonnegative integer and the numbers a 0, a1, a2, an are constants,
called the coefficients of the polynomial. If a n 0, then the degree of the
polynomial is n. A polynomial of degree 1 is called a linear function which is in the
form P(x) = mx + b; a polynomial of degree 2 is quadratic and is in the form P(x)
= ax2 + bx + c; and a polynomial of degree 3 is cubic and is in the form P(x) =
ax3 + bx2 + cx + d. Below is the tabulated form of this discussion.
Polynomial
P(x) = mx +b
P(x) = ax2 + bx + c
P(x) = ax3 + b x2 + cx + d

Name of
Polynomial

Degree

linear
quadratic
cubic

1
2
3

Example
f(x) = 5x - 4
g(x) = 2 3x 7x2
h(x) = x3 + 2x2 5x + 1

Theorem 2. The domain of n f ( x ) is the set of all real numbers satisfying the
inequality f(x) 0 if n is even integer and the set of all real numbers if n is odd
integer.
Note: Please see example 3.2c to illustrate this theorem.
Theorem 3 A rational function f is a ratio of two polynomials:
The domain of a rational function consists of all values of x such that the
denominator is not equal to zero.
f ( x)

where P and Q are polynomials.

P( x )
Q( x )

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Examples: g( x )

x3
x
,
,
2x 7 x 4 5 x 2
2

5x 1
x

An algebraic function is the result when the constant function, (f(x) = k, k is

constant) and the identity function (g(x) = x) are put together by using a
combination of any four operations, that is, addition, subtraction, multiplication,
division, and raising to powers and extraction of roots.
Example: f(x) = 5x 4, g( x )

x
, h( x )
2x 7 x 4
2

x2 2x 3

Generally, functions which are not classified as algebraic function are considered
as transcendental functions namely the exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric,
inverse trigonometric, hyperbolic and inverse hyperbolic functions.
The range of a function y = f(x) can be determined by expressing x in terms of
y, that is, x = f(y) and solving the domain of the new function. Remember that in
the new function x = f(y), x becomes the independent variable and y the
dependent variable. The resulting domain must be tested using the original
function.

Example 3.3. Find the range of the following functions: a) h(x) = 2x + 3

b) f(x) =

c) g(x) =

1 x 2 d) H(x) =

x 1
2x 1

Solution:
a) Let y = 2x + 3, solving for x, you have x =

y3
. Since the new function
2

is linear function, it follows from Theorem 1 that its domain is (-, +).
Thus the range of h is (-, +).
b) If you let y = x then x = y2. Since P(x) = y2 is a polynomial function, it is
defined for every real number. But, the range cannot be the set of all real
numbers because y is specifically defined only for positive values. Thus,
you reject the negative values, and the range is [0, +).
c) Let y = 1 x 2 . Expressing x as function of y, you have x = 1 y 2 .
The new function is defined if 1 y 2 0, that is [-1, 1] but g(x) = 1 x 2
implies that there is no negative value of g(x). Hence reject [-1, 0 and the
range is [0, 1].
d)

Let y

y 1
x 1
. Solve for x, you have x 1 2y . According to Theorem 2
2x 1

above, the domain of a rational function is the set consisting all values of y
except 1 2y =0 or y = 1/2. Thus the range of H is {y y } or (-, +)
{1/2}.

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Example 3.4. Find the domain and range of the following piecewise defined

4 if x 2
3 x 2 if x 1

functions: a) H( x ) 2 if 1 x 2 b) G( x)
2

x if x 1

3 if x 1

Solution:
a) The domain of H is a set of the allowable input of the function, these are the
union of x 2, -1 x < 2 and x < -1 or equivalent to the set of all real
numbers. The outputs which correspond to all the inputs are the numbers 4,
2 and 3, hence the range is the set {4, 2, -3}.
b) Since the input values are the numbers satisfying the given inequality x < 1
or x >1, 1 is not a possible input. The input is the set of all real numbers
except 1. The range of G(x) = 3x 2 and G(x) = x 2 is the set of all real
numbers except 1, that is, the intersection of their range. Since 1 is not a
domain of the function it implies that the function can never produce an
output or a value of 1. Thus, the range is the set of all real numbers except
1.

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EXERCISES:
Find the domain and range of the following functions:
1. f(x) = 4x 3
2. F(x) =

1 x

3. G(x) = |1 2x|
4. h(x) = x2 + 3

5. f(x) =

x 2 2x 1
x 1

6. g: y2 = 4 + x2

7.

x 1 if x 3
F(x)
2x 1 if x 3

8.

3 if x 1

f ( x ) 1 if 1 x 2
3 if x 2

9. g: y =

4x

( x 2 3 x 4)( x 2 9)
10. h: y =
( x 2 x 12)( x 3)