Only some of the toolkit functions have an inverse. See
[link] .
For a function to have an inverse, it must be one-to-one (pass the horizontal line test).
A function that is not one-to-one over its entire domain may be one-to-one on part of its domain.
For a tabular function, exchange the input and output rows to obtain the inverse. See
[link] .
The inverse of a function can be determined at specific points on its graph. See
[link] .
To find the inverse of a formula, solve the equation
for
as a function of
Then exchange the labels
and
See
[link] ,
[link] , and
[link] .
The graph of an inverse function is the reflection of the graph of the original function across the line
See
[link] .
Section exercises
Verbal
Describe why the horizontal line test is an effective way to determine whether a function is one-to-one?
Each output of a function must have exactly one output for the function to be one-to-one. If any horizontal line crosses the graph of a function more than once, that means that
-values repeat and the function is not one-to-one. If no horizontal line crosses the graph of the function more than once, then no
-values repeat and the function is one-to-one.
For the following exercises, find a domain on which each function
is one-to-one and non-decreasing. Write the domain in interval notation. Then find the inverse of
restricted to that domain.
t he silly nut company makes two mixtures of nuts: mixture a and mixture b. a pound of mixture a contains 12 oz of peanuts, 3 oz of almonds and 1 oz of cashews and sells for $4. a pound of mixture b contains 12 oz of peanuts, 2 oz of almonds and 2 oz of cashews and sells for $5. the company has 1080
Lairene and Mae are joking that their combined ages equal Sam’s age. If Lairene is twice Mae’s age and Sam is 69 yrs old, what are Lairene’s and Mae’s ages?