3.2 Domain and range  (Page 4/11)

To describe the values, $x,$ included in the intervals shown, we would say, “ $x$ is a real number greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 3, or a real number greater than 5.”

Remember that, when writing or reading interval notation, using a square bracket means the boundary is included in the set. Using a parenthesis means the boundary is not included in the set.

We can observe that the horizontal extent of the graph is –3 to 1, so the domain of $f$ is $\left(-3,1\right].$

The vertical extent of the graph is 0 to –4, so the range is $[-4,0).$ See [link] .

The input quantity along the horizontal axis is “years,” which we represent with the variable $t$ for time. The output quantity is “thousands of barrels of oil per day,” which we represent with the variable $b$ for barrels. The graph may continue to the left and right beyond what is viewed, but based on the portion of the graph that is visible, we can determine the domain as $1973\le t\le 2008$ and the range as approximately $180\le b\le 2010.$

In interval notation, the domain is [1973, 2008], and the range is about [180, 2010]. For the domain and the range, we approximate the smallest and largest values since they do not fall exactly on the grid lines.