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Composite & Inverse Functions (DP IB Maths: AI HL)
Revision Note
Composite Functions
What is a composite function?
- A composite function is where a function is applied to another function
- A composite function can be denoted
- The order matters
- means:
- First apply g to x to get
- Then apply f to the previous output to get
- Always start with the function closest to the variable
- is not usually equal to
- means:
How do I find the domain and range of a composite function?
- The domain of is the set of values of ...
- which are a subset of the domain of g
- which maps g to a value that is in the domain of f
- The range of is the set of values of ...
- which are a subset of the range of f
- found by applying f to the range of g
- To find the domain and range of
- First find the range of g
- Restrict these values to the values that are within the domain of f
- The domain is the set of values that produce the restricted range of g
- The range is the set of values that are produced using the restricted range of g as the domain for f
- For example: let and
- The range of g is
- Restricting this to fit the domain of f results in
- The domain of is therefore
- These are the values of x which map to
- The range of is therefore
- These are the values which f maps to
- The range of g is
Examiner Tip
- Make sure you know what your GDC is capable of with regard to functions
- You may be able to store individual functions and find composite functions and their values for particular inputs
- You may be able to graph composite functions directly and so deduce their domain and range from the graph
- The link between the domains and ranges of a function and its inverse can act as a check for your solution
- is not the same as
Worked example
Given and :
a)
Write down the value of .
b)
Write down an expression for .
c)
Write down an expression for .
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Inverse Functions
What is an inverse function?
- Only one-to-one functions have inverses
- A function has an inverse if its graph passes the horizontal line test
- Any horizontal line will intersect with the graph at most once
- The identity function maps each value to itself
- If and have the same effect as the identity function then and are inverses
- Given a function we denote the inverse function as
- An inverse function reverses the effect of a function
- means
- Inverse functions are used to solve equations
- The solution of is
- A composite function made of and has the same effect as the identity function
What are the connections between a function and its inverse function?
- The domain of a function becomes the range of its inverse
- The range of a function becomes the domain of its inverse
- The graph of is a reflection of the graph in the line
- Therefore solutions to or will also be solutions to
- There could be other solutions to that don't lie on the line
- Therefore solutions to or will also be solutions to
How do I find the inverse of a function?
- STEP 1: Swap the x and y in
- If then
- STEP 2: Rearrange to make the subject
- Note this can be done in any order
- Rearrange to make the subject
- Swap and
Can many-to-one functions ever have inverses?
- You can restrict the domain of a many-to-one function so that it has an inverse
- Choose a subset of the domain where the function is one-to-one
- The inverse will be determined by the restricted domain
- Note that a many-to-one function can only have an inverse if its domain is restricted first
- For quadratics – use the vertex as the upper or lower bound for the restricted domain
- For restrict the domain so 0 is either the maximum or minimum value
- For example: or
- For restrict the domain so h is either the maximum or minimum value
- For example: or
- For trigonometric functions – use part of a cycle as the restricted domain
- For restrict the domain to half a cycle between a maximum and a minimum
- For example:
- For restrict the domain to half a cycle between maximum and a minimum
- For example:
- For restrict the domain to one cycle between two asymptotes
- For example:
How do I find the inverse function after restricting the domain?
- The range of the inverse is the same as the restricted domain of the original function
- The inverse function is determined by the restricted domain
- Restricting the domain differently will change the inverse function
- Use the range of the inverse to help find the inverse function
- Restricting the domain of to means the range of the inverse is
- Therefore
- Restricting the domain of to means the range of the inverse is
- Therefore
Examiner Tip
- Remember that an inverse function is a reflection of the original function in the line
- Use your GDC to plot the function and its inverse on the same graph to visually check this
- is not the same as
Worked example
The function has an inverse.
a)
Write down the largest possible value of .
b)
Find the inverse of .
c)
Find the domain of .
d)
Find the value of such that .
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