a graphical approach to functions
What is a function?
In the simplest terms, a function relates an input to an output. It is like a machine that manipulates the input according to a set of given "rules" then produces an output that is related to the input.
It is useful to give a function a name. We can call a function by any name but usually it's written as "f". For example, we can write a function this way:
Important note: "x" can represent more than one value!
When we learned about "rules" in algebra before, we did not give the functions we used names. You will know them better as linear or quadratic equations that look like this:
But functions are not actually machines with any moving parts in them, functions relate a set of INPUTS to a set of OUTPUTS. A function has some special rules - It must work for every possible input value and it has only ONE relationship for each input value.
class notes:
unit resources:
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