Introduction
Many situations we come across in our lives involve a cause-and-effect relationship. If we do something, there will be a result.
For example:
- Cause: Playing football
- Effect: Getting hurt / having fun (Depends on how you look at it!)
We learned previously that a result is called a function. There are many types of functions that we may notice in our lives:
- linear
- quadratic
- exponential
- piecewise
- step
- absolute value
- polynomial
In this lesson, you will learn how to identify these functions by examining their graphs and equations.
Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to...
- Recognize different types of functions: linear, quadratic, exponential, piecewise, step, absolute value, and polynomial.
Essential Questions
- How do you know if a given relation represents a function?
- What are some ways to find domain and range values of a function?
- How do you combine two functions?
- What does the numerical, algebraic, or verbal representation of a function tell you about graph of the function?
- What are the differences and similarities between geometric and arithmetic series?
- How can you determine the rate of change of a function using its equation and graph?
Enduring Understandings
- Functions and relations can be represented in different ways.
- The ability to identify the pattern in a sequence helps you calculate the common difference or ratio for a given sequence.
- The rate of change of a function can be determined from its graph.
The above objectives correspond with the Alabama Course of Study: Algebra I standards: 24 and 28.