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Course: 8th grade > Unit 3
Lesson 12: Recognizing functions- Testing if a relationship is a function
- Relations and functions
- Recognizing functions from graph
- Checking if a table represents a function
- Recognize functions from tables
- Recognizing functions from table
- Checking if an equation represents a function
- Does a vertical line represent a function?
- Recognize functions from graphs
- Recognizing functions from verbal description
- Recognizing functions from verbal description word problem
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Does a vertical line represent a function?
Explaining why a vertical line doesn't represent a function. Created by Sal Khan.
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can a horizontal line represent a function?(19 votes)
y = 5 is a horizontal line and is indeed a function.(22 votes)
could he have just used the vertical line test?(11 votes)
Yes, he could've. If he did that, then he would've noticed that the relation intersects the vertical line x=-2 at infinitely many points. This is because the relation is x=-2, so obviously it intersects it at infinitely many points.
However, I think Sal was trying to demonstrate a more rigorous way of testing a relation for being a function. Instead of just doing a vague, vertical line test, he used the definition of a function to test the relation for being a function.
I hope this helps!(39 votes)
3.14159, he actually started defining pi :)(8 votes)
yes I saw that to. :)(6 votes)
Can there be many domain but getting only one range? If the line will be horizontal will it be a function?(4 votes)
One domain and one range although the domain can consist of the union of various regions on the x-axis. EG {-100 < x < -10} U {-1 < x < 1} U {10 < x < 100}. the U is the symbol of union.
A horizontal line is a function, but a pretty boring one since no matter what x value you input, the output will always be the same. EG f(x)=5. No matter what x is, the output is always 5. As you can see, the output value does not depend on the input value x.(2 votes)
So is Sal saying that x -> f(x) -> infinity is not a function? If you just wrote the infinity sign could it be considered as only one output?(2 votes)
Infinity cannot be a single output. This rhetorical question I'm about to give you came from another user: "Think of the biggest, biggest, biggest number you can then keep adding 1." There is no definite answer for infinity, so it can't be considered as a single output.(6 votes)
- is a function with multiple outputs a logarithm?(2 votes)
No. A function, by definition, can not have multiple outs for a specific input value. Each input can create only one output to be a function. Thus, any equation that doesn't meet this definition would not be a function.
FYI.. there are logarithmic functions.(4 votes)
Is there any recommended time frame a course should take?(2 votes)
not really. one of the best things about KA is that you can learn at your own pace. it also depends on how much content the course contains and how much time you're dedicating yourself to learning on khan. are you here on a daily or weekly basis? do you set aside one hour or five hours for active learning on here? for instance, i spend around one-two hours a week on khan and it usually takes me a month to get through a single unit. thus, a course with twelve units would take me a year to complete. the bottom line is that it's really up to you :)(3 votes)
Would a drastically curved line on a graph represent a function? Does the curve have to go through x and y to be a function?(1 vote)
For a relation to be a function, use the Vertical Line Test: Draw a vertical line anywhere on the graph, and if it never hits the graph more than once, it is a function. If your vertical line hits twice or more, it's not a function. For example, a circle is not a function because when you draw a vertical line on top of its graph, the vertical line will cut through the circle twice.(5 votes)
What's the vertical and horizontal line test?(1 vote)
The vertical line test is used to determine if a graph of a relationship is a function or not. if you can draw any vertical line that intersects more than one point on the relationship, then it is not a function. This is based on the fact that a vertical line is a constant value of x, so if there is one input, x, with more than two outputs, y, then it breaks the function rule. A horizontal line test does not have as much meaning.(4 votes)
Can a vertical line be represented by an equation?(2 votes)
Yes. Points on a vertical line would all have the same X value, but could take on any value for Y. So there would be no Y value in the equation.
For instance, if the vertical line crossed the X-axis at x=2, then x=2 would be its equation!(2 votes)
Video transcript
In the following graph,
is y a function of x? So in order for y to
be a function of x, for any x that you input into
the function, any x for which the function is defined. So let's say we have
y is equal to f of x. So we have our little
function machine. It should spit out
exactly one value of y. If it spits out multiple values
of y, we don't know what f of x is going to be equal to. It could be equal to any of
those possible values for y. So let's see if, for this
graph, whether for a given x it spits out exactly one y. Well, the function
seems to be only defined so the domain of this function
is x is equal to negative 2. That's the only place where
we have a definition for it. And if we try to
input negative 2 into this little black
box, what do we get? Do we get exactly one thing? No. If we put in negative 2
here, we could get anything. The point negative 2,
9 is on this relation. Negative 2, 8 is
on this relation. Negative 2, 7; negative 2,
7.5; negative 2, 3.14159-- they're all on these. So if you put a negative 2 into
this relation, essentially, you actually get an
infinite set of values. It could be 9. It could be 3.14. It could be 8. It could be negative 8. You get an infinite
number of results. So since it does not
map to exactly one output of this function,
in the following graph, y is not a function of x.