computed by taking the time for him to run the track and applying it to the formula
JC Excellente Christian Academy Inc. 100
s= , since the distance is fixed at 100-meters.
ACADEMIC [Link] POTENTIAL. CHRISTIAN VALUES t
Blk. 40 Lot 73 Road 1 Minuyan II, CSJDM Bulacan
Solution:
Represent the speed of a runner as a function of the time it takes to run 100 meters in
General Mathematics the track.
Since the speed of a runner depends on the time it takes to run 100 meters, we can
represent speed as a function of time.
Module 2 Let x represent the time it takes to run 100 meters. Then the speed can be represented
Lesson 3 as a function s( x ) as follows:
100
s ( x )=
TOPIC: Representations of Rational Functions x
d
Observe that it is similar to the structure to the formula s= relating speed, distance,
INTRODUCTION: t
and time.
At the end of the lesson, the learner is able to represent a rational function
through its table of values, graphs and equation, and solve problems involving
rational functions. Example 2: Continuing the scenario above, construct a table of values for the speed
of a runner against different run times.
Lesson Outline:
a. Table of values, graphs and equations as representations of a rational function. Solution:
b. Rational functions as representations of real-life situations A table of values can help us determine the behavior of a function as the variable x
changes.
The current world record (as of October 2015) for the 100-meter dash is 9.58 seconds
INSTRUCTION: set by the Jamaican Usain Bolt in 2009. We start our table of values at 10 seconds.
Let x be the runtime and s( x ) be the speed of the runner in meters per second, where
p ( x) 100
A rational function is a function of the form f ( x )= where p ( x ) and q (x) s ( x )= . The table of values for run times from 10 seconds to 20 seconds is as
q(x) x
are polynomial functions and q ( x ) is not the zero polynomial (i.e., q ( x) ≠ 0¿. The follows:
domain of f ( x ) is all values of x where q ( x) ≠ 0.
x 10 12 14 16 18 20
s(x) 10 8.33 7.14 6.25 5.56 5
d
Example 1: Average speed (or velocity) can be computed by the formula s= .
t
Consider a 100-meter track used for foot races. The speed of a runner can be From the table we can observe that the speed decreases with time. We can use a graph
to determine if the points on the function follow a smooth curve or a straight line.
Example 3: Plot the points on the table of values on a Cartesian plane. Determine if
100
the points on the function s ( x )= follow a smooth curve or a straight line.
x
Solution:
Assign points on the Cartesian plane for each entry on the table of values above:
A(10,10) B(12,8.33) C (14,7.14) D(16,6.25) E(18,5.56) F (20,5)
Plot these in the Cartesian Plane:
For the 100-meter dash scenario, we have constructed a function of speed against
time, and represented our function with a table of values and a graph.
The previous example is based on a real world scenario and has limitations on the
values of the x-variable. For example, a runner cannot have negative time (which
would mean he is running backwards in time!), nor can he exceed the limits of human
physiology (can a person run 100-meters in 5 seconds?). However, we can apply the
skills of constructing tables of values and plotting graphs to observe the behavior of
rational functions.
x−1
Example 4: Represent the rational function given by f ( x )= using a table of
By connecting the points, we can see that they are not collinear but rather follows a x +1
smooth curve. values and plot a graph of the function by connecting points.
Solution:
Since we are now considering functions in general, we can find function values across
more values of x. Let us construct a table of values for some x-values from −10 to
10:
x −10 −8 −6 −4 −2 0 2 4 6 8 10
f ( x ) 1.22 1.29 1.4 1.67 3 −1 0.33 0.6 0.71 0.78 0.82
x 2−3 x−10
Example 5: Represent the rational function f ( x )= using a table of
x
values. Plot the points given in the table of values and sketch a graph by connecting
the points.
Solution:
As we have seen in the previous example, we will need to take a look at the x-values
which will make the denominator zero. In this function, x=0 will make the
denominator zero. Taking function values for integers in −6 ≤ x ≤ 10 , x ≠ 0 we get the
following table of values:
Connecting the points on this graph, we get: x −5 −4 −3 −2 −1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
f (x) −6 −4.5 −2.67 0 6 −12 −6 −3.33 −1.5 0 1.33 2.57 3.75 4.89 6
Plotting the values above as points in the Cartesian plane:
Why would the graph unexpectedly break the smooth curve and jump from point E to
point F? The answer is that it doesn’t! Let us take a look at the function again:
x−1
f ( x )=
x +1
Observe that the function will be undefined at x=−1 . This means that there cannot
be a line connecting point E and point F as this implies that there is a point in the
graph of the function where x=1 .We will cover this aspect of graphs of rational
functions in a future lesson, so for now we just present a partial graph for the function
above as follows:
We connect the dots to sketch the graph, but we keep in mind that x=0 is not part of
the domain. For now we only connect those with values x ≤−1 and those with values
x ≥ 1.
Note that x=−2 and x=5 are zeroes of the rational function, which means that the
function value at these values is zero. These x-values give the x-intercepts of the
graph.
The behavior of the function near those values which make the function undefined
will be studied in the next few lessons.
