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f(x) = (4+x), when x<0 (F of X is the square root of the quantity of 4 plus x wh

ID: 3101613 • Letter: F

Question

f(x) = (4+x), when x<0    (F of X is the square root of the quantity of 4 plus x when x is less than zero)

   f(x)= (4-x), when x is less than or equal to 0.(F of X is the square root of the quantity of 4 minus x when x is less than or equal to 0)

I understand how to do the algebra for these problems, but I don't understand how to choose x values. Every time I do the problems, my graphs don't look like the answers in the back of the book and I really do not understand what I am doing wrong. Above is just one example, but I have tried several different piecewise graphing equations and I am wrong every time! I am so confused! my graphs are wrong every time...

Explanation / Answer

Yes, this is a piecewise function. Remember, if you are graphing in the real numbers you cannot have a square root of a negative. Therefore, in f(x) = (4+x) x cannot be less than -4 (or you would get a negative. The same for (4-x), x cannot be greater than 4. Try it again as a piecewise function with these restrictions and see what happens. Best of Luck!