I already drew the graph!

Algebra Level 3

How many of the given functions below can have the graph shown in the image?

Details: ( h , k ) (h,k) is the minimum point of the graph

  1. f ( x ) = x 3 + 3 x f(x) = x^3 + 3x

  2. f ( x ) = 2 x 2 3 x + 5 f(x) = 2x^2 - 3x + 5

  3. f ( x ) = x 2 4 x 5 f(x) = x^2 - 4x -5

  4. f ( x ) = x 2 + 4 x 5 f(x) = x^2 + 4x - 5

  5. f ( x ) = 3 2 x f(x) = 3 -2x

  6. f ( x ) = 4 x 2 8 x 21 f(x) = 4x^2 - 8x - 21

  7. f ( x ) = 4 3 x x 2 f(x) = 4 - 3x - x^2

4 7 1 3 6 2 5 0

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1 solution

Hung Woei Neoh
May 9, 2016

Condition 1 : The graph in the image is a parabola curve, therefore the function should be quadratic.

Therefore, functions 1 and 5 do not satisfy this.

From here, all explanations will be based on the general form of the quadratic function f ( x ) = a x 2 + b x + c f(x) = ax^2 + bx + c

Condition 2 : It is a u-shaped parabola, which means that the coefficient of x 2 x^2 is positive, that is, a > 0 a>0 .

Therefore, function 7 does not satisfy this too.

Condition 3 : We know that the y y -intercept is below the x x -axis, therefore the y y -intercept is negative, that is, c < 0 c<0

Function 2 does not satisfy this condition.

We are now down to 3 possibilities left.

Condition 4 : Next, we need to ensure that the function has 2 different real roots, which translates to b 2 4 a c > 0 b^2 - 4ac > 0

Function 3: b 2 4 a c = ( 4 ) 2 4 ( 1 ) ( 5 ) = 16 + 20 = 36 > 0 b^2 -4ac = (-4)^2 - 4(1)(-5) = 16 + 20 = 36 > 0

Function 4: b 2 4 a c = ( 4 ) 2 4 ( 1 ) ( 5 ) = 16 + 20 = 36 > 0 b^2 -4ac = (4)^2 - 4(1)(-5) = 16 + 20 = 36 > 0

Function 6: b 2 4 a c = ( 8 ) 2 4 ( 4 ) ( 21 ) = 64 + 336 = 400 > 0 b^2 -4ac = (-8)^2 - 4(4)(-21) = 64 + 336 = 400 > 0

Fun fact: The determinants for these 3 functions are all perfect squares, therefore their roots are all rational numbers

Condition 5 : Lastly, the minimum point is located in quadrant 4. The x x -value of the minimum point is positive ( x > 0 ) (x>0) , and the y y -value of the minimum point is negative ( y < 0 ) (y<0) . We need to check the minimum points of each function. Here, I will demonstrate 3 different methods to find the minimum value of a quadratic function.

Function 3 (Method 1):

For quadratic functions, the minimum point is defined as ( b 2 a , f ( b 2 a ) ) \left(-\dfrac{b}{2a},f\left(-\dfrac{b}{2a}\right)\right)

b 2 a = 4 2 ( 1 ) = 2 > 0 -\dfrac{b}{2a} = -\dfrac{-4}{2(1)} = 2 > 0

f ( b 2 a ) = f ( 2 ) = 2 2 4 ( 2 ) 5 = 9 < 0 f\left(-\dfrac{b}{2a}\right) = f(2) = 2^2 - 4(2) - 5 = -9 < 0

The minimum point is ( 2 , 9 ) (2,-9) , and it satisfies Condition 5 .

Function 4 (Method 2):

For quadratic functions, you can complete the square and write it in the form of f ( x ) = a ( x p ) 2 + q f(x) = a(x-p)^2 + q . The minimum/maximum point is then defined as ( p , q ) (p,q) .

x 2 + 4 x 5 = x 2 + 4 x + 4 4 5 = ( x + 2 ) 2 9 x^2+4x-5\\ =x^2+4x+4-4-5\\ =(x+2)^2 - 9

The minimum point is ( 2 , 9 ) (-2,-9) , and the x x -coordinate does not satisfy Condition 5 .

Function 6 (Method 3):

At minimum points, the first derivative, f ( x ) = 0 f'(x) = 0 and the second derivative, f ( x ) > 0 f''(x)>0

f ( x ) = 4 x 2 8 x 21 f ( x ) = 8 x 8 f ( x ) = 8 > 0 f(x) = 4x^2 - 8x - 21\\ f'(x) = 8x - 8\\ f''(x) = 8 > 0

We have shown that the critical point is a minimum point, now we need to find the coordinates of the minimum point.

f ( x ) = 0 8 x 8 = 0 8 x = 8 x = 1 f ( 1 ) = 4 ( 1 2 ) 8 ( 1 ) 21 = 25 f'(x) = 0\\ 8x-8=0\\ 8x=8 \implies x=1\\ f(1) = 4(1^2) - 8(1) - 21 = -25

The minimum point is ( 1 , 25 ) (1,-25) , and it satisfies Condition 5 .

Therefore, function 3, f ( x ) = x 2 4 x 5 f(x) = x^2 - 4x - 5 and function 6, f ( x ) = 4 x 2 8 x 21 f(x) = 4x^2 - 8x - 21 can have the graph shown in the image in the question.

The answer is 2 \boxed{2}

A slight change should be made to condition 1 since function 1 is a parabola! We can rule out this function since x = 0 x=0 is evidently a root, but the curve does not pass through O O .

Michael Fuller - 4 years, 11 months ago

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No, the graph is most definitely not a parabola. It is a cubic graph

Hung Woei Neoh - 4 years, 11 months ago

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