Chapter 1, Problem 2RCC

Discuss four ways of representing a function. Illustrate your discussion with examples.

To determine

To discuss: Four ways of representing a function with the related examples.

Answer to Problem 2RCC

Solution:

There are four ways to represent a function which are:

i) Verbally

ii) Numerically

iii) Visually

iv) Algebraically

Explanation of Solution

There are four ways to represent a function which are:

i) Verbally

ii) Numerically

iii) Visually

iv) Algebraically

Example of each way is discussed below.

i) Verbally: Describing a function in words is called representing verbally. To find the area of the square multiply the side length of a square by the side length itself. That is the square of the measure of the side length.

ii) Numerically: Representing a function through a table of values is called representing numerically. The following table shows the area of the square corresponding to the side length.

Side length (a)	Area (A)
1	1
2	4
3.2	10.24
4.8	23.04
5	25
6.1	37.21
10	100

iii) Visually: A function can be represented visually as shown below in Figure 1.

Note that the above table is represented visually.

iv) Algebraically: Representing a function through a formula is called representing algebraically. To area (A) of the square of side length a can be obtained by the following formula $A\left(a\right)=a^2$.