Calculus, 10th Edition (Anton)

Published by Wiley
ISBN 10: 0-47064-772-8
ISBN 13: 978-0-47064-772-1

Chapter 0 - Before Calculus - 0.4 Inverse Functions - Exercises Set 0.4 - Page 45: 16

Answer

Answer: $f^{-1}(x) = \frac{1}{2}x$ when $x \leq 0$ and $f^{-1}(x) = \sqrt x$ when $x \gt 0$

Work Step by Step

When $x \leq 0$, we have $f(x) = y = 2x$. Thus, $x = \frac{1}{2}y$. To get the inverse from this, replace the $x$ on the left-hand side with $f^{-1}(x)$ and replace the $y$ on the right-hand side with $x$. Thus, $f^{-1}(x) = \frac{1}{2}x$ when $x \leq 0$ When $x \gt 0$, we have $f(x) = y = x^{2}$. Thus, $x = \sqrt y$. To get the inverse from this, replace the $x$ on the left-hand side with $f^{-1}(x)$ and replace the $y$ on the right-hand side with $x$. Thus, $f^{-1}(x) = \sqrt x$ when $x \gt 0$. Note that the inverse of $x^{2}$, which is $\sqrt x$, is not defined for $x <0$. This is the reason why the function takes values $2x$ whenever $x < 0$.
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