Calculus 10th Edition

Published by Brooks Cole
ISBN 10: 1-28505-709-0
ISBN 13: 978-1-28505-709-5

Chapter P - P.1 - Graphs and Models - Exercises - Page 8: 37

Answer

The graph is symmetric with respect to the $y$-axis, but not with respect to the $x$-axis and origin.

Work Step by Step

$y = |x^{3} + x|$ The graph of an equation in $x$ and $y$ is symmetric with respect to the $y$-axis when replacing $x$ by $-x$ yields an equivalent equation. $y = |(-x)^{3} - x|$ The part of the equation between vertical bars is an absolute value, meaning that only if it returns a negative, it will be multiplied by $-1$. $(-x)^{3} - x$ always gives the exact negative result of $x^{3} + x$ meaning it has the same absolute value so the equation remains the same. The graph of an equation in $x$ and $y$ is symmetric with respect to the $x$-axis when replacing $y$ by $-y$ yields an equivalent equation. When $y$ becomes $-y$ nothing else changes in the equation so it is not the same as the original. The graph of an equation in $x$ and $y$ is symmetric with respect to the origin when replacing $x$ by $-x$ and $y$ by $-y$ yields an equivalent equation. Because the right member of the equation remains unchanged when replacing $x$ by $-x$ but the left does when replacing $y$ by $-y$ the resulting equation is not the same as the original.
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