Domain & Range

Introduction

Recall that the domain of a function is the set of all possible input values, or x-values. Therange of a function is the set of all outputs, or y-values. In other words, range is the set of all possible answers when the domain values are substituted for the input variable. Sometimes the range is difficult to determine and graphing the function may help to determine the range.

Like the quadratic functions already studied, the domain of any polynomial function is all real numbers, meaning that any value can be substituted in for x.

However, the range depends on the particular function, so graphing the function may help determine the range.

Range depends on whether the polynomial is an even or oddfunction. A polynomial is an even function when the highest degree is an even number. Odd functions are those whose highest degree is an odd number.