Lesson 8.

Graphing
Rational Functions
1 hr. and 30 mins.
 Learning objective:
At the end of the lesson, the learner is
able to find the domain and range,
intercepts, zeroes, asymptotes of rational
functions, graph rational functions, and
solve problems involving rational
functions.
Important concepts:

Domain
Range
Zeroes of a function
Y-intercept
Domain of a function

—set of all values that the variable x

can take.
Range of a function

—set of all values that the f(x) can

take.
Zeroes of a function

—are the values of x which make the

function zero. The real numbered
zeroes are also the x-intercepts of the
graph of the function.
y-intercept of a function

—is the function value when x=0

Guidelines to understanding rational functions:

1) observe the intercepts;

2) behavior of the function near
values where the function is
undefined; and
3) extreme values of x.
Example 1.
𝑥−2
Consider the function 𝑓 𝑥 = .
𝑥+2
(a) Find its domain,
(b) intercepts,
(c) sketch its graph and
(d) determine its range.
Vertical Asymptote

The vertical line x=a is a vertical

asymptote of a function f if the graph of f
either increases or decreases without
bound as the x-values approach a from
the right or left.
Finding the vertical asymptote

(a) Reduce the rational function to lowest

terms.
(b) Find the values a that will make the
denominator of the reduced rational
function equal to zero.
Horizontal Asymptote

The horizontal line y=b is a horizontal

asymptote of the function f if f(x) gets
closer to b as x increases or decreases
without bound.
Example 1.
𝑥−2
Consider the function 𝑓 𝑥 = .
𝑥+2
(a) Find its domain,
(b) intercepts,
(c) sketch its graph and
(d) determine its range.
Example 2.
Find the horizontal asymptote of
4𝑥 2 +4𝑥+1
𝑓 𝑥 = 2 .
𝑥 +3𝑥+2
Example 3.
Find the horizontal asymptote of
2𝑥 2 −5
𝑓 𝑥 = 2 .
3𝑥 +𝑥−7
Example 4.
Find the horizontal asymptote of
3𝑥+4
𝑓 𝑥 = 2 .
2𝑥 +3𝑥+1
Example 5.
4𝑥 3 −1
Show that 𝑓 𝑥 = .
3𝑥 2 +2𝑥−5
 Finding the horizontal asymptote

Let n be the degree of the numerator and m be the

degree of the denominator.
(a) If n < m, the horizontal asymptote is y=0
(b) If n = m, the horizontal asymptote is y=a/b
(c) If n ≥ m, there is no horizontal asymptote.
Example 5.
3𝑥 2 −8𝑥−3
Sketch the graph of 𝑓 𝑥 = .
2𝑥 2 +7𝑥−4
Find its domain and range.