Answer to Question #22948 in Trigonometry for Kristen Woods

Question

Find the functional values f(-5), f(1), and f(3) for the compound function.

f(x)={ |x-5|, if x is less than or equal to 1} {1/(x+1)}, if x is greater than 1

Answer 1

We see that x=-5 is less than 1, thus we substitute x=-5 to the first part of the compound function and find its value:
f(-5) = |-5 - 5| = |-10| = 10
For x=1: 1 is equal to 1, therefore we substitute x=1 to the first part of the
compound function and find its value:
f(1) = |1 - 5| = |-4| = 4
For x=3: we see that 3 is greater than 1, so we substitute x=3 to the second
part of the compound function and find its value:
f(3) = 1/(3 + 1) = 1/4
Finally
f(-5) = 10
f(1) = 4
f(3) =1/4