Algebra
Textbooks
Boundless Algebra
Exponents, Logarithms, and Inverse Functions
Inverse and Composite Functions
Algebra Textbooks Boundless Algebra Exponents, Logarithms, and Inverse Functions Inverse and Composite Functions
Algebra Textbooks Boundless Algebra Exponents, Logarithms, and Inverse Functions
Algebra Textbooks Boundless Algebra
Algebra Textbooks
Algebra
Concept Version 13
Created by Boundless

Restricting Domains to Find Inverses

Failure of horizontal line test

Failure of horizontal line test

Graph of a parabola with the equation $y=x^2$, the U-Shaped curve opening up. This function fails the horizontal line test, and therefore does not have an inverse. The inverse equation, $y=\sqrt{x}$ (other graph) only includes the positive input values of the parabola's domain. However, if we restrict the domain to be $x>0$, then we find that it passes the horizontal line test and will match the inverse function.

Source

    Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This particular resource used the following sources:

    "Original figure by Julien Coyne. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0."
    Julien Coyne CC BY-SA 3.0.

Related Terms

  • domain
  • Subjects
    • Accounting
    • Algebra
    • Art History
    • Biology
    • Business
    • Calculus
    • Chemistry
    • Communications
    • Economics
    • Finance
    • Management
    • Marketing
    • Microbiology
    • Physics
    • Physiology
    • Political Science
    • Psychology
    • Sociology
    • Statistics
    • U.S. History
    • World History
    • Writing

    Except where noted, content and user contributions on this site are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 with attribution required.