Questions: Suppose that the function f is defined as follows.
f(x) =
- -1 if -3 < x ≤ -2
- 0 if -2 < x ≤ -1
- 1 if -1 < x ≤ 0
- 2 if 0 < x ≤ 1
Graph the function f.
Transcript text: Suppose that the function $f$ is defined as follows.
\[
f(x)=\left\{\begin{array}{cc}
-1 & \text { if }-3
Solution
Solution Steps
Step 1: Plot the first piece of the function
For $-3 < x \le -2$, the function value is $f(x) = -1$. This is a horizontal line segment at $y=-1$ starting at $x=-3$ (open circle) and ending at $x=-2$ (closed circle).
Step 2: Plot the second piece of the function
For $-2 < x \le -1$, the function value is $f(x) = 0$. This is a horizontal line segment at $y=0$ starting at $x=-2$ (open circle) and ending at $x=-1$ (closed circle).
Step 3: Plot the third piece of the function
For $-1 < x \le 0$, the function value is $f(x) = 1$. This is a horizontal line segment at $y=1$ starting at $x=-1$ (open circle) and ending at $x=0$ (closed circle).
Step 4: Plot the fourth piece of the function
For $0 < x \le 1$, the function value is $f(x) = 2$. This is a horizontal line segment at $y=2$ starting at $x=0$ (open circle) and ending at $x=1$ (closed circle).
Final Answer:
The graph of the function $f(x)$ is a piecewise function consisting of four horizontal line segments.