Pearson Algebra 2 Common Core, 2011
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Pearson Algebra 2 Common Core, 2011 View details
Concept Byte: Piecewise Functions
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Exercise 3 Page 91

Each segment is the translation of the previous segment unit to the right. Begin by determining the domain and writing the rule of the first segment.

Practice makes perfect

Notice that each segment is the translation of the previous segment unit to the right.

Let's write the rule of the first segment and then we can write the rules of the other segments by translating it. The domain of the first segment is between and However, and are not included in the domain, because the endpoints are represented by open points.
Next, we will write a function rule. We see that the endpoints of segment are and With this information we can find its slope using the Slope Formula.
The slope of the segment is Notice that one of the endpoints, is on the axis, which means the intercept is In this case we can write the rule of the segment in slope-intercept form.
Now that we know the rule for the first segment, we can write the rule for the second one by performing a translation. The second segment is translated 1 unit to the right and that translation is equivalent to from the input.
Similarly, we can find the rules for the remaining segments by translating the previous segment one unit to the right. To do so, we from the input in the rule for the previous segment.
Finally, let's write the piecewise function considering the domain of each piece.