How do you graph f(x) = (4x^2-36x) / (x-9)?

1 Answer
Apr 22, 2018

see below

Explanation:

you can first simplify this expression:

4x^2 - 36x = 4x(x-9)

(4x^2-36x)/(x-9) = (4x(x-9))/(x-9) = 4x

therefore, for all points where (4x^2-36x)/(x-9) can be defined, you'll get a graph of f(x)= 4x.

however, not all points can be defined.

any number divided by zero is undefined. this means that the x-value where the denominator x-9 is 0 is also undefined.

when x-9 = 0, x = 9.

this means that the line cannot touch any point where x = 9.

however, in all other ways, it will look like the graph of f(x) = 4x.

this gives a straight line with gradient 4, and with a hole where the point on the x-axis is 9:

graph{(4x^2-36x)/(x-9) [2.7, 22.7, 32.56, 42.56]}

if you scroll along the graph, you'll see a directly proportional relationship between x and y, where the y-coordinate is 4 times the x-coordinate.

if you scroll up to where x=9, you'll see that the coordinates are
(9, undefined).