How do you graph y =7/x?

1 Answer
Jul 22, 2015

Your function will give you a two part curve looking like the wings of a butterfly!

Explanation:

You first need to determine the x values that cannot be accepted by your function. In this case you do not want a division by zero so you need that:
x!=0
The y axis will then become a VERTICAL asymptote of your function; the graph of your function will get near and near to the y axis without ever crossing it.

If you try to get near (but not equal) to zero; you'll see that your function becomes very big (positively or negatively). You express this idea by using the concept of LIMIT:
lim_(x->0^+)7/x=+oo
lim_(x->0^-)7/x=-oo
This means that when you approximate zero from the right (0^+) or the left (0^-) the function becomes big (positively or negatively).

On the other hand when x becomes very big the function tends to zero (gets very small!!!).
lim_(x->oo)7/x=0

So, basically, your graph will look like the wings of a butterfly!!!
graph{7/x [-10, 10, -5, 5]}