What is the end behavior of f(x) = x^3 + 4x?

2 Answers
Jul 15, 2018

End behavior : Down ( As x -> -oo , y-> -oo),

Up ( As x -> oo , y-> oo )

Explanation:

f(x)= x^3 + 4 x The end behavior of a graph describes far left

and far right portions. Using degree of polynomial and leading

coefficient we can determine the end behaviors. Here degree of

polynomial is 3 (odd) and leading coefficient is +.

For odd degree and positive leading coefficient the graph goes

down as we go left in 3 rd quadrant and goes up as we go

right in 1 st quadrant.

End behavior : Down ( As x -> -oo , y-> -oo),

Up ( As x -> oo , y-> oo),

graph{x^3 + 4 x [-20, 20, -10, 10]} [Ans]

Jul 15, 2018

lim_(xtooo) f(x)=oo

lim_(xto-oo)f(x)=-oo

Explanation:

To think about end behavior, let's think about what our function approaches as x goes to +-oo.

To do this, let's take some limits:

lim_(xtooo) x^3+4x=oo

To think about why this makes sense, as x balloons up, the only term that will matter is x^3. Since we have a positive exponent, this function will get very large quickly.

What does our function approach as x approaches -oo?

lim_(xto-oo) x^3+4x=-oo

Once again, as x gets very negative, x^3 will dominate the end behavior. Since we have an odd exponent, our function will approach -oo.

Hope this helps!