College Algebra (11th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0321671791
ISBN 13: 978-0-32167-179-0

Chapter 2 - Section 2.8 - Function Operations and Composition - 2.8 Exercises - Page 268: 40

Answer

$a)$ $f(x+h)=\frac{1}{(x+h)^2}$ $b)$ $f(x+h)-f(x)=\frac{-2xh-h^2}{(x+h)^2x^2}$ $c)$ $\frac{f(x+h)-f(x)}{h}=\dfrac{-2x-h}{(x+h)^2x^2}$

Work Step by Step

$a)$ $$f(x)=\frac{1}{x^2}$$ Replace $x$ with $x+h$: $$f(x+h)=\frac{1}{(x+h)^2}$$ $b)$ $$f(x+h)-f(x)$$ Substitute corresponding expressions: $$\frac{1}{(x+h)^2}-\frac{1}{x^2}$$ $$\frac{x^2-(x+h)^2}{(x+h)^2x^2}=\frac{x^2-x^2-2xh-h^2}{(x+h)^2x^2}=\frac{-2xh-h^2}{(x+h)^2x^2}$$ $c)$ $$\frac{f(x+h)-f(x)}{h}$$ Substitute corresponding expression for numerator: $$\frac{\dfrac{-2xh-h^2}{(x+h)^2x^2}}{h}=\frac{\dfrac{h(-2x-h)}{(x+h)^2x^2}}{h}=\dfrac{-2x-h}{(x+h)^2x^2}$$
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