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Exercise 2.3 · Q2

Q.Find the domain and range of the following real functions:

(i) f(x)=−∣x∣f(x) = -|x|
(ii) f(x)=9−x2f(x) = \sqrt{9 - x^2}.
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For f(x)=−∣x∣f(x) = -|x|, the domain is all real numbers and the range is (−∞,0](-\infty, 0]. For f(x)=9−x2f(x) = \sqrt{9 - x^2}, the domain is [−3,3][-3, 3] and the range is [0,3][0, 3].

Concept First: What Domain and Range Really Mean

A real function takes a real number as input and gives a real number as output. The domain is the set of all real numbers you can safely plug in — numbers that don't break the function (like dividing by zero or taking the square root of a negative). The range is the set of all outputs the function actually produces as the input runs over the domain.

For f(x)=−∣x∣f(x) = -|x|, there's no division or square root, so the only restriction is that ∣x∣|x| is defined for every real xx. That means the domain is all real numbers. The range? The absolute value is always non-negative, so −∣x∣-|x| is always non-positive — zero or negative. The largest output is 00 (when x=0x = 0), and it goes down without bound as ∣x∣|x| grows.

For f(x)=9−x2f(x) = \sqrt{9 - x^2}, the square root demands that the inside be non-negative: 9−x2≥09 - x^2 \geq 0. That gives x2≤9x^2 \leq 9, so xx is between −3-3 and 33. The range comes from the fact that the square root outputs only non-negative numbers, and the expression inside runs from 00 to 99, so the square root runs from 00 to 33.

Now let's work through each function carefully.


(i) f(x)=−∣x∣f(x) = -|x|

1. Domain

The absolute value function ∣x∣|x| is defined for every real number xx. There is no division, no square root, no other restriction. So the domain is simply all real numbers:

Domain=R=(−∞,∞).\text{Domain} = \mathbb{R} = (-\infty, \infty).

2. Range — the intuition

∣x∣|x| is always ≥0\geq 0. Multiplying by −1-1 flips the sign: −∣x∣-|x| is always ≤0\leq 0. The smallest possible value of ∣x∣|x| is 00 (when x=0x = 0), giving f(0)=0f(0) = 0. As ∣x∣|x| grows without bound, −∣x∣-|x| goes to −∞-\infty. So the outputs cover all numbers from −∞-\infty up to and including 00.

3. Formal range

Since ∣x∣|x| takes every non-negative real value (as xx varies over R\mathbb{R}), −∣x∣-|x| takes every non-positive real value. Therefore:

Range=(−∞,0].\text{Range} = (-\infty, 0].

Watch out

A common mistake is to think the range of −∣x∣-|x| is (−∞,0)(-\infty, 0) — forgetting that 00 is actually achieved at x=0x = 0. Always check if the endpoint is included.


(ii) f(x)=9−x2f(x) = \sqrt{9 - x^2}

1. Domain — the square root condition

The expression under the square root must be non-negative:

9−x2≥0.9 - x^2 \geq 0.

This rearranges to x2≤9x^2 \leq 9, which means ∣x∣≤3|x| \leq 3. So:

Domain=[−3,3].\text{Domain} = [-3, 3].

2. Range — what outputs are possible

Inside the square root, 9−x29 - x^2 runs from 00 (when x=±3x = \pm 3) up to 99 (when x=0x = 0). The square root function t\sqrt{t} is increasing for t≥0t \geq 0, so:

  • When 9−x2=09 - x^2 = 0, 0=0\sqrt{0} = 0.
  • When 9−x2=99 - x^2 = 9, 9=3\sqrt{9} = 3.

Since 9−x29 - x^2 takes every value between 00 and 99 as xx varies over [−3,3][-3, 3], the square root takes every value between 00 and 33. Therefore:

Range=[0,3].\text{Range} = [0, 3].

Tip

For f(x)=a2−x2f(x) = \sqrt{a^2 - x^2}, the graph is a semicircle of radius aa centered at the origin (the upper half). The domain is [−a,a][-a, a] and the range is [0,a][0, a]. Here a=3a = 3, so domain [−3,3][-3, 3], range [0,3][0, 3].


✓Final answer

For f(x)=−∣x∣f(x) = -|x|, domain is R\mathbb{R} and range is (−∞,0](-\infty, 0]. For f(x)=9−x2f(x) = \sqrt{9 - x^2}, domain is [−3,3][-3, 3] and range is [0,3][0, 3].

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