Q.A function f:R→R is defined by f(x)=3x−5. Find f(0), f(−1), the value of x for which f(x)=10, and the range of f.
🔒You're viewing a preview — the full solution, concept, methods & PYQ mapping are locked.
🔒 Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Concept understanding — Function Evaluation
Function Evaluation: What It Really Means
Imagine you have a machine. You drop a number into the top, the machine does something to it, and a new number comes out the bottom. That machine is a function. Function evaluation is simply the act of putting a specific input into that machine and seeing what output you get.
Let’s make it concrete. Suppose the machine’s rule is: “Take whatever number you get, multiply it by 2, then add 3.” If you drop in a 5, the machine does 2×5+3=13, and out comes 13. You have just evaluated the function at the input 5.
The input is often called the argument or the independent variable. The output is the value of the function at that argument.
The Precise Statement
A function is a rule that assigns to every input (from a set called the domain) exactly one output (from a set called the codomain). We usually name a function with a letter like f, g, or h. The input is often written as x, and the output as f(x) (read “f of x”).
So if f is the function “multiply by 2 and add 3,” we write:
f(x)=2x+3
To evaluate f at x=5, we replace every x in the expression with 5:
f(5)=2(5)+3=10+3=13
That’s it. Function evaluation is substitution: take the given input, plug it into the function’s rule wherever the variable appears, and simplify.
Why This Matters
Every formula you’ve ever seen — area of a circle A(r)=πr2, distance d(t)=vt, even the quadratic formula — is a function. Evaluating it means you’re answering a specific question: “What happens when the input is this particular number?”
When you see f(2), read it as “the output when the input is 2.” Don’t think of it as multiplication — f is not multiplied by 2. It’s a notation for the result of the rule.
A Common Mistake
Students sometimes write f(x+1)=2x+3 and then try to “solve” for x. Don’t. If f(x)=2x+3, then f(x+1) means: replace every x in the rule with (x+1):
f(x+1)=2(x+1)+3=2x+2+3=2x+5
The input is the whole expression x+1, not just x.
The Big Picture …
Substitute directly for f(0) and f(−1); set 3x−5=10 and solve for x; a non-zero-slope linear function has range R. …
Step 1: f(0)=3(0)−5=−5.
Step 2: f(−1)=3(−1)−5=−3−5=−8.
Step 3: Solve 3x−5=10: 3x=15, so x=5.
Step 4: Since f(x)=3x−5 is linear with a non-zero slope (3=0), it takes every real value exactly once as x range …
Substitute the given inputs directly for the function values; form and solve a linear equation for the requir …
- Sign errors when substituting a negative input, e.g. computing f(−1) as 3(1)−5. …
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.If f(x)=x3−x31, then f(x)+f(x1) is equal to(a) 2x3(b) x32(c) 0(d) 1
›Reveal solutionSolution
Substituting 1/x into f gives the negative of f(x), so the sum is 0.
Given f(x)=x3−x31. Substitute x1 for x:
f(x1)=(x1)3−(x1)31=x31−x3
Now add: …
- CBSE 2025Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.If f:R→R:f(x)=x2+3=19 then find the pre-image of the function.(a) 4(b) -4(c) ±4(d) 0
›Reveal solutionSolution
Honesty note on the stem: as given, the stem reads literally "f(x)=x2+3=19", which is not a well-formed single equation -- it looks like a paper/transcription typo that ran together the function definition f(x)=x2+3 and the condition f(x)=19 used to ask for the pre-image. We answer under the most natural reading consistent with the question asking for "the pre-image": f:R→R, f(x)=x2+3, find x such that f(x)=19.
Solving:
x2+3=19
x2=16
x=±4
…
- CBSE 2025Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Let f:R→R:f(x)=x2+3, then the pre-image of 19 is(a) ±4(b) 4(c) −4(d) none of these
›Reveal solutionSolution
Set f(x)=19 and solve x2+3=19.
x2+3=19⟹x2=16⟹x=±4 …
- CBSE 2024Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.If f(x+1)=3x+5, then f(x) is(a) 3x+2(b) x+5(c) x−4(d) None of these
›Reveal solutionSolution
Substitute a new variable for the function's argument to rewrite the rule purely in terms of that argument.
We are given f(x+1)=3x+5 and need f(x).
Let t=x+1, so x=t−1. Substitute into the given rule:
f(t)=3(t−1)+5=3t−3+5=3t+2
…
- CBSE 2024Set sz1 markMCQQ.Let f(x)=2x2, then f(2) is equal to:(a) 2(b) 4(c) 6(d) 8
›Reveal solutionSolution
Substituting x=2 into f(x)=x2/2 gives f(2)=2.
Given f(x)=2x2.
Substitute x=2: …
- CBSE 2023Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.If f(x)=x2+2x+1, then the value of f(0) is(a) 0(b) 4(c) 1(d) −1
›Reveal solutionSolution
Direct substitution of x=0 gives f(0)=1.
Given f(x)=x2+2x+1, we simply substitute x=0:
f(0)=(0)2+2(0)+1=0+0+1=1
…
- CBSE 2022Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.If f(x) is add periodic function with period 2 then f(4)=?(a) 0(b) 2(c) 4(d) −4
›Reveal solutionSolution
f(4)=0.
With period 2: f(4)=f(4−2)=f(2)=f(0). For an odd function f(−x)=−f(x); setting x=0 gives f(0)=−f(0), so f(0)=0.
Therefore f(4)=0. ("Add" in the stem is a transcription of "odd.")
…
- CBSE 2020Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.If f(x)=x2−4x+1, x∈R, then the value of f(21) will be:(a) −43(b) 34(c) 2(d) 21
›Reveal solutionSolution
Plug x=21 directly into the formula for f(x) and simplify.
f(x)=x2−4x+1
…
- CBSE 2018Set ANNUAL1 markQ.Match the Column-A item 'The value of function f(x) = x³ − 3x² + 1 at x = 0 will be' with the correct entry from Column-B. Column-B options (as printed, unordered):(1) 1;(2) 6;(3) 3;(4) 5;(5) 4.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Substitute x=0 directly into the polynomial.
f(x)=x3−3x2+1
…
🎓Unlock everything free for 14 days
- ✓Full step-by-step solutions
- ✓Concept-first explanations
- ✓Methods, shortcuts & mistakes
- ✓PYQ mapping + timed mock tests
Full access for 14 days. No credit card required.