What can you say about the continuous function that generated the following table of values?

| [tex]$x$[/tex] | [tex]$y$[/tex] |
|-------|------|
| 0.125 | -3 |
| 0.5 | -1 |
| 2 | 1 |
| 8 | 3 |
| 64 | 6 |

A. Not enough information to answer the question
B. The function has no [tex]$x$[/tex]-intercepts
C. The function has at least one [tex]$x$[/tex]-intercept
D. The function has more than one [tex]$x$[/tex]-intercept



Answer :

To determine the properties of the continuous function that generated the given table of values, we need to analyze the given data points and ascertain whether there is an x-intercept. An x-intercept occurs when the function crosses the x-axis, which corresponds to a y-value of zero.

Let's examine the table of values:

[tex]\[ \begin{array}{|c|c|} \hline x & y \\ \hline 0.125 & -3 \\ \hline 0.5 & -1 \\ \hline 2 & 1 \\ \hline 8 & 3 \\ \hline 64 & 6 \\ \hline \end{array} \][/tex]

We will look for any change in the sign of the y-values, as this indicates where the function crosses the x-axis (which means the function has an x-intercept).

1. From [tex]\( x = 0.125 \)[/tex] to [tex]\( x = 0.5 \)[/tex]:
- [tex]\( y \)[/tex] changes from -3 to -1 (both are negative).

2. From [tex]\( x = 0.5 \)[/tex] to [tex]\( x = 2 \)[/tex]:
- [tex]\( y \)[/tex] changes from -1 to 1 (negative to positive).

3. From [tex]\( x = 2 \)[/tex] to [tex]\( x = 8 \)[/tex]:
- [tex]\( y \)[/tex] changes from 1 to 3 (both are positive).

4. From [tex]\( x = 8 \)[/tex] to [tex]\( x = 64 \)[/tex]:
- [tex]\( y \)[/tex] changes from 3 to 6 (both are positive).

From the above observations, we notice that there is a sign change between [tex]\( x = 0.5 \)[/tex] and [tex]\( x = 2 \)[/tex] (negative to positive). This signifies that the function crosses the x-axis at least once within this interval, meaning there is at least one x-intercept.

Based on this information, we can conclude:
C. the function has at least one [tex]$x$[/tex]-intercept.

Other Questions