What are the asymptotes of y=x^2/(x^2-1)y=x2x21 and how do you graph the function?

1 Answer
Apr 28, 2017

x^2-1x21 can be factorized into (x-1)(x+1)(x1)(x+1)

Explanation:

Both x=+1x=+1 and x=-1x=1 are the vertical asymptotes, as they would make the denominator =0=0 and the function undefined.

As xx gets larger (positive or negative) the function looks more and more like x^2/x^2=1x2x2=1, so y=1y=1 is another (horizontal) asymptote.

graph{x^2/(x^2-1) [-10, 10, -5, 5]}