What does a function's end behavior mean?

1 Answer
Feb 26, 2017

The end behavior of a function is the behavior of the graph of the function #f(x)# as #x# approaches positive infinity or negative infinity.

Explanation:

The end behavior of a function is the behavior of the graph of the function #f(x)# as #x# approaches positive infinity or negative infinity.

This is determined by the degree and the leading coefficient of a polynomial function.

For example in case of #y=f(x)=1/x#, as #x->+-oo#, #f(x)->0#.
graph{1/x [-10, 10, -5, 5]}
But if #y=f(x)=(3x^2+5)/((x+2)(x+7))# as #x->+-oo#, #y->3#
graph{(3x^2+5)/((x+2)(x+7)) [-165.7, 154.3, -6, 12]}