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Printjmc
algebra senior
Problem
Compute the domain of the function
Solution
The discriminant of the quadratic is , so the quadratic has no real roots and is always positive for real inputs. The function is undefined if , which since the quadratic is always positive is equivalent to .
To find when , we switch to and factor as , so or . The new quadratic is negative between these points, so the quadratic is less than between these points, which makes the function undefined. So the domain of is
To find when , we switch to and factor as , so or . The new quadratic is negative between these points, so the quadratic is less than between these points, which makes the function undefined. So the domain of is
Final answer
(-\infty,-2] \cup [-1,\infty)