Power Functions

Summary

the shapes of the graphs of functions of the type y = x a, where a is a constant are variable depending on the value of a.

some power functions, such as y = x2 and y = x3 and y = (x-1) have been well covered in previous years.

because many of these graphs have few intercepts and features the best method is to learn the basic types for different values of a and then plot a few points to get the correct shape.

Key Skills

use graphical techniques to illustrate the features of power functions

Vocabulary

power functionsexponentindexpower, integer