0606 P21 - Nov 2021 - Q9 - 9 marks
8050
The functions \(\mathrm f\) and \(\mathrm g\) are defined for \(x\gt 1\) by
\(\mathrm f(x)=\frac{x+3}{x-1},\qquad \mathrm g(x)=1+x^2.\)
(a) Find \(\mathrm{fg}(x)\).
(b) Find \(\mathrm g^{-1}(x)\).
(c) Without using a calculator, solve the equation \(\mathrm f(x)=\mathrm g(x)\).
Solution
Answer: \(\mathrm{fg}(x)=\frac{x^2+4}{x^2}\); \(\mathrm g^{-1}(x)=\sqrt{x-1}\); \(x=2\).
(a) Here \(\mathrm{fg}(x)\) means \(\mathrm f(\mathrm g(x))\). Since \(\mathrm g(x)=1+x^2\),
\(\mathrm{fg}(x) =\mathrm f(1+x^2) =\frac{(1+x^2)+3}{(1+x^2)-1}.\)
Therefore
\(\mathrm{fg}(x)=\frac{x^2+4}{x^2}.\)
(b) Let
\(y=1+x^2.\)
Then
\(x^2=y-1.\)
Since the domain has \(x\gt 1\), use the positive square root:
\(x=\sqrt{y-1}.\)
Hence
\(\mathrm g^{-1}(x)=\sqrt{x-1}.\)
(c) Solve
\(\frac{x+3}{x-1}=1+x^2.\)
Multiplying by \(x-1\),
\(x+3=(x-1)(x^2+1).\)
Expanding,
\(x+3=x^3-x^2+x-1.\)
Cancel \(x\) from both sides and rearrange:
\(x^3-x^2-4=0.\)
Since \(x=2\) is a root, factorise:
\(x^3-x^2-4=(x-2)(x^2+x+2).\)
The quadratic \(x^2+x+2\) has discriminant
\(1-8=-7,\)
so it has no real roots. Therefore the only solution is
\(x=2.\)