01 76 38 08 47
Kartable logo
HomeBrowseSearchLog in

To enjoy 10 free documents.

Kartable logo
HomeBrowseSearchLog in

To enjoy 10 free documents.

  1. Home
  2. 12th grade
  3. Calculus
  4. Exercise : Use the intermediate value theorem to make statements about a function

Use the intermediate value theorem to make statements about a function Calculus

Here are some values of a function f, that is known to be continuous.

x f(x)
-2 2
1 -1
3 -1
4 5

Statement: "f has exactly one x-intercept".

The intermediate value theorem states that if a continuous function f, with an interval \left[a, b\right] as its domain, takes values f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at each end of the interval, then it also takes any value between f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at some point within the interval.

Applying the intermediate value theorem to the data here leads to the following conclusions:

  • On the domain -2 \leq x \leq 1, f\left(x\right) takes every value between 2 and -1. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain -2 \leq x \leq 1.
  • On the domain 3 \leq x \leq 4 , f\left(x\right) takes every value between -1 and 5. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain 3 \leq x \leq 4.

There are therefore at least two x-intercepts.

The statement "f has exactly one x-intercept" is false since we know it has at least two x-intercepts.

Here are some values of a function f, that is known to be continuous.

x f(x)
2 -2
3 -2
4 1
5 -4
6 -3
7 5

Statement: "f has at least two x-intercepts on the domain 3 \leq x \leq 5 "

The intermediate value theorem states that if a continuous function f, with an interval \left[a, b\right] as its domain, takes values f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at each end of the interval, then it also takes any value between f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at some point within the interval.

Applying the intermediate value theorem to the data here leads to the following conclusions:

  • On the domain 3 \leq x \leq 4, f\left(x\right) takes every value between -2 and 1. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain 3 \lt x \lt 4.
  • On the domain 4 \leq x \leq 5, f\left(x\right) takes every value between 1 and -4. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain 4 \lt x \lt 5.

There are therefore at least two x-intercepts on the domain 3 \leq x \leq 5.

The statement "f has at least two x-intercepts on the domain 3 \leq x \leq 5 " is true.

Here are some values of a function f, that is known to be continuous.

x f(x)
-1 1
0 1
1 -1
4

7

6 7
7 -2

Statement: "f has exactly two x-intercept".

The intermediate value theorem states that if a continuous function f, with an interval \left[a, b\right] as its domain, takes values f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at each end of the interval, then it also takes any value between f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at some point within the interval.

Applying the intermediate value theorem to the data here leads to the following conclusions:

  • On the domain 0 \leq x \leq 1, f\left(x\right) takes every value between 1 and -1. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain 0 \lt x \lt 1.
  • On the domain 1 \leq x \leq 4, f\left(x\right) takes every value between -1 and 7. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain 1 \lt x \lt 4
  • On the domain 6 \leq x \leq 7, f\left(x\right) takes every value between 7 and -2. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain 6 \lt x \lt 7

There are therefore at least three x-intercepts.

The statement "f has exactly two x-intercepts" is false since we know it has at least three x-intercepts.

Here are some values of a function f, that is known to be continuous.

x f(x)
-3 9
0 7
2 9
5 -4
6 -3
8 -4

Statement: "f has at least one x-intercept."

The intermediate value theorem states that if a continuous function f, with an interval \left[a, b\right] as its domain, takes values f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at each end of the interval, then it also takes any value between f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at some point within the interval.

Applying the intermediate value theorem to the data here leads to the following conclusions:

On the domain 2 \leq x \leq 5, f\left(x\right) takes every value between 9 and -4. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain 2 \lt x \lt 5.

There is therefore at least one x-intercept.

The statement "f has exactly one x-intercept" is true.

Here are some values of a function f, that is known to be continuous.

x f(x)
-1 1
1 -1
3 3
5 4
8 3
13 2
14 -2

Statement: "f has no more than two x-intercepts."

The intermediate value theorem states that if a continuous function f, with an interval \left[a, b\right] as its domain, takes values f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at each end of the interval, then it also takes any value between f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at some point within the interval.

Applying the intermediate value theorem to the data here leads to the following conclusions:

  • On the domain -1 \leq x \leq 1, f\left(x\right) takes every value between 1 and -1. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain -1 \lt x \lt 1
  • On the domain 1 \leq x \leq 3, f\left(x\right) takes every value between -1 and 3. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain 1 \lt x \lt 3
  • On the domain 13 \leq x \leq 14, f\left(x\right) takes every value between 2 and -2. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain 13 \lt x \lt 14

There are therefore at least three x-intercepts.

The statement "f has no more than two x-intercepts" is false since we know it has at least three x-intercepts.

Here are some values of a function f, that is known to be continuous.

x f(x)
-3 -4
3 -2
4 2
5 8
8 -2

Statement: "f has no x-intercepts on the domain -3 \leq x \leq 4. "

The intermediate value theorem states that if a continuous function f, with an interval \left[a, b\right] as its domain, takes values f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at each end of the interval, then it also takes any value between f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at some point within the interval.

Applying the intermediate value theorem to the data here leads to the following conclusions:

On the domain -3 \leq x \leq 4, f\left(x\right) takes every value between -4 and 2. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain -3 \lt x \lt 4.

There is therefore at least one x-intercept.

The statement "f has no x-intercepts on the domain - 3 \leq x \leq 4 " is false since we know it has at least one x-intercept on that domain.

Here are some values of a function f, that is known to be continuous.

x f(x)
-10 4
-4 -2
-3 -2
-1 -5
4 3
5 3
7 6

Statement: "f has less than two x-intercepts."

The intermediate value theorem states that if a continuous function f, with an interval \left[a, b\right] as its domain, takes values f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at each end of the interval, then it also takes any value between f\left(a\right) and f\left(b\right) at some point within the interval.

Applying the intermediate value theorem to the data here leads to the following conclusions:

  • On the domain -10 \leq x \leq -4, f\left(x\right) takes every value between 4 and -2. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain -10 \lt x \lt -4
  • On the domain -1 \leq x \leq 4, f\left(x\right) takes every value between -5 and 3. Therefore, f\left(x\right) = 0 for some x on the domain -1 \lt x \lt 4

There are therefore at least two x-intercepts.

The statement "f has less than two x-intercepts" is false since we know it has at least two x-intercepts.

The editorial charter guarantees the compliance of the content with the official National Education curricula. Learn more

The courses and exercises are written by the Kartable editorial team, made up of teachers certified and accredited. Learn more

See also
  • Course : Continuity of functions
  • Exercise : Determine the continuity of a piecewise function at a point
  • support@kartable.com
  • Legal notice

© Kartable 2026