{"id":40,"date":"2020-04-17T15:12:51","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T19:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businessmathematics\/?post_type=part&#038;p=40"},"modified":"2021-06-28T12:03:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-28T16:03:00","slug":"chapter-2-functions-and-applications","status":"publish","type":"part","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businessmathematics\/part\/chapter-2-functions-and-applications\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 2: Functions and Applications","rendered":"Chapter 2: Functions and Applications"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox textbox--key-takeaways\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Key Takeaways<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">The purpose of a function is to enable you to find the value of a quantity (variable) you want from a quantity (variable) you know or can choose.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMost quantities in business (for example, profits, costs, sales) can take on a wide range of values (profits can even be negative!). These quantities are referred to as <em>variables,<\/em> and there are relationships between many of these variables that help you to plan and improve the operation of a\u00a0 business.\u00a0 The relationships examined in this chapter are called <em>functions.<\/em>\r\n\r\nThe <em>purpose <\/em>of a function is to enable you to find the value of a quantity (variable) you <em>want <\/em>from a quantity (variable) you <em>know <\/em>or can <em>choose. <\/em>The value of the quantity you want thus <em>depends <\/em>on the value of the quantity you know. The quantity you start with (the known one) is called the <em>independent <\/em>variable; the quantity you want is the <em>dependent <\/em>variable.\r\n\r\nAn <em>independent <\/em>variable can take on any value consistent with the situation being investigated. A <em>dependent <\/em>variable must take on the value that is a consequence of the known value of the independent variable.\r\n\r\nThese variables are often denoted by <em>x<\/em> for the independent variable and by <em>y<\/em> for the dependent variable. The letters are just a convenient shorthand, which makes it easy to do algebraic manipulation. In applications you will generally find it preferable to use letters that remind you of what is being represented (for example, cost).","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox textbox--key-takeaways\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Key Takeaways<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">The purpose of a function is to enable you to find the value of a quantity (variable) you want from a quantity (variable) you know or can choose.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Most quantities in business (for example, profits, costs, sales) can take on a wide range of values (profits can even be negative!). These quantities are referred to as <em>variables,<\/em> and there are relationships between many of these variables that help you to plan and improve the operation of a\u00a0 business.\u00a0 The relationships examined in this chapter are called <em>functions.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The <em>purpose <\/em>of a function is to enable you to find the value of a quantity (variable) you <em>want <\/em>from a quantity (variable) you <em>know <\/em>or can <em>choose. <\/em>The value of the quantity you want thus <em>depends <\/em>on the value of the quantity you know. The quantity you start with (the known one) is called the <em>independent <\/em>variable; the quantity you want is the <em>dependent <\/em>variable.<\/p>\n<p>An <em>independent <\/em>variable can take on any value consistent with the situation being investigated. A <em>dependent <\/em>variable must take on the value that is a consequence of the known value of the independent variable.<\/p>\n<p>These variables are often denoted by <em>x<\/em> for the independent variable and by <em>y<\/em> for the dependent variable. The letters are just a convenient shorthand, which makes it easy to do algebraic manipulation. In applications you will generally find it preferable to use letters that remind you of what is being represented (for example, cost).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"pb_part_invisible":false,"pb_part_invisible_string":""},"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-40","part","type-part","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businessmathematics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businessmathematics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businessmathematics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/part"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businessmathematics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/40\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3168,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businessmathematics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/40\/revisions\/3168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businessmathematics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businessmathematics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=40"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businessmathematics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}