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How to find range of this function, it looks easy but somehow I am not able to do that .
What is more important to me is , why is wolframalpha unable to find the range , is it not a simple enough function ? enter image description here

5 Answers5

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$1-x^2=(1-x)(1+x)$ needs to be positive because it is under the root. Hence,

$$(1-x)(1+x)\geq 0.$$

What can you conclude for possible values of $x$? The possible values of $x$ are limited on the interval $[-1,1]$. We have $f(-1)=0$ and $f(+1)=0$.

Then consider the derivative of the function $$f'(x) = \sqrt{1-x^2}+x\dfrac{1}{2\sqrt{1-x^2}}\left(-2x \right)$$ $$=\dfrac{2(1-x^2)-2x^2}{2\sqrt{1-x^2}}=\dfrac{2(1-2x^2)}{2\sqrt{1-x^2}}$$ $$=\dfrac{1-2x^2}{\sqrt{1-x^2}}.$$

The derivative is $0$ for $1-2x^2=0\implies x = \pm \sqrt{1/2}$. The derivative is negative for $1\geq|x|\geq\sqrt{1/2}$ and positive for $|x|\leq \sqrt{1/2}$.

The extremal values are $f(\pm \sqrt{1/2})=\pm\sqrt{1/2}\sqrt{1-1/2}=\pm\sqrt{1/2}\sqrt{1/2}=\pm 0.5.$

As the continuous function vanishes on the bounds of $[-1,1]$ we know that the extremal values of the function will dictate the range of the function. The range is $[-1/2,1/2]$.

  • The procedure for standard problems with a continuous function is given by the following method. First, look if your domain is bounded. If yes evaluate the function value at the bounds. If no evaluate the function or $|x|\to \infty$. Then calculate the derivative and set it equal to $0$ to obtain extremal values of your function. Then look at which of the determined points is the maximal point (upper bound for range) and which is minimal (lower bound of range). – MachineLearner Mar 17 '19 at 10:38