Precalculus Examples

$f (x) = \frac{3 x^{2} - 11 x - 4}{x - 4}$

Step 1

Find where the expression $\frac{3 x^{2} - 11 x - 4}{x - 4}$ is undefined.

$x = 4$

Step 2

The vertical asymptotes occur at areas of infinite discontinuity.

No Vertical Asymptotes

Step 3

Consider the rational function $R (x) = \frac{a x^{n}}{b x^{m}}$ where $n$ is the degree of the numerator and $m$ is the degree of the denominator.

1. If $n < m$ , then the x-axis, $y = 0$ , is the horizontal asymptote.

2. If $n = m$ , then the horizontal asymptote is the line $y = \frac{a}{b}$ .

3. If $n > m$ , then there is no horizontal asymptote (there is an oblique asymptote).

Step 4

Find $n$ and $m$ .

$n = 2$

$m = 1$

Step 5

Since $n > m$ , there is no horizontal asymptote.

No Horizontal Asymptotes

Step 6

Find the oblique asymptote using polynomial division.

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Step 6.1

Simplify the expression.

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Step 6.1.1

Factor by grouping.

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Step 6.1.1.1

For a polynomial of the form $a x^{2} + b x + c$ , rewrite the middle term as a sum of two terms whose product is $a \cdot c = 3 \cdot - 4 = - 12$ and whose sum is $b = - 11$ .

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Step 6.1.1.1.1

Factor $- 11$ out of $- 11 x$ .

$\frac{3 x^{2} - 11 (x) - 4}{x - 4}$

Step 6.1.1.1.2

Rewrite $- 11$ as $1$ plus $- 12$

$\frac{3 x^{2} + (1 - 12) x - 4}{x - 4}$

Step 6.1.1.1.3

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{3 x^{2} + 1 x - 12 x - 4}{x - 4}$

Step 6.1.1.1.4

Multiply $x$ by $1$ .

$\frac{3 x^{2} + x - 12 x - 4}{x - 4}$

Step 6.1.1.2

Factor out the greatest common factor from each group.

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Step 6.1.1.2.1

Group the first two terms and the last two terms.

$\frac{(3 x^{2} + x) - 12 x - 4}{x - 4}$

Step 6.1.1.2.2

Factor out the greatest common factor (GCF) from each group.

$\frac{x (3 x + 1) - 4 (3 x + 1)}{x - 4}$

Step 6.1.1.3

Factor the polynomial by factoring out the greatest common factor, $3 x + 1$ .

$\frac{(3 x + 1) (x - 4)}{x - 4}$

Step 6.1.2

Cancel the common factor of $x - 4$ .

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Step 6.1.2.1

Cancel the common factor.

$\frac{(3 x + 1) (x - 4)}{x - 4}$

Step 6.1.2.2

Divide $3 x + 1$ by $1$ .

$3 x + 1$

Step 6.2

The oblique asymptote is the polynomial portion of the long division result.

$y = 3 x + 1$

Step 7

This is the set of all asymptotes.

No Vertical Asymptotes

No Horizontal Asymptotes

Oblique Asymptotes: $y = 3 x + 1$

Step 8