Precalculus Examples

$f (x) = 2 - \sqrt{x + 4}$

Step 1

Find where the expression $2 - \sqrt{x + 4}$ 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

There are no horizontal asymptotes because $Q (x)$ is $1$ .

No Horizontal Asymptotes

Step 5

Use polynomial division to find the oblique asymptotes. Because this expression contains a radical, polynomial division cannot be performed.

Cannot Find Oblique Asymptotes

Step 6

This is the set of all asymptotes.

No Vertical Asymptotes

No Horizontal Asymptotes

Cannot Find Oblique Asymptotes

Step 7