Parent Functions 00007

The linear function (y = mx + b) is the simplest of the real-world models, and draws a straight line -- that's why it's called a LINEAR function. But the linear function can't describe everything. In fact, most things that happen in the real world are messier than that. So we start by showing you some other, more complicated ways to represent stuff. Each of those ways has its simplest, most basic, PARENT function. Here are the ones for x, x^2, x^3, and sqrt(x).