In a rational function, is the horizontal shift represented by the vertical asymptote?

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Mathematics

2 November, 08:17

In a rational function, is the horizontal shift represented by the vertical asymptote?

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Mccullough · Answer 1

Short Answer: Yes, the horizontal shift is represented by the vertical asymptote

A bit of further explanation:

The parent function is y = 1/x which is a hyperbola that has a vertical asymptote overlapping the y axis perfectly. Its vertical asymptote is x = 0 as we cannot divide by zero. If x = 0 then 1/0 is undefined.

Shifting the function h units to the right (h is some positive number), then we end up with 1 / (x-h) and we see that x = h leads to the denominator being zero. So the vertical asymptote is x = h

For example, if we shifted the parent function 2 units to the right then we have 1/x turn into 1 / (x-2). The vertical asymptote goes from x = 0 to x = 2. This shows how the vertical asymptote is very closely related to the horizontal shifting.