A study of common student practices for determining the domain and range of graphs. (2nd October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cho, Peter; Norris, Benjamin; Moore-Russo, Deborah
• Is Part Of: Investigations in mathematics learning. Volume 9:Number 4(2017)
• Page Start: 202
• Page End: 219
• Publication Date: 2017-10-02
• Subjects: Domain -- function -- graph -- range; Mathematics -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; 510.71
• DOI: 10.1080/19477503.2017.1285658
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1947-7503

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This study focuses on how students in different postsecondary mathematics courses perform on domain and range tasks regarding graphs of functions. Students often seem to focus on notable aspects of a graph and fail to see the graph in its entirety. Many students struggled with piecewise functions, especially those involving horizontal segments. Findings indicate that Calculus I students performed better on domain tasks than students in lower math courses; however, they did not outperform students in lower math courses on range tasks. In general, student performance did not provide evidence of a deep understanding of domain and range.