A Library of Parent Functions
In nature, a mother or a father may have many offspring. In mathematics, a parent function can be transformed into many—in fact, infinitely many— new functions. A family of functions is comprised of these new functions and the parent function. Every function can be classified as a member of a family. Certain functions are identified as parent functions of these families. For example, the function f (x) =x2 or y = x2 or is the parent function of the family of quadratic functions.
Find more about basic functions by reading the explanation below.
Practice: Answer the exercise below about parent functions.