The study of asymptotes constitutes one of the earliest and most significant encounters a high school mathematics student can have with infinity. The study of horizontal asymptotes, in particular, contributes to a student's later understanding of limits and the notion of “arbitrarily close to.” Typically, students are exposed to horizontal asymptotes in the contexts of exponential and rational functions. Real–life applications of exponential functions abound, but real–life applications of rational functions do not. In this article, we present a hands–on activity that allows students to explore horizontal asymptotes of graphs of rational functions visually and mathematically and that has been used successfully with intermediate algebra, precalculus, college algebra, and mathematics methods students.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.