The function below describes the relationship between the height [tex]\(H\)[/tex] and the width [tex]\(w\)[/tex] of a rectangle with an area of 70 sq. units.

[tex]\[ H(w) = \frac{70}{w} \][/tex]

What is the domain of the function?

A. [tex]\(w \ \textless \ 0\)[/tex]

B. [tex]\(w \ \textgreater \ 1\)[/tex]

C. [tex]\(w \ \textgreater \ 0\)[/tex]

D. [tex]\(w \ \textless \ 1\)[/tex]



Answer :

To determine the domain of the function [tex]\( H(w) = \frac{70}{w} \)[/tex], we need to identify the values of [tex]\( w \)[/tex] that make the function valid (i.e., [tex]\( H(w) \)[/tex] is defined).

The function [tex]\( H(w) = \frac{70}{w} \)[/tex] is a rational function, which is defined for all values of [tex]\( w \)[/tex] except those that make the denominator zero. Specifically, the function will be undefined if the denominator [tex]\( w \)[/tex] is zero, since division by zero is undefined in mathematics. Therefore, [tex]\( w \)[/tex] cannot be zero.

Thus, the function is defined for every other real number except zero. This means [tex]\( w \)[/tex] can be any positive or negative value, as long as it is not zero. However, negative widths do not make sense in the context of a physical rectangle's dimensions, given the height [tex]\( H(w) \)[/tex] relates to the width [tex]\( w \)[/tex] of a rectangle with a specified area.

In practical scenarios, we are only interested in positive values for width [tex]\( w \)[/tex] because a width, being a measurement in geometry, should be greater than zero.

Therefore, the domain of the function [tex]\( H(w) = \frac{70}{w} \)[/tex] in this context is all positive real numbers:

[tex]\[ w > 0 \][/tex]

Hence, the correct answer is:

C. [tex]\( w > 0 \)[/tex]

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