What are the domain and range of [tex]f(x)=\left(\frac{1}{5}\right)^x[/tex]?

A. The domain is all real numbers. The range is all real numbers.
B. The domain is all real numbers. The range is all real numbers greater than zero.
C. The domain is all real numbers greater than zero. The range is all real numbers.
D. The domain is all real numbers greater than zero. The range is all real numbers greater than zero.



Answer :

To determine the domain and range of the function \( f(x) = \left( \frac{1}{5} \right)^x \), let's analyze the function step-by-step.

### Step 1: Determine the Domain

The domain of a function represents all the possible input values (\( x \)) for which the function is defined. For the exponential function \( f(x) = a^x \), where \( a > 0 \) and \( a \neq 1 \), the base \( a \) is a positive real number. This means that you can substitute any real number for \( x \), and the function will produce a valid output.

Since \( \left( \frac{1}{5} \right) \) is a positive number and any real number can be an exponent, the domain of \( f(x) = \left( \frac{1}{5} \right)^x \) is:
[tex]\[ \text{Domain: All real numbers} \][/tex]

### Step 2: Determine the Range

The range of a function represents all the possible output values (\( f(x) \)) that the function can produce. For the function \( f(x) = \left( \frac{1}{5} \right)^x \):

- When \( x = 0 \), \( f(x) = \left( \frac{1}{5} \right)^0 = 1 \).
- As \( x \) becomes larger and larger (going towards \( +\infty \)), \( f(x) \) approaches 0 but is never actually 0. It asymptotically approaches 0 from the positive side.
- As \( x \) becomes more and more negative (going towards \( -\infty \)), \( f(x) = \left( \frac{1}{5} \right)^x = 5^{-x} \) becomes very large.

Since \( \left( \frac{1}{5} \right)^x \) is always positive for any real number \( x \), the range of the function is:
[tex]\[ \text{Range: All real numbers greater than zero} \][/tex]

### Conclusion

Combining the domain and range, we have:
- Domain: All real numbers
- Range: All real numbers greater than zero

Therefore, the correct answer is:
[tex]\[ \text{The domain is all real numbers. The range is all real numbers greater than zero.} \][/tex]

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