Determine if the relationship describes a function.

Is the length of a television show a function of the age of the director?
Age of director (yrs) TV show length (min)
? ?

The TV show length
of the age of the director.

1 answer

To determine if the relationship described is a function, we need to understand what a function is in mathematical terms. A function is a relation in which each input (in this case, the age of the director) has exactly one output (the length of a television show).

Now, let's consider whether the length of a television show is a function of the age of the director:

  1. Input (Age of Director): The age of the director can take on various values (e.g., 25 years, 30 years, 40 years, etc.).

  2. Output (Length of TV Show): For each age of the director, we need to consider if there is one and only one corresponding length of a television show.

In reality, the length of a television show is influenced by many factors, such as the genre of the show, the content, network guidelines, and not solely by the age of the director. A director of any age can produce shows of varying lengths. For example, a 30-year-old director might produce a 30-minute show while a 50-year-old director might also produce a 30-minute show.

Since the same age of the director could correspond to multiple lengths of television shows, we conclude that:

The length of a television show is not a function of the age of the director.