Given the function \( f(x) = x^{1/2} \), find its inverse and then verify that the two functions are inverses by showing \( f(g(x)) = x \).
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To find the inverse of the function \( f(x) = x^{1/2} \), we start by rewriting the equation: 1. Replace \( f(x) \) with \( y \): \[ y = x^{1/2} \] 2. Next, swap \( x \) and \( y \) to find the inverse: \[ x = y^{1/2} \] 3. Now, solve for \( y \): \[ y = x^2 \] Thus, the inverse function is \( g(x) = x^2 \). To verify that these functions are inverses, we need to show that \( f(g(x)) = x \) and \( g(f(x)) = x \). **First**: Check \( f(g(x)) \): \[ f(g(x)) = f(x^2) = (x^2)^{1/2} = x \] **Second**: Check \( g(f(x)) \): \[ g(f(x)) = g(x^{1/2}) = (x^{1/2})^2 = x \] Since both \( f(g(x)) = x \) and \( g(f(x)) = x \) hold true, we have verified that \( f(x) = x^{1/2} \) and its inverse \( g(x) = x^2 \) are indeed inverses of each other.