College Math CLEP Prep Practice Exam

What is the verical asymptote of the function y = 1/x?

1. x = 0

2. y = 0

3. x = 1

4. y = 1

The correct answer is: x = 0

The vertical asymptote of a function is a vertical line that the graph of the function approaches but never touches. In this case, the function is y = 1/x. As the value of x approaches 0, the value of the function becomes extremely large (positive or negative), but it never actually reaches 0. This is because as x approaches 0 from the positive side, the value of y gets larger and larger, while as x approaches 0 from the negative side, the value of y gets smaller and smaller. Therefore, the vertical asymptote of this function is x = 0. Option B, y = 0, is incorrect because the graph of the function itself does not go through the y-axis, so y = 0 is not an asymptote. Option C, x = 1, is incorrect because it is not related to the function y