Range of the function $f(x)=\cos^{-1}\bigg(\frac{x^2}{\sqrt{1+x^2}}\bigg)$

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I need to find the range of the function $$f(x)=\cos^{-1}\bigg(\frac{x^2}{\sqrt{1+x^2}}\bigg)$$

Now, here is my approach:

$$-1 \leq \frac{x^2}{\sqrt{1+x^2}} \leq 1$$

But, I also know that this is always positive, so

$$0 \leq \frac{x^2}{\sqrt{1+x^2}} \leq 1$$

Now, if I took the $\cos^{-1}$ throughout, I would get

$$0\leq f(x) \leq \frac{\pi}{2}$$

Now I have two questions. Firstly, how do I know that the minimum and max values of $\frac{x^2}{\sqrt{1+x^2}}$ is $0$ and $1$? I know that this seems to be increasing, so its value is only limited by the $cos^{-1}$ argument, but how do I know if the minimum value is $0$ or something that is greater than $0$?

The answer in my book says that range of the function is $(0,\frac{\pi}{2}]$ which seems to imply that $\frac{x^2}{\sqrt{1+x^2}}$ can not take the value of $1$

An explanation would help greatly

Best Answer

Consider $g(x)=\frac{x^2}{\sqrt{x^2+1}}$, an even function that is decreasing for $x\lt 0$ and increasing for $x\gt 0$. We see that

$$g’(x) = \frac{x^3+2x}{(x^2+1)^{\frac 32}} =0 \implies x=0$$ Clearly, this corresponds to a minimum. Therefore, $0\le g(x) \le 1$ where the upper bound is a consequence of the restriction by $\cos^{-1}x$. This means $f(x)=\cos^{-1}(g(x))$ can vary from $\cos^{-1} 0$ to $\cos^{-1} 1$. Indeed, your answer is correct. The range is $$\left[0,\frac{\pi}{2}\right]$$

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