Inverse functions
Problem 13.373 · medium
Find the inverse of \( \displaystyle f(x) = \ln{\left(x - 4 \right)} - 2 \).
- Write y = f(x) and solve for x. Isolate the log, then exponentiate. Then rename y as x.Reviewed
- \[ \left. \ln{\left(x - 4 \right)} - 2 \right|_{\substack{ x=e^{x + 2} + 4 }} = x \]f(f⁻¹(x)) = x, so this is the inverse.✓ Proved
- \[ \left. e^{x + 2} + 4 \right|_{\substack{ x=\left. \ln{\left(x - 4 \right)} - 2 \right|_{\substack{ x=7 }} }} = 7 \]And f⁻¹(f(7)) = 7.✓ Proved
Answer \( f^{-1}(x) = e^{x + 2} + 4 \)
✓ Nihil obstat Lines: 2 proved, 1 reviewed. The answer was also checked a second way, without looking at the solution. Reviewers found nothing wrong with the explanation. How we verify
The full receipt
| Line | Status | Checked by | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reviewed | reviewers: gpt-oss:20b, qwen3.6:27b-mlx | a sentence; read, not computed |
| 2 | ✓ Proved | sympy 1.14.0 | simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0 |
| 3 | ✓ Proved | sympy 1.14.0 | simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0 |
| answer, a second way | ✓ Checked independently | sympy 1.14.0 + mpmath 1.3.0 | f then the answer, in floating point, returns the starting x |
Reviewers
gpt-oss:20b: passqwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass — The solution correctly identifies the method for finding an inverse function and verifies the result using composition. The steps are logically sound and the final answer is correct.
Every verdict on record (6)
qwen3.6:27b-mlx: pass 2026-10-19 — The solution correctly identifies the method for finding an inverse function and verifies the result using composition. The steps are logically sound and the final answer is correct.gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-19qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (style) 2026-10-17 — [domain objection, downgraded to style] The solution omits the domain restriction x > -2 for the inverse function, which is required because the range of the original function is all real numbers but the domain of the inverse is restricted by the range of f. While the algebraic form is correct, stating the inverse without its domain is mathematically incomplete and misleading.gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-17qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (style) 2026-10-17 — [domain objection, downgraded to style] The solution fails to determine the domain of the inverse function. The range of f(x) is all real numbers, so the domain of f^{-1}(x) is (-\infty, \infty). While the algebraic expression is correct, omitting the domain is a significant omission in finding an inverse function, as the inverse is not fully defined without it. Additionally, step 2 and 3 are verification steps, not the derivation itself, so the 'solution' is incomplete as it skips the actual derivation steps described in sentence 1.gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-17
Proved: SymPy reduced the difference between the two sides to zero. Checked independently: a separate
method, named above, confirmed it. Checked numerically: the two sides agree at every sampled point, which is evidence,
not proof. Reviewed: a model or a person read it; that is all a sentence can have. Solution by
generator:structured/inverse_function, checked 2026-10-19 with SymPy 1.14.0.