Getting Bigger? Getting Smaller? (Direct and Inverse Variation)

Bigger means farther away from zero and smaller means closer to zero. (This is discussed in more detail in a future section.)

Suppose that $\,y = 2x\,.$ When $\,x\,$ gets bigger, $\,y\,$ gets bigger. When $\,y\,$ gets bigger, $\,x\,$ gets bigger. In this type of relationship, $\,x\,$ and $\,y\,$ ‘follow each other’ in size: when one gets bigger, so does the other. When one gets smaller, so does the other.

This kind of relationship between two variables is called direct variation: if there is a nonzero number $\,k\,$ for which $\,y = kx\,,$ then we say that ‘$\,y\,$ varies directly as $\,x\,$’.

Now suppose that $\,y = \frac{2}{x}\,.$ When $\,x\,$ gets bigger, $\,y\,$ gets smaller. When $\,x\,$ gets smaller, $\,y\,$ gets bigger. In this type of relationship, $\,x\,$ and $\,y\,$ have sizes that go in different directions: when one gets bigger, the other gets smaller. When one gets smaller, the other gets bigger.

This kind of relationship between two variables is called inverse variation: if there is a nonzero number $\,k\,$ for which $\displaystyle \,y = \frac{k}{x}\,,$ then we say that ‘$\,y\,$ varies inversely as $\,x\,$’.

Examples