Representing Functions and Relations

 Define, compare, and recognize relations and functions.

 Represent relations and functions with graphs, tables, and sets of ordered pairs.

Introduction

Algebra is a potent tool for describing and exploring relationships.

Imagine tossing a ball straight up into the air, watching it rise, stop, and fall back down into your
hand. As time passed, the height of the ball changed, creating a relationship between the
amount of time the ball was in the air and its height.

In mathematics, a relationship between variables that change together (such as time and
height) is called a relation.

Functions Defined

There are many kinds of relations. Among the most important algebraic relations are functions.
A function is a relation in which one variable specifies a single value of another variable. For
example, when you toss a ball, each second that passes has one and only one corresponding
height. Time only goes forward, and never repeats itself. The height of the ball depends on how
much time has passed since it left your hand. This is a one way relationship—although each
moment of time is unique, it is possible for the ball to be at a particular height more than once as
it goes up and then down. Knowing the time will tell you the height, but knowing the height won’t
give you an exact time.

The parts of a function are called inputs and outputs. An input is the independent, non-
repeating quantity. The output quantity is the dependent quantity. The value of the output
depends on the value of the input. For each input, there is a single output. In the case of tossing
a ball in the air, time is the input and height is the output.

Let’s look at a few more examples to get comfortable recognizing what is a function and what is
not. Remember the last time you were in a parking lot? You won’t be surprised to know that
there’s a relation between the number of cars and the number of tires in a lot—the number of
cars and the number of tires are linked. Is this relation a function? Can you use the number of
cars to correctly figure out the number of tires?

Yes, you can. Every single car has 4 tires, so the number of tires depends on how many cars
are in the parking lot. Every input of cars specifies a single possible output of tires. (In this
example, the relation of tires to cars is also a function—the number of tires also specifies the
number of cars.)

Now consider a different relation, between houses and the people who live in them. If an
address is the input, and the output is the occupants, is this relation also a function? Think of
your own house or apartment—are the people staying there always the same?

Nope. That time you went to camp, the occupancy changed. Every time you had a friend stay
over, it changed again. Because a single address can produce more than one set of occupants,
the relation is not a function.
Here’s a good rule of thumb to use to recognize functions: If you put the input in more than
once, are you guaranteed to always get the same output? With the cars and wheels, the
answer is yes. For an input of 25 cars we always get an output of 100 tires, no matter which 25
cars drive into that parking lot or when they arrive. The relation is a function.

With the houses and occupants, the input of an address is not guaranteed to always produce
the same output, because a house stays put while people come and go. The relation is not a
function.

Which of the following situations describes a function?

A) Your age and your weight on your birthday each year.

B) The name of a course and the number of students enrolled in that course.
C) The diameter of a cookie and the number of chocolate chips in it.

A) Your age and your weight on your birthday each year.

Correct. Age only increases while weight can fluctuate. On each birthday you have just one
weight (not counting the cake and ice cream), so for every input, there is only one output.

B) The name of a course and the number of students enrolled in that course.
Incorrect. A course will have different enrollment in different semesters and in different schools.
A single input of the course name will produce different outputs of enrollment. The correct
answer is a person’s age and his weight on his birthday each year.

C) The diameter of a cookie and the number of chocolate chips in it.

Incorrect. Although bigger cookies can hold more chips, the exact number in any size of cookie
will vary with the recipe and how evenly the batter is mixed and rolled out. A single input of
cookie size will produce different outputs of chips. The correct answer is a person’s age and his
weight on his birthday each year.

Graphing Functions

When both the independent quantity (input) and the dependent quantity (output) are real
numbers, a function can be represented by a coordinate graph. The independent value is
plotted on the x-axis and the dependent value is plotted on the y-axis. The fact that each input
value has exactly one output value means graphs of functions have certain characteristics. For
each input (x-coordinate) on the graph, there will be exactly one output (y-coordinate).

For example, the graph of this function, drawn in blue, looks like a semi-circle. We know that y is
a function of x because for each x-coordinate there is exactly one y-coordinate.
If we draw a vertical line across the plot of the function, it only intersects the function once for
each value of x. That is true no matter where the line is drawn. Placing or sliding such a line
across a graph is a good way to determine if it shows a function.

Compare that graph with this one, which looks like a blue circle. This relationship cannot be a
function, because each x-coordinate has two corresponding y-coordinates.
When a vertical line is placed across the plot of this relation, it intersects the graph more than
once for some values of x. If a graph shows two or more intersections with a vertical line, then
an input (x-coordinate) can have more than one output (y-coordinate), and y is not a function
of x.

Is the relation plotted on the graph below a function?

Yes, this graph is a function. Every x-coordinate has exactly one y-coordinate.

Functions in Table Form

Tables can also be used to describe functions. Let’s compare tables of functions with tables of
non-functions.

This table represents a function. None of the independent values (x) are repeated and each has
only one corresponding dependent value (y).

x y
 -1 3
-2 5
-3 3
-5 -3

The next table does not represent a function. The x column has two values that are 3, and they
correspond to two different values for y. Remember, when a single input can produce multiple
outputs, the relation is not a function.

x y
3 -1
5 -2
3 -3
-3 -5

Which of the following tables represents a function?

A)

B)

C)

The correct answer is A. None of the values for x is repeated, and each x-value has only one
corresponding y-value.

Functions as Sets of Ordered Pairs

Functions can also be represented by sets of ordered pairs of x and y values, inputs and
outputs. We can pull pairs from tables or graphs, and use parentheses to keep them together.

Let’s go back to this table of a function:

x y
-1 3
-2 5
-3 3
-5 -3

Each row in the table describes an ordered pair, like this: an x of -1 corresponds to a y of 3, so
that’s the ordered pair (-1, 3). An x of -2 corresponds to a y of 5, so that’s the ordered pair (-2,
5). The whole table gives us a set of ordered pairs:

{(-1, 3), (-2, 5), (-3, 3), (-5, -3)}

To show that the four ordered pairs belong together in a set, we list them with commas in
between each and brackets around the group. As with other methods of representing relations,
we can check the characteristics of a set of ordered pairs to determine if it is a function. Since
the first value in each pair is the input and the second is the output, we can scan the set to see if
each input is associated with a single, consistent output. If it is, the set is a function.

Or we can plot the points on a coordinate grid, for a visual check. Here, we can see that in the
set of pairs we just listed, every x/input/independent value has one and only
one y/output/dependent value:
In another set of ordered pairs: {(3,-1),(5,-2),(3,-3),(-3,5)} one of the inputs, 3, can produce two
different outputs, -1 and -3. You know what that means—this set of ordered pairs is not a
function. A plot confirms this:

Notice that a vertical line passes through two plotted points. One x-coordinate has multiple y-
coordinates. That too means that this relation is not a function.

Which of the following is a set of ordered pairs representing a function?

A) {2, 4, 4, 8, 8,16, 16, 32}

B) {(0, 0), (1, 1), (1, -1), (2, 2), (2, -2)}
C) (4, 2), (5, 1), (6, 0), (7, -1), (8, -2)
D) {(-2, 2), (-1, 1), (0, 0), (1, 1), (2, 2)}

A) {2, 4, 4, 8, 8,16, 16, 32}

Incorrect. These numbers are not grouped into ordered pairs. Without proper notation, it is
impossible to know if which values are the inputs and which are the outputs. The correct answer
is {(-2, 2), (-1, 1), (0, 0), (1, 1), (2, 2)}.

B) {(0, 0), (1, 1), (1, -1), (2, 2), (2, -2)}
Incorrect. Some x-coordinates are repeated and have different y-coordinates. This is not a
function. The correct answer is {(-2, 2), (-1, 1), (0, 0), (1, 1), (2, 2)}.

C) (4, 2), (5, 1), (6, 0), (7, -1), (8, -2)
Incorrect. Although no x-coordinate is repeated and each has exactly one y-coordinate, the
group is not enclosed in brackets. Without proper notation, this group of numbers is not
considered a set. The correct answer is {(-2, 2), (-1, 1), (0, 0), (1, 1), (2, 2)}.

D) {(-2, 2), (-1, 1), (0, 0), (1, 1), (2, 2)}
Correct. No x-coordinate is repeated and each has exactly one y-coordinate, so this is a
function.

Horizontal and Vertical Lines—Functions or Not?

Two special types of relations are those of horizontal and vertical lines. Are they functions?

Let’s begin with a horizontal line. A line on the coordinate plane is horizontal when every x-
coordinate has the same y-coordinate. No x-coordinates have more than one y-coordinate, and
each input always produces the same output. Therefore, all horizontal lines represent a
function.

Now consider a vertical line. In this situation, every y-coordinate has the same x-coordinate. The
input never changes, but the output changes constantly. Since the same value for x has many
values for y, a vertical line cannot represent a function.
Summary

In real life and in algebra, different variables are often linked. When variables change together,
their interaction is called a relation. When one variable determines the exact value of a second
variable, their relation is called a function. Functions can be recognized, described, and
examined in a variety of ways, including graphs, tables, and sets of ordered pairs.