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CS100: DISCRETE STRUCTURES

Computer Sciences Lecture 2: Functions, Sequences, and Sums

Department Ch2.3, Ch2.4
 2.3 Function introduction :
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 Function: task, subroutine, procedure, method, mapping, …

 E.g. Find the grades of student x.

char findGrades(string name){
//go to grades array,
//find the name, and find the corresponding grades
…
return grades;
}
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 2.3 Functions
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DEFINITION 1
Let A and B to be nonempty sets. a function f from A to B is an assignment
of exactly one element of B to each element of A. We write f(a) = b if b is the
unique element of B assigned by the function f to the element a of A. If f is a
function from A to B, we write f: A → B.

• We can use a formula or a computer program to define a function.

• Example:
f(x) = x + 1
described as:
int increaseByOne(int x){
x = x + 1;
return x;
} Computer Sciences Department
 2.3 Functions
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DEFINITION 2
If f is a function from A to B, we say that A is the domain of f and B is the
Co-domain of f. If f(a) = b, we say that b is the image of a and a is a preimage
of b. The range of f is the set of all images of elements of A. Also, if f is a
function from A to B, we say that f maps A to B.

 For each function, we specify its domain, codomain and the mapping of
elements of the domain to elements in the codomain

 Two functions are said to be equal if they have the same domain, codomain,
and the map elements of their common domain to the same elements of their
common codomain

 A function is differ by changing its domain, codomain or the mapping of

elements
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 Exercise ..
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 What are the domain, codomain, and range of the

function that assigns grades to students described in
the slide 2?

Solution:
domain: {Adams, Chou, Goodfriend, Rodriguez, Stevens}
codomain: {A, B, C, D, F}
range: {A, B, C, F}

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 2.3 Functions - Example
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 Let f be the function that assigns the last two bits of

a bit string of length 2 or greater to that string. For
example, f (11010) = 10.
 What is the domain, codomain and range of the
function ?
Solution:
 the domain of f is the set of all bit strings of length 2 or
greater ..
 and both the codomain and range are the set {00,01,10,11}
..
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 2.3 Functions - Example
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 What is the domain and codomain of the function :

int floor(real float){…}?

Solution:
 domain: the set of real numbers

 codomain: the set of integer numbers

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 2.3 Functions
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DEFINITION 3
If f1 and f2 be functions from A to R. Then f1 + f2 and f1 f2 are also functions
from A to R defined by
(f1 + f2 )(x) = f1(x) + f2 (x)
(f1 f2 ) (x) = f1(x) f2 (x)

 Example: Let f1 and f2 be functions from R to R such that f1 (x) =x2

and f2 (x) = x – x2.

 What are the functions f1 + f2 and f1 f2 ?

Solution:
(f1 + f2 )(x) = f1(x) + f2 (x) = x2 + (x – x2) = x
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(f1 f2 ) (x) = f1(x) f2 (x) = x2(x – x2) = x3 – x4
 2.3 Functions
One-to-One and Onto Functions
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DEFINITION 5
A function f is said to be one-to-one, or injective, if and only if
f(a) = f(b) implies that a = b for all a and b in the domain of f. A function is
said to be an injection if it is one-to-one. (every element in the range is a
unique image for element of A – all image have at most one arrow or none)

•  a , b(a ≠ b → f(a) ≠ f(b)) (If it’s a different element, it

should map to a different value.)
• Example: Determine whether the function f from {a,b,c,d} to
{1,2,3,4,5} with f(a) = 4, f(b) = 5, f(c) = 1 and f(d) = 3 is
one-to-one.
Solution: Yes.
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 2.3 Functions
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DEFINITION 7
A function f from A to B is called onto, or surjective, if and only if for every
element b B there is an element a  A with f(a) = b. a function f is called a
surjection if it is onto. Co-domain = range

 Example: Let f be the function from {a,b,c,d} to {1,2,3} defined by

 f(a) = 3, f(b) = 2, f(c) = 1, and f(d) = 3. Is f an onto function?

Solution: Yes.
 Example: Is the function f (x) = x2 from the set of integers to the set of
integers onto?
Solution: No. There is no integer x with x2 = -1, for instance.
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 2.3 Functions
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DEFINITION 8
The function f is a one-to-one correspondence or a bijection, if it is both one-
to-one and onto.

One-to-One Onto One-to-One Not One-to-One Not Function

Not onto Not One-to-One And onto Not onto
bijection (Neither)

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 Exercise ..
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 Determine whether each of these functions is a

bijection from R to R.
 a) f(x) = 2x + 1 Yes

 b) f(x) = x2 + 1 No

 c) f(x) = x3 Yes

 d) f(x) = (x2 + I )/(x2 + 2) No

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 Exercise ..
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 Why f is not a function from R to R ?

 f(x)=
 f(0) is not defined
 f(x)=
 f(x) is not defined for x<0
 f(x)=
 f(x) is not function because there are two values assigned to
each x.

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 2.3 Functions
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DEFINITION 9
Let f be a one-to-one correspondence from the set A to the set B. The inverse
function of f is the function that assigns to an element b belonging to B the
unique element a in A such that f(a) = b.
The inverse function of f is denoted by f-1. Hence, f-1(b)=a when f(a) = b.

 A one-to-one correspondence is
called invertible because we can
define an inverse of this function.

 A function is not invertible if it is

not a one-to-one correspondence
because the inverse of such function
does not exist.

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 2.3 Functions
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Example: Let f be the function from {a, b, c} to {1, 2, 3} such that

f(a) =2, f(b) = 3 and f(c) = 1. Is f invertible? And if it is, what is its
inverse?
Solution: Yes, it is invertible, because it is a one-to-one correspondence.
f-1(1) = c, f-1(2) = a, f-1(3) = b.

Exercise: Let f : Z Z be such that f(x) = x+1. Is f invertible? And if

it is, what is its inverse?
Solution: Yes, it is invertible, because it is a one-to-one correspondence.
f-1(y) = y-1.

Exercise: Let f be a function from R to R with f(x) = x2. Is f

invertible?
Solution: f is not one-to-one because f(-2) = f(2) = 4. So, it is not one-to-
one correspondence and hence it is not invertible. See Example (19)
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 2.3 Functions
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DEFINITION 10
Let g be a function from the set A to the set B , and let f be a function from the set B
to the set C . The composition of the functions f and g, denoted by f o g, is
defined by: (f o g)(a) = f(g(a))

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 2.3 Functions
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o f o g is the function that assigns to the element a of A the element assigned

by f to g(a). That is, to find (f o g )(a) we:
1. Apply the function g to a to obtain g(a)
2. Then we apply the function f to the result g(a) to obtain (f o g)(a) = f(g(a))

o NOTE: The composition f o g cannot be defined unless the range of g is a

subset of the domain of f. Computer Sciences Department
 2.3 Functions
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Example:
Let g be the function from the set {a , b, c} to itself such that
g(a) = b, g(b) = c, and g(c) = a
Let f be the function from the set {a , b , c} to the set { l , 2 , 3 } such that
f(a) = 3 , f(b) = 2 , and f(c) = 1
What is the composition of f and g, and what is the composition of g and f?

Solution:
• The composition f o g is defined by:
• (f o g)(a) = f(g(a)) = f(b) =2
• (f o g)(b) = f(g(b)) = f(c) =1
• (f o g)(c) = f(g(c)) = f(a) = 3
• g o f is not defined, because the range of f is not a subset of the domain
of g
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 2.3 Functions
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Example:
Let f and g be the functions from the set of integers to the set of integers
defined by f(x) = 2x + 3 and g(x) = 3x + 2.
What is the composition of f and g? What is the composition of g and f?

Solution:
Both the compositions f o g and g o f are defined
• (f o g)(x) = f(g(x)) = f(3x + 2) = 2(3x + 2) + 3 = 6x + 7
• (g 0 f)(x) = g(f(x)) = g(2x + 3) = 3(2x + 3) + 2 = 6x + 11.

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 2.4 Sequences and Summations
Sequences
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 A sequence is a discrete structure used to represent an ordered list

 Example: 1,2,3,5,8
1,3,9,27,81,…,30,…

DEFINITION 1
a sequence is a function from a subset of the set of integers (usually either
the set {0,1,2,…} or the set {1,2,3,…}) to a set S. We use the notation an to
denote the image of the integer n. We call an a term of the sequence.

 We use the notation {an} to denote the sequence.

 Example: Consider the sequence {an}, where an = 1/n.
The list of the terms of this sequence, beginning with a1, namely
a1, a2, a3, a4, …, starts with 1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, …
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 2.4 Sequences and Summations
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DEFINITION 2
a geometric progression is a sequence of the form
a, ar, ar2, …, arn, …
where the initial term a and the common ratio r are real numbers.

 Example: The following sequence are geometric progressions.

{bn} with bn = (-1)n starts with 1, -1, 1, -1, 1, …
initial term: 1, common ratio: -1
{cn} with cn = 2*5n starts with 2, 10, 50, 250, 1250, …
initial term: 2, common ratio: 5
{dn} with dn = 6 *(1/3)n starts with 6,2, 2/3, 2/9, 2/27, …
initial term: 6, common ratio: 1/3 Computer Sciences Department
 2.4 Sequences and Summations
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DEFINITION 3
A arithmetic progression is a sequence of the form
a, a + d, a + 2d, …, a + nd, …
where the initial term a and the common difference d are real numbers.

 Example: The following sequence are arithmetic progressions.

{sn} with sn = -1 + 4n starts with -1, 3, 7, 11,…

initial term: -1, common difference: 4

{tn} with tn = 7 – 3n starts with 7, 4, 1, -2, …

initial term: 7, common difference: -3 Computer Sciences Department

 2.4 Sequences and Summations
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 Example :
 Find formulae for the sequences with the following
first five terms
(a). 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16

Solution: an = 1/2n
(b). 1, 3, 5, 7, 9

Solution: an = (2n )+ 1
(c). 1, -1, 1, -1, 1

Solution: an = (-1)n
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 Exercises
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 Find the formula of this sequence and find A6 , A8 :

 A = 10, 14 , 18 , 22 , 26
 It is arithmetic sequence ,
 initial term a= 10 ,
 common difference d= 4 ,
 an=10+4n
 A6 = 34 , A8 = 42

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 Exercises
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 A = 4, 8, 16, 32
 It is geometric sequence ,
 initial term = 4 ,
 common ratio = 2 ,
 an=4*2n
 A6 = 256, A8 = 1024

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 Exercises
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o in a geometric sequence a0 was =3 and r =1/2 then

a3 is equal to
a. 3/16 b. 3/4
c. 3/2 d. 3/8

In an arithmetic sequence a0 was =7 and a3 was 19

the value of a2 is=
a.14 b.11
c.15 d.23
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 2.4 Sequences and Summations
Summations
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 The sum of the terms from the sequence am + am+1, …, an can be

expressed as
n

a ,
j m
j 
n
j m
aj
Or
 1 j  n
aj

Where m is the lower limit, n is the upper limit, and j is the index of the summation
 Example:
Express the sum of the first 100 terms of the sequence {an}, where
an = 1/n for n = 1,2,3, ….
Solution: 100
1
 j 1 j
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 2.4 Sequences and Summations
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What is the value of  j 1 ?

5 2

j
Solution:

5 2
j 1
j = 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 + 25 = 55

 Expressed with a for loop:

int sum = 0;
for (int i =1; i <=5; i++)
{
sum = sum + i * i ;
}

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 2.4 Sequences and Summations
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4 3

 What is the value of the double summation  ij

i 1 j 1
?
Solution:
4 3

 ij =  (i  2i  3i)
4

i 1 j 1 i 1

=  6i
i 1
= 6 + 12 + 18 + 24 = 60

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 Sequences and Summations
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 Expressed with two for loops:

Solution: int sum1 = 0;
int sum2 = 0;
for (int i =1; i <=4; i ++){
sum2 = 0;
for (int j=1; j<=3; j++){
sum2 = sum2 + i *j;
}
sum1 = sum1 + sum2;
}

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 Exercises
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 Write ( 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 + ... + 49 ) using sigma

notation .
Solution:
7

෍ 𝑘2
𝑘=1

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 ANY QUESTIONS??
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 Refer to chapter 2 of the book for further reading

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