You Gotta Know These Classi cations of Mathematical

Functions
A function in mathematics is an association between input values and output values, in which each input value is
associated with exactly one output value. That association is often given by a formula, and it is that sort of function that
this article will focus on. However, a function could be de ned in other ways, such as by a table (as one might make for
scienti c observations) or simply by a description (for instance, your distance from home is a function of the time of day,
since at each time of day you are at exactly one place, and therefore a particular distance from home).

The set of possible input values for a function is called its domain, and the set of possible output values is called the
codomain. The term “range” is sometimes used instead of “codomain,” but “range” is also sometimes used to mean
“image” (see below), so “range” is confusing and NAQT generally avoids it. The domain and codomain of a function could
be any set at all — consisting of numbers, matrices, people, owers, etc. — but most of high school and earlier math,
and this article, are concerned with functions whose domain and codomain are both sets of numbers (especially the set
of all real numbers).

Mathematical functions can be classi ed based on properties of formulas, how the functions can be used, features of
their graphs, and in other ways. As a result of these multiple classi cations, many functions are in more than one of the
following categories.

Polynomials are functions made of terms added together, in which each term is a number times a product of variables
raised to nonnegative-integer powers. For instance, 3x2y and –πx7y2z3 are each terms, so 3x2y – πx7y2z3 is a
polynomial. (Individual terms are also considered polynomials.) Much of math is concerned with polynomials
involving only one variable, such as –x3 + 2x2. The number at the beginning of each term is called a coe cient.

Since simple numbers (“constants”) can also be written as the same number times any variable to the zeroth power
(that is, 6 is the same as 6x0), numbers are also considered terms and polynomials. So x + 6 is a polynomial, as is just
–4.

Polynomials can be classi ed according to their number of terms: a polynomial with one term, like 2x or –12x2, is
called a monomial; a polynomial with two terms is called a binomial; and a polynomial with three terms is called a
trinomial.

Each polynomial has a degree. For polynomials of one variable, the degree is the largest exponent on the variable, so
for the polynomial 4x3 – x2, the degree is 3. For polynomials of multiple variables, to nd the degree you calculate the
sum of the variables’ exponents on each term, then choose the largest such sum, so the degree of 3x6y5 – x2y3 is
calculated by adding 6+5 = 11 for the rst term and 2+3 = 5 for the second and noting that 11 is larger, so the degree is
11. A polynomial that is just a constant has degree 0. A polynomial with degree 1, like 3x, is called linear; a polynomial
with degree 2, like 3x2 – 8x + 4, is called quadratic; a polynomial with degree 3 is called cubic; continuing with increasing
degrees, the terms are quartic, quintic, sextic, and so on, though terms corresponding to degrees larger than 5 are
seldom used. For technical reasons that are beyond the scope of this article, the zero polynomial (i.e., f(x) = 0) is said to
have a degree of –∞ or an unde ned degree. /
The fundamental theorem of algebra is the statement that every single-variable polynomial, other than constants,
has a root in the complex numbers, which means that if f(x) is a polynomial, then the equation f(x) = 0 has at least one
solution where x is some complex number.

There are formulas to nd those roots for linear, quadratic, cubic, and quartic polynomials, though the latter two
formulas are extremely complicated. The Abel-Ru ni theorem, also called Abel’s impossibility theorem, is the
statement that there is no way to nd a formula for the solutions of all quintic or higher-degree polynomials, if the
formula must be based on the traditional operations (addition/subtraction, multiplication/division, and
exponentiation/taking roots). That impossibility is the topic that began an area of study called Galois [gal-wah] theory,
which is part of abstract algebra.

Quadratics are, as mentioned above, polynomials of degree 2. The graph of a quadratic equation will be in the shape of
a parabola that opens straight up (if the coe cient on the x2 term is positive) or straight down (if that coe cient is
negative). It is possible to nd the roots of a quadratic by graphing it, factoring it, completing the square on it, or
using the quadratic formula (itself derived by completing the square) on it. If the quadratic is in the form ax2 + bx + c,
then the expression b2 – 4ac, which appears in the quadratic formula, is called the discriminant. If the discriminant is
positive, the quadratic will have two real roots; if the discriminant is zero, the quadratic will have one real root (said to
have a multiplicity of 2); and if the discriminant is negative, the quadratic will have two non-real complex roots (and if
the coe cients of the quadratic are real numbers, the complex roots will be conjugates of each other).

Rational functions consist of one polynomial divided by another polynomial. The denominator polynomial cannot be the
zero polynomial, because dividing by zero is unde ned. Examples therefore include 1/x, x2/(x – 3), and (x2 + 1)/(x2 – 1).
Every polynomial can be considered to be a rational function because 1 is a polynomial and dividing by 1 doesn’t
change an expression (so to consider the polynomial x3 as a rational function, think of it as x3/1). It is often instructive
to study the asymptotes of rational functions, which are places in which their graphs approach a line (or occasionally
other shape), usually getting in nitely close to but not crossing it. That analysis may require performing long division
on the numerator and denominator polynomials to nd their greatest common factor.

Periodic functions are those whose graph repeats a pattern (speci cally, the graph has translational symmetry).
Technically speaking, a function of one variable f is periodic if f(x+p) = f(x) for every x in the domain of the function and
some positive number p, which is called the period, because the graph repeats itself every p units. While the
trigonometric functions are the periodic functions most commonly encountered by high school math students, some
other functions like triangle waves are also periodic; in general, functions representing waves tend to be periodic. A
Fourier [fur-ee-ay] series is a way to rewrite (almost) any periodic function in terms of only sine and cosine functions.

The trigonometric functions represent relations between angles and sides of triangles. They are often illustrated using
points and segments related to a circle of radius 1 centered at the origin, called the unit circle. By far the most
commonly discussed trigonometric functions are the sine, cosine, tangent, cosecant, secant, and cotangent
functions. There are many interesting relationships between these: the graphs of sine and cosine are translations of
each other; the tangent function equals the sine function divided by the cosine function; the cosecant, secant, and
cotangent functions are the reciprocals of the sine, cosine, and tangent functions, respectively; and there are many
other relationships called trigonometric identities.

The inverse trigonometric functions are, as one might expect, the inverse functions of the trigonometric functions. (Note
that “inverse” in this case refers to a function that “undoes” another, not to “multiplicative inverse,” also called
“reciprocal.”) They are sometimes just called “inverse sine,” etc, and are also given with the pre x “arc”: arcsine,
arccosine, arctangent, arccosecant, arcsecant, and arccotangent. They are sometimes notated in the form sin–1 for
arcsine, but that notation can be confusing, so NAQT tends to prefer “arcsine,” etc. Because the trigonometric
functions are not bijective (see below), to have inverses it is necessary to restrict the domains of the inverse
trigonometric functions; for instance, arcsin(x) is only de ned for x between –1 and 1, inclusive.

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Injective functions, or injections, are functions that do not repeat any outputs. For instance, f(x) = 2x is injective, because
for every possible output value, there is only one input that will result in that output. On the other hand, f(x) = sin(x) is
not injective, because (for instance) the output 0 can be obtained from several di erent inputs (0, π, 2π, and so on). If
you have the graph of a function, you can determine whether the function is injective by applying the horizontal line
test: if no horizontal line would ever intersect the graph twice, the function is injective.

Surjective functions, or surjections, are functions that achieve every possible output. For instance, if you are thinking of
functions whose domain and codomain are both the set of all real numbers, then f(x) = tan(x) is surjective, because
every real number is an output for some input. But f(x) = x2 is not surjective, because (for instance) –3 is not an output
for any real-number input. The term image is sometimes used for the set of all output values that a function actually
achieves; a surjective function, then, is one whose image equals its codomain.

A function that is both injective and surjective is called bijective, or a bijection. If a function is bijective, then it has an
inverse. Furthermore, a function can only have an inverse if it is bijective.

Even functions satisfy the rule f(–x) = f(x) for every x in the domain of the function. The graph of an even function has
re ection symmetry over the y-axis. Even functions are so named because if a polynomial’s exponents (on the
variable) are all even, then the polynomial is an even function; for instance, x2, 3x6, and –x8 + 7x4 are all even. There
are other even functions, though, such as the cosine and absolute value functions.

Odd functions satisfy the rule f(–x) = –f(x) for every x in the domain of the function. The graph of an odd function remains
the same when it is rotated 180° around the origin. Odd functions are so named because if a polynomial’s exponents
(on the variable) are all odd, then the polynomial is an odd function; for instance, x3, 4x7, and –x5 + 2x3 are all odd.
There are other odd functions, such as the sine and cube root functions.

Many functions are neither even nor odd, such as x2 + x. Only one function is both even and odd: the zero function,
f(x) = 0.

Exponential functions are those of the form f(x) = bx, where b (called the base) is a positive number other than 1.
Exponential functions are used to model unrestricted growth (such as compound interest, and animal populations
with unlimited food and no predators) and decay (such as radioactive decay). The phrase “the exponential function”
refers to the function f(x) = ex, where e is a speci c irrational number called Euler’s number, about equal to 2.718.
Exponential functions have the interesting property that their derivatives are proportional to themselves.

Logarithmic functions, or logarithms, are functions of the form f(x) = logbx, where b is again a positive number other than 1
(and again called the base). They are the inverses of the exponential functions with the same bases. Logarithmic
functions are used to model sensory perception and some phenomena in probability and statistics. The phrase “the
logarithm” can refer to a logarithmic function using the base 2 (especially in computer science; this is also called the
binary logarithm), e (especially in higher math), or 10 (especially in lower levels of math and physical sciences). The
phrase natural logarithm refers to the logarithm base e, and the phrase common logarithm usually refers to the
logarithm base 10.

Continuous functions, studied in calculus, are functions where the limit approaching each point equals the function’s
value at that point. In particular, there are no holes, jumps, or asymptotes “in the middle of the graph.” Continuity is
really a property of a speci c point; a continuous function is a function that is continuous at every point. Continuity is
often explained as a function’s graph being drawable in one motion without lifting the writing utensil from the paper.
All polynomials are continuous, as are the sine and cosine functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, and the
absolute value function. Some examples of non-continuous functions are many rational functions, as they often
have holes or asymptotes; the tangent, cosecant, secant, and cotangent functions, which have asymptotes; and the
oor and ceiling functions, which have jumps.

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 Di erentiable functions, also studied in calculus, are functions for which the derivative can be found (because a
particular limit, called a di erence quotient, exists). Like continuity, di erentiability is really a property of a speci c
point, and a di erentiable function is one that is di erentiable at every point. Every di erentiable function is
continuous, but some continuous functions are not di erentiable; mathematicians thus say that di erentiability is a
stronger property than continuity. In terms of graphs, a di erentiable function has a “smooth” graph with no corners
or cusps (and also, because continuity is required, no holes, jumps, or asymptotes). All polynomials are di erentiable,
as are the sine and cosine functions, and exponential and logarithmic functions. However, the absolute value function
f(x) = |x| is not di erentiable because it has a “corner” at x = 0 (but recall that it is still continuous).

This article was contributed by NAQT member Jonah Greenthal.

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You Gotta Know These Mathematicians
The work of Isaac Newton (1643–1727, English) in pure math includes generalizing the binomial theorem to non-integer
exponents, doing the rst rigorous manipulation with power series, and creating Newton’s method for nding roots
of di erentiable functions. He is best known, however, for a lengthy feud between British and Continental
mathematicians over whether he or Gottfried Leibniz invented calculus (whose di erential aspect Newton called the
method of uxions). It is now generally accepted that they both did, independently.

Euclid (c. 300 BC, Alexandrian Greek) is principally known for the Elements, a textbook on geometry and number
theory, that has been used for over 2,000 years and which grounds essentially all of what is taught in modern high
school geometry classes. The Elements includes ve postulates that describe what is now called Euclidean space
(the usual geometric space we work in); the fth postulate — also called the parallel postulate — can be broken to
create spherical and hyperbolic geometries, which are collectively called non-Euclidean geometries. The Elements
also includes a proof that there are in nitely many prime numbers.

Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855, German) is considered the “Prince of Mathematicians” for his extraordinary
contributions to every major branch of mathematics. His Disquisitiones Arithmeticae systematized number theory
and stated the fundamental theorem of arithmetic (every integer greater than 1 has a prime factorization that is
unique notwithstanding the order of the factors). In his doctoral dissertation, he proved the fundamental theorem of
algebra (every non-constant polynomial has at least one root in the complex numbers), though that proof is not
considered rigorous enough for modern standards. He later proved the law of quadratic reciprocity, and the prime
number theorem (that the number of primes less than n is is approximately n divided by the natural logarithm of n).
Gauss may be most famous for the (possibly apocryphal) story of intuiting the formula for the summation of an
arithmetic sequence when his primary-school teacher gave him the task — designed to waste his time — of
adding the rst 100 positive integers.

Archimedes (287–212 BC, Syracusan Greek) is best known for his “eureka” moment, in which he realized he could use
density considerations to determine the purity of a gold crown; nonetheless, he was the preeminent mathematician
of ancient Greece. He found the ratios between the surface areas and volumes of a sphere and a circumscribed
cylinder, accurately estimated pi, and developed a calculus-like technique to nd the area of a circle, his method of
exhaustion.

Gottfried Leibniz (1646–1716, German) is known for his independent invention of calculus and the ensuing priority
dispute with Isaac Newton. Most modern calculus notation, including the integral sign and the use of d to indicate a
di erential, originated with Leibniz. He also did work with the binary number system and did fundamental work in
establishing boolean algebra and symbolic logic.

Pierre de Fermat (1601–1665, French) is remembered for his contributions to number theory including his little theorem,
which states that if p is a prime number and a is any number at all, then ap – a will be divisible by p. He studied
n
Fermat primes, which are prime numbers that can be written as 22 + 1 for some integer n, but is probably most
famous for his “last theorem,” which he wrote in the margin of Arithmetica by the ancient Greek mathematician
Diophantus with a note that “I have discovered a marvelous proof of this theorem that this margin is too small to
contain.” The theorem states that there is no combination of positive integers x, y, z, and n, with n > 2, such that x/ n +
 yn = zn, and mathematicians struggled for over 300 years to nd a proof until Andrew Wiles completed one in 1995. (It
is generally believed that Fermat did not actually have a valid proof.) Fermat and Blaise Pascal corresponded about
probability theory.

Leonhard Euler (1707–1783, Swiss) is known for his proli c output and the fact that he continued to produce seminal
results even after going blind. He invented graph theory by solving the Seven Bridges of Königsberg problem,
which asked whether there was a way to travel a particular arrangement of bridges so that you would cross each
bridge exactly once. (He proved that it was impsosible to do so.) Euler introduced the modern notation for e, an
irrational number about equal to 2.718, which is now called Euler’s number in his honor (but don’t confuse it for Euler’s
constant, which is di erent); he also introduced modern notation for i, a square root of –1, and for trigonometric
functions. He proved Euler’s formula, which relates complex numbers and trigonometric functions: ei x = cos x + i sin x,
of which a special case is the fact that ei π = –1, which Richard Feynman called “the most beautiful equation in
mathematics” because it links four of math’s most important constants.

Kurt Gödel (1906–1978, Austrian) was a logician best known for his two incompleteness theorems, which state that if a
formal logical system is powerful enough to express ordinary arithmetic, it must contain statements that are true yet
unprovable. Gödel developed paranoia late in life and eventually refused to eat because he feared his food had been
poisoned; he died of starvation.

Andrew Wiles (1953–present, British) is best known for proving the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture that all rational semi-
stable elliptic curves are modular forms. When combined with work already done by other mathematicians, this
immediately implied Fermat’s last theorem (see above).

William Rowan Hamilton (1805–1865, Irish) is known for a four-dimensional extension of complex numbers, with six
square roots of –1 (±i, ±j, and ±k), called the quaternions.

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You Gotta Know These Types of Computation Problems
Pythagorean triples: Sets of small integers that satisfy the equation of the Pythagorean theorem, a2 + b2 = c2, and could
therefore be the side lengths of a right triangle. The simplest ones are {3, 4, 5}, {5, 12, 13}, {7, 24, 25}, and {8, 15, 17}.
Note that any multiple of a Pythagorean triple is also a Pythagorean triple, so (for instance) {6, 8, 10}, {15, 20, 25}, and
{300, 400, 500} are also ones by virtue of {3, 4, 5} being one.

Matrices: Every team should be able to add, subtract, multiply, take the determinant of, transpose, and invert
matrices, particularly 2×2 ones.

Vectors: Every team should be able to nd the magnitude (length) of a vector, and add, subtract, nd the angle
between, nd the dot product of, and nd the cross product of two vectors.

Solids: Teams should be able to calculate the volume and surface area of simple geometric gures including the
sphere, cone, cylinder, pyramid, hemisphere, prism, and parallelepiped.

Plane gures: Teams should be able to calculate the areas of triangles, trapezoids, parallelograms, rhombi, regular
polygons, and circles using several methods.

Similar gures: The areas of similar gures are related by the square of any corresponding length, and the volumes are
related by the cube of any corresponding length. For instance, if a square has a diagonal that is 30% longer than
another square, it has an area that is 1.30 × 1.30 = 1.69 times as great (69% greater). Similar reasoning applies to
perimeters, side lengths, diameters, and so forth.

Combinatorics: Teams should be able to compute the number of permutations and combinations of n objects taken m
at a time. They should also have memorized the rst six (or so) values of the factorial function to make this easier.

Logarithms: Teams should be familiar with basic operations of logarithmic math: simplifying the logarithm of a product,
di erence, or power, and converting from one base to another.

Complex numbers: Teams should be familiar with the symbol i representing an imaginary square root of –1, basic
operations on complex numbers, graphing complex numbers, and converting complex numbers to polar form.

Divisibility rules: Teams should be able to quickly apply the divisibility rules for small integers (2 through 11) to large
integers.

Polynomials: Teams should be able to quickly add, subtract, multiply, divide, factor, and nd the roots of low-degree
polynomials, and understand how the degree behaves under the rst four operations.

Calculus: Teams should be able to nd the derivative, integral, slope at a point, local extrema, points of in ection,
and critical points of polynomial, trigonometric, and other common functions.

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You Gotta Know These Ideas from Calculus
Calculus is a sub�eld of mathematics that concerns continuous changes. Although there are several
precursors, including Archimedes’ use of the method of exhaustion to derive the area under a parabola,
modern calculus is generally considered to have begun with the work of Isaac Newton and Gottfried
Wilhelm Leibniz in the late 17th century. Although they carried out their investigations independently,
Newton’s claims that Leibniz had copied his unpublished notes helped stoke a long-running controversy
over the origins of calculus that has become one of the most famous examples of a scienti�c priority
dispute.

• A limit is a value that a function approaches as the input approaches another value, even if the function is
not equal to that output value (or even de�ned there). For example, the limit of 1/x as x gets in�nity large
(“approaches in�nity”) is 0, even though the function never actually reaches 0. The de�nition of a limit is
formalized in a way traditionally written with the Greek letters epsilon and delta, a technique developed
by Augustin-Louis Cauchy.

• Continuity is informally de�ned as the ability of a function’s graph to be drawn without lifting the pen.
Properly, a function is continuous at a given point if the function has a limit at that point and is equal to its
limit there. It is also common to speak of “continuous functions,” which are functions that are continuous
at every point. Polynomials are continuous, as are exponential and logarithmic functions, sine, and cosine.
However, the other four trigonometric functions (cosecant, secant, tangent, and cotangent) are not
continuous at some points (the ones at which their graphs have asymptotes), and rational functions
generally have some points of discontinuity.

• The derivative is an operation that takes a function and results in another function that gives the original
function’s rate of change. Taking a derivative is called di�erentiation and is carried out with respect to the
input variable that is changing. The derivative is calculated as the limit of a tangent line between two
points on the function’s graph as the two points get arbitrarily close together. At any given point, the
derivative’s value is equal to the slope of the tangent line to the function’s graph at that point. The
derivative of a function f(x) is notated as f′(x) (Lagrange’s notation, pronounced “f prime of x”) or df/dx
(Leibniz notation, pronounced “d f d x). Di�erentiation can be repeated, e.g,. di�erentiating a function twice
gives its second derivative (f′′(x) or d²f/dx²).

• A function is called di�erentiable if its derivative can be evaluated. Like for continuity, this can be stated
about a speci�c point or the whole function. The absolute value function is an example of a function that
is di�erentiable in some places but not others: it is di�erentiable everywhere except at an input of 0,
where its graph has a sharp corner. Di�erentiability is a stronger property than continuity: a function can
 only be di�erentiable if it is continuous, but it could be only continuous and not di�erentiable (the
absolute value function being an example of that). If a function’s derivative can be taken in�nitely many
times, it is called smooth.

• De�nite integration is an operation that can be interpreted as giving the area under a curve, or more
precisely, the signed area between the curve and the x-axis (signed area meaning that area below the
axis counts as negative). An integral is denoted by a “long S” symbol, ∫. De�nite integration is performed
between two endpoints (e.g., the integral between 0 and 5), and those endpoints are written above and
below, or next to, the integral symbol.

• Riemann sums are a way to formalize the de�nition of an integral. A Riemann sum approximates the area
under a curve by partitioning the area into narrow rectangles that extend between the x-axis and the
function’s graph, �nding the areas of the rectangles, and adding those up. For well-behaved functions, the
limit can be taken as the rectangles get in�nitely thin, giving the de�nite integral.

• The fundamental theorem of calculus roughly states that integration and di�erentiation are opposite operations.
This means that most basic rules for integration can be found by reversing the basic rules for
di�erentiation given above. The formal statement of the theorem is usually given in two parts. The �rst
part states that integrating a function gives an antiderivative of the function (i.e., a function whose
derivative is the original function). The second part states that the de�nite integral of f(x) from a to b can
be calculated as F(b) − F(a), where F is an antiderivative of f.

• The chain rule is used to �nd the derivative of the composition of two functions, such as sin(x²). It states that
the derivative of f(g(x)) is f′(g(x)) · g′(x). In Leibniz notation, it is written as df/dx = df/dg dg/dx and thus
resembles canceling two fractions. Integrating both sides of this result gives a corresponding rule for
integration by substitution.

• The product rule is used to �nd the derivative of the product of two functions, such as x sin x. It states that
the derivative of f(x) g(x) is f′(x) g(x) + f(x) g′(x). Integrating both sides of this result gives a corresponding rule
for integrating the product of two functions, called integration by parts. It can be combined with the chain
rule to �nd the quotient rule (the way to di�erentiate a function written as one function divided by
another).

• Taylor series is a way of approximating a di�erentiable function using an in�nite sum of monomials (which
can be truncated to get a polynomial). Coe�cients of Taylor series are found using nth derivatives and
the factorial function. Taylor series can be based around any point of a function, and when the chosen
point is x = 0, it is called a Maclaurin series. Taylor’s theorem gives a bound on the error resulting from
truncating the Taylor series to a �nite number of terms; the error can be expressed as a remainder term in
the Lagrange form, Cauchy form, or integral form.

• Di�erential equations are equations that relate a function to its derivatives, or even multiple derivatives (e.g.,
a function to its �rst and second derivatives). They are widely used throughout the sciences to model
behavior like radioactive decay, population growth, predator-prey relations, waves, �uid �ow, and more.

This article was contributed by NAQT editor Joseph Krol.