… and the following

mathematical appetizer is
about…

Functions

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 Functions
A function f from a set A to a set 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
(note: Here, ““ has nothing to do with if…
then)
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 Functions
If f:AB, we say that A is the domain of f and B
is the codomain of f.

If f(a) = b, we say that b is the image of a and

a is the pre-image of b.

The range of f:AB is the set of all images of

elements of A.

We say that f:AB maps A to B.

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 Functions
Let us take a look at the function f:PC with
P = {Linda, Max, Kathy, Peter}
C = {Boston, New York, Hong Kong, Moscow}

f(Linda) = Moscow
f(Max) = Boston
f(Kathy) = Hong Kong
f(Peter) = New York

Here, the range of f is C.

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 Functions

Let us re-specify f as follows:

f(Linda) = Moscow
f(Max) = Boston
f(Kathy) = Hong Kong
f(Peter) = Boston

Is f still a function? yes

What is its range? {Moscow, Boston, Hong
Kong}
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 Functions
Other ways to represent f:

x f(x) Linda Boston

Linda Moscow
Max New
Max Boston York
Hong Kathy Hong
Kathy Kong
Kong
Peter Boston Peter Moscow

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 Functions
If the domain of our function f is large, it is
convenient to specify f with a formula, e.g.:
f:RR
f(x) = 2x

This leads to:

f(1) = 2
f(3) = 6
f(-3) = -6
…

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 Functions
Let f1 and f2 be functions from A to R.
Then the sum and the product of f1 and f2 are
also functions from A to R defined by:
(f1 + f2)(x) = f1(x) + f2(x)
(f1f2)(x) = f1(x) f2(x)

Example:
f1(x) = 3x, f2(x) = x + 5
(f1 + f2)(x) = f1(x) + f2(x) = 3x + x + 5 = 4x + 5
(f1f2)(x) = f1(x) f2(x) = 3x (x + 5) = 3x2 + 15x
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 Functions

We already know that the range of a function

f:AB is the set of all images of elements aA.

If we only regard a subset SA, the set of all

images of elements sS is called the image of
S.

We denote the image of S by f(S):

f(S) = {f(s) | sS}

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 Functions
Let us look at the following well-known function:
f(Linda) = Moscow
f(Max) = Boston
f(Kathy) = Hong Kong
f(Peter) = Boston
What is the image of S = {Linda, Max} ?
f(S) = {Moscow, Boston}
What is the image of S = {Max, Peter} ?
f(S) = {Boston}

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 Properties of Functions

A function f:AB is said to be one-to-one (or

injective), if and only if

x, yA (f(x) = f(y)  x = y)

In other words: f is one-to-one if and only if it

does not map two distinct elements of A onto
the same element of B.

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 Properties of Functions
And again…
f(Linda) = Moscow g(Linda) = Moscow
f(Max) = Boston g(Max) = Boston
f(Kathy) = Hong Kong g(Kathy) = Hong Kong
f(Peter) = Boston g(Peter) = New York
Is f one-to-one? Is g one-to-one?

No, Max and Peter are Yes, each element is

mapped onto the assigned a unique
same element of the element of the image.
image.
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 Properties of Functions
How can we prove that a function f is one-to-
one?
Whenever you want to prove something, first
take a look at the relevant definition(s):
x, yA (f(x) = f(y)  x = y)
Example:
f:RR
f(x) = x2
Disproof by counterexample:
f(3) = f(-3), but 3  -3, so f is not one-to-one.
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 Properties of Functions
… and yet another example:
f:RR
f(x) = 3x
One-to-one: x, yA (f(x) = f(y)  x = y)
To show: f(x)  f(y) whenever x  y
xy
 3x  3y
 f(x)  f(y),
so if x  y, then f(x)  f(y), that is, f is one-to-
one.
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 Properties of Functions

A function f:AB with A,B  R is called strictly

increasing, if
x,yA (x < y  f(x) < f(y)),
and strictly decreasing, if
x,yA (x < y  f(x) > f(y)).

Obviously, a function that is either strictly

increasing or strictly decreasing is one-to-one.

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 Properties of Functions
A function f:A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.
In other words, f is onto if and only if its range is
its entire codomain.

A function f: AB is a one-to-one

correspondence, or a bijection, if and only if it is
both one-to-one and onto.
Obviously, if f is a bijection and A and B are
finite sets, then |A| = |B|.

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 Properties of Functions

Examples:
In the following examples, we use the arrow
representation to illustrate functions f:AB.

In each example, the complete sets A and B are

shown.

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 Properties of Functions
Linda Boston
Is f injective?
Max New No.
York Is f surjective?
Kathy Hong No.
Kong Is f bijective?
Peter Moscow No.

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 Properties of Functions
Linda Boston
Is f injective?
Max New No.
York Is f surjective?
Kathy Hong Yes.
Kong Is f bijective?
Peter Moscow No.

Paul

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 Properties of Functions
Linda Boston
Is f injective?
Max New Yes.
York Is f surjective?
Kathy Hong No.
Kong Is f bijective?
Peter Moscow No.

Lübeck

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 Properties of Functions
Linda Boston
Is f injective?
Max New No! f is not even
York a function!
Kathy Hong
Kong
Peter Moscow

Lübeck

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 Properties of Functions
Linda Boston
Is f injective?
Max New Yes.
York Is f surjective?
Kathy Hong Yes.
Kong Is f bijective?
Peter Moscow Yes.

Helena Lübeck

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 Inversion

An interesting property of bijections is that

they have an inverse function.

The inverse function of the bijection

f:AB is the function f-1:BA with
f-1(b) = a whenever f(a) = b.

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 Inversion
Example: The inverse function f-
1
is given by:
f(Linda) = Moscow f-1(Moscow) = Linda
f(Max) = Boston f-1(Boston) = Max
f(Kathy) = Hong Kong f-1(Hong Kong) = Kathy
f(Peter) = Lübeck f-1(Lübeck) = Peter
f(Helena) = New York f-1(New York) = Helena

Clearly, f is bijective. Inversion is only

possible for bijections
(= invertible functions)
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 Inversion
Linda Boston f

Max New f-1

York
f-1:CP is no
Kathy Hong
function, because
Kong
it is not defined
Peter Moscow for all elements of
C and assigns two
images to the pre-
Helena Lübeck
image New York.

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 Composition
The composition of two functions g:AB
and f:BC, denoted by fg, is defined by
(fg)(a) = f(g(a))
This means that
• first, function g is applied to element
aA,
mapping it onto an element of B,
• then, function f is applied to this element
of
B, mapping it onto an element of C.
• Therefore, the composite function maps
from A to C.
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 Composition
Example:

f(x) = 7x – 4, g(x) = 3x,

f:RR, g:RR

(fg)(5) = f(g(5)) = f(15) = 105 – 4 = 101

(fg)(x) = f(g(x)) = f(3x) = 21x - 4

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 Composition

Composition of a function and its inverse:

(f-1f)(x) = f-1(f(x)) = x

The composition of a function and its

inverse is the identity function i(x) = x.

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 Graphs

The graph of a function f:AB is the set of

ordered pairs {(a, b) | aA and f(a) = b}.

The graph is a subset of AB that can be

used to visualize f in a two-dimensional
coordinate system.

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 Floor and Ceiling Functions
The floor and ceiling functions map the real
numbers onto the integers (RZ).
The floor function assigns to rR the largest
zZ with z  r, denoted by r.
Examples: 2.3 = 2, 2 = 2, 0.5 = 0, -3.5 = -
4
The ceiling function assigns to rR the
smallest zZ with z  r, denoted by r.
Examples: 2.3 = 3, 2 = 2, 0.5 = 1, -3.5 = -
3
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