… 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 all

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 York
Max Boston
Kathy Hong Kong
Hong
Kathy
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 same assigned a unique
element of the image. element of the 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 (indirect proof)
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 No.
New York
Is f surjective?
Kathy Hong Kong No.
Is f bijective?
Peter Moscow No.

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

Paul

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

Lübeck

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

Peter Moscow

Lübeck

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 Properties of Functions
Linda Boston
Is f injective?
Yes.
Max New York
Is f surjective?
Kathy Hong Kong Yes.
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 York f-1

Kathy Hong Kong f-1:C→P is no

function, because
it is not defined
Peter Moscow for all elements of
C and assigns two
Helena Lübeck images to the
pre-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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