1 ONE-TO-ONE FUNCTIONS

Module 3. One-to-one and Inverse Functions

Topics.

1. One-to-one functions

2. Inverse of one-to-one functions

3. Graphs of inverse functions

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the module, students are expected to accurately define and determine
one-to-one functions and relate the concept to real-life situations.

1 One-to-one Functions
Recall. A relation is a rule that relates values from a set of values (called the domain) to
a second set of values (called the range).
A function is a set of ordered pairs (x, y) such that no two ordered pairs have the same
x-value but different y-values.
The domain of a relation is the set of first coordinates and the range is the set of second
coordinates.

Definition 1.1. The function f is one-to-one if for any x1 , x2 in the domain of f , then
f (x1 ) 6= f (x2 ). That is, the same y-value is never paired with two different x-values.

Example 1.1. Determine whether the given relation is a function. If it is a function, deter-
mine whether is one-to-one. Discuss your answers.

1. The relation pairing a student to his or her student number.

2. The relation pairing a real number to its square.

3. The relation pairing a person to his or her citizenship.

Answer. Determine whether the given relation is a function. If it is a function, determine

whether is one-to-one. Discuss your answers.

1. The relation pairing a student to his or her student number.

This is clearly a one-to-one function as one student number will only be
assigned to a student.

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 1 ONE-TO-ONE FUNCTIONS

2. The relation pairing a real number to its square.

Each real number has a unique perfect square. Thus, the relation is a func-
tion. However, two different real numbers such as 2 and -2 may have the
same square. Thus, the function is not one-to-one.

3. The relation pairing a person to his or her citizenship.

Note that a person can have dual citizenship. For example, a Filipino can
also have American citizenship at the same time. Hence, this relation is
not a function.

Try this. Determine whether the given relation is a function. If it is a function, determine
whether is one-to-one. Discuss your answers.

1. The relation pairing a person to his or her mobile phone number.

2. The relation pairing a person’s height to his or her age

Try this. Can you give a real-life situation that represents one-to-one function? Discuss.

Example 1.2. The following diagrams illustrate an example and a non-example of one-to-
one function.

Figure 2: Not a one-to-one function.

Figure 1: A one-to-one function.

Relation f , as shown in Figure ?? is one-to-one because there are no two distinct inputs
that correspond to the same output. Relation g in Figure ?? is not one-to-one because two
different inputs, 0 and 8, have the same output of 4.

Another way to determine whether a graph represents a one-to-one function is by using

the horizontal line test and vertical line test.
Horizontal Line Test is a test used to determine a one-to-one function. All one-to-one
functions satisfy both the vertical and horizontal line tests.

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 1 ONE-TO-ONE FUNCTIONS

Example 1.3. Consider the graph shown in Figure ??. It can be seen that this is a one-to-one
function as it satisfies both the vertical and the horizontal line tests.

Figure 3: A one-to-one function.

The graph of y = x2 + 2 as shown in Figure ?? fails the horizontal line test since a
horizontal line intersects the graph in more than 1 point.

Try this. Verify whether the function y = x2 − 4 is one-to-one

Try this. Verify whether the function f (x) = 3x + 2 is one-to-one

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 1 ONE-TO-ONE FUNCTIONS

Figure 4: Not a one-to-one function.

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 2 INVERSE OF ONE-TO-ONE FUNCTION

2 Inverse of One-to-One Function

Definition 2.1. Let f be a one-to-one function with domain A and range B. The inverse
of f , denoted by f −1 is a function with a domain B and a range A defined by f −1 (y) = x,
if and only if f (x) = y, for any y ∈ B.

Only one-to-one function has an inverse .

If a function f is not one-to-one, properly defining an inverse function f −1 will be prob-
lematic.

Example 2.1. Suppose that f(1) =3 and f(5) =3. If f −1 exists, then f −1 (3) has to be both
1 and 5, which means that the element 3 in the domain is paired to 2 elements, namely, 1
and 5. This is the reason why the inverse is only defined for one-to-one functions.

To find the inverse of a function, do the following:

(a) Write the function in the form y = f (x).

(b) Interchange the x and y variables.

(c) Solve for y in terms of x.

Example 2.2. Find the inverse of f (x) = 3x + 1, if it exists.

Solution. First verify if f (x) = 3x + 1 is a one-to-one function.

To do this, we may use the horizontal line test.
Clearly if we draw a horizontal line on the graph of f (x) = 3x + 1, this line will touch the
graph at exactly one point (see Figure ??). Hence, the function f (x) = 3x + 1 is one-to-one.
Thus, the inverse of f (x) = 3x + 1 exists.
To find f −1 :

(a) The equation of the function is y = 3x + 1

(b) Interchange the x and y variables:

x = 3y + 1

(c) Solve for y in terms of x:

x−1
y=
3
x−1
Therefore the inverse of f (x) = 3x + 1 is f −1 (x) = .
3
Try this. Find the inverse of g(x) = x3 − 2, if it exists.

Try this. Find the inverse of h(x) = x2 + 4x − 2, if it exists.

Properties of an Inverse of a One-to-One Function

Given a one-to-one function f (x) and its inverse f −1 (x), then the following are true:

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 2 INVERSE OF ONE-TO-ONE FUNCTION

Figure 5: Graph of f (x) = 3x + 1.

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 2 INVERSE OF ONE-TO-ONE FUNCTION

(a) The inverse of f −1 (x) is f (x).

(b) f (f −1 (x)) = x for all x in the domain of f −1

(c) f −1 (f (x)) = x for all x in the domain of f .

For the second and third properties above, it can be imagined that evaluating a function
and its inverse in succession is like reversing the effect of the function.
For example, the inverse of a function that multiplies 3 to a number and adds 1 is a
function that subtracts 1 and then divides the result by 3.

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 3 GRAPHS OF AN INVERSE FUNCTION

3 Graphs of an Inverse Function

Recall that the graph of the inverse function is the reflection of the graph of the original
function across the line y = x.
The coordinates of points in a graph of the inverse of a one-to-one function are the
coordinates of points in the original function with the x− and y−coordinates interchanged.
Recall that f and f −1 satisfy the property that f −1 (f (x)) = x. This means that f −1 (x)
sends the y−values of points in f (x) back to x.
Graphing Inverse Functions
Given the graph of a one-to-one function, the graph of its inverse can be obtained by
reflecting the graph about the line y = x.

Example 3.1. Given the function f (x) = 2x + 1, find its inverse, if it exists. Sketch the
graph of both f (x) and f −1 (x). Determine the domain and range of f −1 (x).

Solution. Clearly, y = 2x + 1 is a one-to-one function. Hence, f −1 exists.

Solving this, we obtain that
x−1
f −1 (x) =
2
.

x−1
Figure 7: Graph of f −1 (x) = .
Figure 6: Graph of y = 2x + 1. 2

x−1
The domain of f −1 (x) = is the set {x|x ∈ R} and the range is {y|y ∈ R}.
2
√
3
Try this. Find the inverse of f (x) = x + 1, if it exists. Then sketch the graph of both f (x)
and f −1 (x). Then determine the domain and range of f −1 .

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 4 SOLVING PROBLEMS INVOLVING INVERSE FUNCTIONS

x−1
Figure 8: Graphs of y = 2x + 1 and f −1 (x) = .
2

4 Solving Problems Involving Inverse Functions

Let us use the concepts of inverse functions in solving word problems involving reversible
processes.

Example 4.1. You asked a friend to think of a nonnegative number, add two to the number,
square the number, multiply the result by 3 and divide the result by 2. If the result is 54, what
is the original number?
Construct an inverse function that will provide the original number if the result is given.

Solution. To solve this, we first construct a function that will compute the final number
based on the original number. Thus, we get

3(x + 2)2
f (x) = (x + 2)2 · 3 ÷ 2 = .
2
As can be seen from Figure ??, this is not a one-to-one function since the graph does not
satisfy the horizontal line test.
However, since the problem requires that the original number must be nonnegative, it
follows that the domain of the function must be restricted to x ≥ 0.
It can be seen from Figure ?? that the function with the restricted domain now becomes a
one-to-one function, and hence, its inverse exist.
Solving for f −1 , we obtain:
r
2x
y= − 2.
3

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 4 SOLVING PROBLEMS INVOLVING INVERSE FUNCTIONS

3(x + 2)2
Figure 9: Graph of y =
2

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 4 SOLVING PROBLEMS INVOLVING INVERSE FUNCTIONS

3(x + 2)2
Figure 10: Graph of y = with restricted domain.
2

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 4 SOLVING PROBLEMS INVOLVING INVERSE FUNCTIONS

r
2x
Finally, we evaluate f −1 (x) = − 2 at x = 54 to determine the original number.
3
Thus, we obtain
f −1 (54) = 4.

Therefore, the original number is 4.

Try this. Engineers have determined that the maximum force t in tons that a particular
bridge can carry is related to the distance d in meters between its supports by the following
function:  12.5 3
t(d) = .
d
How far should the supports be if the bridge is to support 6.5 tons? Construct an inverse
function to determine the result.

GMath 12 General Mathematics