Edexcel International A Level Your notes

(IAL) Maths: Pure 3

Functions
Contents
Language of Functions
Composite Functions
Inverse Functions
Sketching Graphs of Modulus Functions
Solving Equations with Modulus Functions

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 1
 Language of Functions
Your notes
Language of functions
What language is used with functions?
The language of functions has many keywords associated with it that need to be
understood

What are mappings?

A mapping takes an ‘input’ from one set of values to an ‘output’ in another

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 2
 Your notes

Mappings can be
‘many-to-one’ (many ‘input’ values go to one ‘output’ value)
‘one-to-many’
‘many-to-many’
‘one-to-one’

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 3
 Your notes

What is the difference between a mapping and a

function?
A function is a mapping where every ‘input’ value maps to a single ‘output’
Many-to-one and one-to-one mappings are functions
Mappings which have many possible outputs are not functions

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 4
 Your notes

What is function notation?

Functions are denoted by the notation f(x), g(x), etc
eg. f(x) = x2 - 3x + 2
Or the alternative notation
eg. f : x ↦ x2 – 3x + 2

What sets of numbers do I need to know?

Functions often involve domains and ranges for specific sets of numbers
All numbers can be organised into different sets ℕ, ℤ, ℚ, ℝ

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 5
 So ℕ is a subset of ℤ etc
ℤ- would be the set of negative integers only Your notes
What is the domain of a function?
The domain of a function is the set of values that are allowed to be the ‘input’

A function is only fully defined once its domain has been stated
Restrictions on a domain can turn many-to-one functions into one-to-one functions

What is the range of a function?

The range of a function is the set of values of all possible ‘outputs’

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 6
 Your notes

The type of values in the range depend on the domain

Worked Example

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 7
 Your notes

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 8
 Composite Functions
Your notes
Composite functions
What is a composite function?
A composite function is where one function is applied after another function

The ‘output’ of one function will be the ‘input’ of the next one
Sometimes called function-of-a-function
A composite function can be denoted

fg x ( )

f gx
( ( ))

f ⎡⎢⎣ g x
( )
⎤
⎥
⎦

( f ∘g x ) ( )

All of these mean “f of g ( x ”

)

How do I use composite functions?

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 9
 Your notes

Recognise the notation

fg(x) means “f of g of x”
The order matters

First apply g to x to get gx

( )

Then apply f to the previous output to get f gx

( ( ))

Always start with the function closest to the variable

fg x is not usually equal to gf x

( ) ( )

What are special cases of composite functions?

fg(x) and gf(x) are generally different but can sometimes be the same
ff(x) is written as f2(x)
Inverse functions ff-1(x) = f-1f(x) = x

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 10
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Your notes
Domain and range are important.In fg(x), the ‘output’ (range) of g must be in the
domain of f(x), so fg(x) could exist, but gf(x) may not (or not for some values of
x).

Worked Example

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 11
 Inverse Functions
Your notes
Inverse functions
What is an inverse function?
An inverse function is the opposite to the original function

An inverse function is denoted by f −1 ( x )

The inverse of a function only exists if the function is one-to-one

Inverse functions are used to solve equations

The solution of f x
( ) = 5 is x = f −1 5 ( )

How do I sketch the graph of an inverse function?

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 12
 Your notes

The graphs of a function and its inverse are reflections in the line y = x

What is the domain and range of an inverse function?

The range of a function will be the domain of its inverse function

The domain of a function will be the range of its inverse function

How do I find an inverse function using algebra?

Set y = f(x) and make x the subject
Then rewrite in function notation

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 13
 Domain is needed to fully define a function
The range of f is the domain of f-1 (and vice versa) Your notes

How are inverse functions related to composite

functions?
A function (f) followed by its inverse (f-1) will return the input (x)
ff-1(x) = f-1f(x) = x (for all values of x)

Worked Example

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 14
 Your notes

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 15
 Sketching Graphs of Modulus Functions
Your notes
Sketching graphs of modulus functions
What is the modulus function?
The modulus function makes any ‘input’ positive
|x| = x if x ≥ 0 |f(x)| = f(x) if f(x) ≥ 0
|x| = -x if x < 0 |f(x)| = -f(x) if f(x) < 0
For example: |5| = 5 and |-5| = 5
Sometimes called absolute value

How do I sketch the straight line modulus graph y = a|­-

x+p|+q?
The graph will look like a “ ” if a > 0 or a “ꓥ” if a < 0
There will be a vertex at the point (-p, q)
There could be 0, 1 or 2 roots
This depends on the location of the vertex and the orientation of the graph ( or ꓥ)
Compare this to the completed square form of a quadratic a(x + p)² + q

How do I sketch the modulus of a function y = |f(x)|?

STEP 1 Pencil in the graph of y = f(x)
STEP 2 Reflect anything below the x-axis, in the x-axis, to get y = |f(x)|

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 16
 Your notes

How do I sketch functions of mod x, y = f(|x|)?

STEP 1 Sketch the graph of y = f(x) only for x ≥ 0
STEP 2 Reflect this in the y-axis

What is the difference between y = |f(x)| and y = f(|x|)?

There is a difference between y = |f(x)| and y = f(|x|)
The graph of y = |f(x)| never goes below the x-axis
It does not have to have any lines of symmetry

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 17
The graph of y = f(|x|) is always symmetrical about the y-axis
It can go below the y-axis Your notes

Worked Example

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 18
 Your notes

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 19
 Solving Equations with Modulus Functions
Your notes
Solving equations with modulus functions
How do I sketch modulus equations?
Two non-parallel straight-line graphs would intersect once
If a modulus is involved there could be more than one intersection
Deducing where these intersections are is crucial to solving equations

How do I solve modulus equations?

STEP 1 Sketch the graphs including any modulus (reflected) parts
(see Modulus Functions – Sketching Graphs)
STEP 2 Locate the graph intersections
STEP 3 Solve the appropriate equation(s) or inequality

For f| ( | = | g x | the two possible equations are f x = g x

x ) ( ) ( ) ( ) and
f x
( ) = −g x ( )

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 20
 Your notes

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Sketching the graphs is important as solving algebraically can lead to invalid
solutions.
− = −
For example, x = 1 is a solution to x 4 2x 5 but it is not a solution to
| − |= −
x 4 2x 5 (substitute x = 1 into both sides and see why it does not work).

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 21
Worked Example
Your notes

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 22
 Your notes

© 2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. Get more and ace your exams at savemyexams.com 23