Discrete Mathematics I

Math 1056

By
Dr. Haider

[email protected]

Department of Computer Science and Mathematics

Algoma University

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Education

 Functions

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 Functions
Definition: Let A and B be nonempty sets. A function
f from A to B, denoted f: A  B is an assignment of
each element of A to exactly one element of B. We
write f(a) = b if b is the unique element of B
assigned by the function f to the element a of A.
• Functions are sometimes
called mappings
or transformations.

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 Functions
A function f: A  B can also be defined as a subset of
A×B (a relation). This subset is restricted to be a relation
where no two elements of the relation have the same
first element.
Specifically, a function f from A to B contains one, and
only one ordered pair (a, b) for every element a∈ A.
x  x  A  y  y  B   x, y  f  

and
x, y1 , y2    x, y1  f   x, y2  f   y1  y2 

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 Functions
Given a function f: A  B:
• We say f maps A to B or f is a mapping from A to B.
• A is called the domain of f.
• B is called the codomain of f.
• If f(a) = b,
• then b is called the image of a under f.
• a is called the preimage of b.
• The range of f is the set of all images of points in A under f. We
denote it by f(A).
• Two functions are equal when they have the same domain, the
same codomain and map each element of the domain to the same
element of the codomain.
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 Representing Functions
Functions may be specified in different ways:
• An explicit statement of the assignment. Students
and grades example.
• A formula.

f  x  x  1
• A computer program.
• A Java program that when given an integer n, produces
the nth Fibonacci Number.

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 Questions
f(a) = ? z
The image of d is ? z
The domain of f is ? A
The codomain of f is ? B
The preimage of y is ? b
f(A) = ? {y,z}
The preimage(s) of z is (are) ? {a,c,d}
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 Question on Functions and Sets
If f : A  B and S is a subset of A, then

f S   f s  | s  S 

f {a,b,c,} is ? {y,z}

f {c,d} is ? {z}

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 Injections
Definition: A function f is said to be one-to-one ,
or injective, if and only if f(a) = f(b) implies that a
= b for all a and b in the domain of f. A function is
said to be an injection if it is one-to-one.

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 Surjections
Definition: A function f from A to 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 .
A function f is called a surjection if it is onto.

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 Bijections
Definition: A function f is a one-to-one
correspondence, or a bijection, if it is both one-
to-one and onto (surjective and injective).

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 Showing that f is one-to-one or onto 1

Suppose that f : A  B.
To show that f is injective Show that if f (x) = f (y) for
arbitrary x, y ∈ A, then x = y.
To show that f is not injective Find particular
elements x, y ∈ A such that x ≠ y and f (x) = f (y).
To show that f is surjective Consider an arbitrary
element y ∈ B and find an element x ∈ A such that
f (x) = y.
To show that f is not surjective Find a particular y ∈
B such that f (x) ≠ y for all x ∈ A.
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 Showing that f is one-to-one or onto 2

Example 1: Let f be the function from {a,b,c,d} to

{1,2,3} defined by f(a) = 3, f(b) = 2, f(c) = 1, and f(d) = 3.
Is f an onto function?
Solution: Yes, f is onto since all three elements of the
codomain are images of elements in the domain. If the
codomain were changed to {1,2,3,4}, f would not be
onto.
Example 2: Is the function f(x) = x2 from the set of
integers to the set of integers onto?
Solution: No, f is not onto because there is no integer x
with x2 = −1, for example.
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 Inverse Functions
Definition: Let f be a bijection from A to B. Then
the inverse of f, denoted f  1 , is the function from
B to A defined as f  1  y  x iff f  x   y
No inverse exists unless f is a bijection. Why?

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 Inverse Functions

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 Questions
Example 1: Let f be the function from {a,b,c} to
{1,2,3} such that f(a) = 2, f(b) = 3, and f(c) = 1. Is f
invertible and if so what is its inverse?

Solution: The function f is invertible because it is

a one-to-one correspondence. The inverse
function f−1 reverses the correspondence given
by f, so f−1 (1) = c, f−1 (2) = a, and f−1 (3) = b.

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 Questions
Example 2: Let f: Z  Z be such that f(x) = x + 1.
Is f invertible, and if so, what is its inverse?

Solution: The function f is invertible because it is

a one-to-one correspondence. The inverse
function f−1 reverses the correspondence so f−1
(y) = y −1.

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 Questions
Example 3: Let f: R  R be such that f  x  x 2
Is f invertible, and if so, what is its inverse?

Solution: The function f is not invertible because

it is not one-to-one.

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 Composition
Definition: Let f: B→C, g: A→B. The composition of f with
g, denoted f  g is the function from A to C defined by
f  g  x   f  g  x 

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 Composition

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 Composition
Example 1: If

f  x   x and g  x  2 x  1,
2

then
f  g  x  2 x  1
2

and
g  f  x  2 x  1
2

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 Composition Questions
Example 2: Let g be the function from the set {a,b,c} to itself
such that g(a) = b, g(b) = c, and g(c) = a. Let f be the function
from the set {a,b,c} to the set {1,2,3} such that f(a) = 3, f(b) =
2, and f(c) = 1.
What is the composition of f and g, and what is the
composition of g and f.
Solution: The composition f∘g is defined by
f  g a   f  g a   f b  2.
f  g b   f  g b   f c  1.
f  g c   f  g c   f a  3.
Note that g∘f is not defined, because the range of f is not a
subset of the domain of g.
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 Composition Questions
Example 2: Let f and g be functions from the set
of integers to the set of integers defined by
f  x  2 x  3 and g  x  3x  2.
What is the composition of f and g, and also the
composition of g and f ?
Solution:
f  g  x   f  g  x   f 3x  2  2 3x  2   3 6 x  7
g  f  x  g  f  x  g 3 x  2  3 3 x  2   2 6 x  11

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