RELATIONS AND FUNCTIONS
Ordered Pair
An ordered pair is a pair of objects whose components occur in a special order. It is written by listing the two
components in the specified order, separating them by a comma and enclosing the pair in parentheses. In the ordered
pair (a, b), a is the first component and b, the second component.
Cartesian Product
Let A and B be two non-empty sets. Then the set of all possible ordered pairs ( x, y) such that the first component x of
the ordered pair is an element of A , and the second component y is an element of B , is called the Cartesian product of
sets A and B . It is denoted by A B which is read as “ A cross B ”.
Thus, A B {(a, b) | a A and b B}
Also, n( A B) n( A).n(B) , If set A has p elements and set B has q elements, then the product set A B has
pq elements.
If A B , then A B is expressed as A 2 .
Cartesian Product of more than two sets
We can also define, in a similar way, ordered triplets. If A, B and C are three sets, then (a, b, c) , where a A , b B
and c C , is called an ordered triplet.
The Cartesian product of sets A, B and C is defined as
A B C {(a, b, c) | a A, b B, c C} . An ordered pair and ordered triplet are also called 2-tuple and 3-tuple,
respectively. In general, if A1 , A2 , A3 ,......., An are n sets, then (a1 , a 2 , a3 ,......, an ) is called an n-tuple and the set of all
such n-tuples is called the Cartesian product of A1 , A2 , A3 ,......, An . It is denoted by A1 A2 A3 ........ An .
Relation
A relation is a set of ordered pairs obtained by virtue of an association between two sets. Any set of ordered pairs is,
therefore a relation. The set of first components of the ordered pairs is called the domain and the set of second
components is called the range.
The notation xRy
If ( x, y) is a member of a relation R , then we also use the symbolism ' xRy' and read as ‘ x is the relation R to y ’.
i.e. ( x, y) R xRy .
Relation as a subset of the Cartesian product
If A and B are any two non-empty sets, then any subset of A B is defined as a relation from A to B .
Domain, Codomain and Range of a relation
Let R be a relation from set A to set B . Then the set of first components of the ordered pairs in R is called the
domain.
The set of second components of the ordered pairs in R is called the range.
The second set B is called the codomain.
The inverse of a relation
For any binary relation R , a second relation can be constructed by merely interchanging first and second components in
every ordered pair. The relation thus obtained is called the inverse of R and is represented by R 1
R 1 {( y, x) : ( x, y) R}
1 1
Thus, domain( R ) range( R) and range( R ) domain( R)
Note: The number of relations that are possible from a set A having m elements to another set B having n elements =
2 mn .
FUNCTIONS
A function f is a relation from a non-empty set A into a non-empty set B such that domain of f is A and no two
ordered pairs in f have the same first component.
Equivalently, a function f from a set A into a set B is a relation from A into B if for each a A there exists a unique
b B such that (a, b) f .
If a function f from A into B , then we write (a, b) f as f (a) b , where a A , b B . b is called the image of
a under f and a is called the pre-image of b under f .
The function f from A into B is denoted by f : A B .
Essential requirements for the definition of a function
A function f : A B is defined under the following conditions:
1 Every x A is associated with some y B , i.e., a function is defined only when the set 𝐴 is entirely “used up”.
2 The set B may not be entirely “used up” by the function.
3 The function may associate more than one x to the same y .
4 No element in A should have more than one image in B .
Vertical line test for a function
If it is possible to draw a vertical line that intersects the graph of a relation in more than one point, then the relation is
not a function. If it is not possible to draw such a vertical line, then the relation is a function.
Types of Functions
One-one function (Injective function)
A function f : A B is called a one-one or injective function if distinct elements of A have distinct images in B
i.e. if a1 , a2 A and a1 a2 f (a1 ) f (a2 ) .
Equivalently, we say f : A B is one-one if and only if for all a1 , a2 A , f (a1 ) f (a2 ) a1 a2 .
Many-one function
If the function f : A B is such that two or more elements a1 , a2 ,.... of A have the same f image in B , then the
function is called many-one function.
Onto function (Surjective function)
The mapping f : A B is called an onto function if the set B is entirely used up, i.e., if every element of B is the
image of at least one element of A .
for every b B there exists at least one element a A such that f (a) b .
range of f = codomain of f .
Into function
If function f : A B is not onto, that is , some of the elements of B remain unassociated, then “ f ” is called an into
function.
One-one onto function (Bijection)
If a function f is both one-one and onto, then it is called a one-one onto function. It is also called a bijection.
In other words, a function f : A B is one-one onto if
(i) It is one-one, i.e., f ( x) f ( y) x y for all x, y A .
(ii) It is onto, i.e., for all y B , there exists x A such that f ( x) y .
Even and Odd functions
If f (x) is a function of x such that f (x) f ( x) for every x of its domain, then it is called an even function of x .
If f (x) is a function of x such that f (x) f ( x) for every x of its domain, then it is called an odd function of x .
Note: There are functions which are neither even nor odd, e.g. y x 7 x 10
2
Classification of functions
1 ALGEBRAIC FUNCTIONS
A function which consists of a finite number of terms involving powers and roots of the independent variable x
and the four fundamental operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division is called an algebraic function.
Three particular case of algebraic functions are
(i) Polynomials: A function of the form a0 x n a1 x n1 a2 x n2 ...... an1 x an where n is a positive
integer and a0 , a1 , a2 ,......, an are real constants is called a polynomial.
f ( x)
(ii) Rational functions: A function of the form such that g( x) 0 , where f (x) and g (x) are
g ( x)
polynomials in x is called a rational function.
(iii) Irrational functions: The functions involving radicals are called irrational functions. e.g. 5x 2 7 x 4 .
2 TRANSCENDENTAL FUNCTIONS: A function which is not algebraic is called transcendental.
The following are different types of transcendental functions.
(i) Trigonometric functions
(i) Inverse trigonometric functions
(ii) Exponential functions: A function in which the domain (independent) variable is an exponent, is an
exponential function. e.g., y 2 .
x
(iii) Logarithmic function.
3 SPECIAL FUNCTIONS
(i) Constant function: If k is a fixed real number, then the function f : R R : f ( x) k x R is called the
constant function.
(ii) Identity function: The identity function maps each member of the domain onto itself. That is if I is the identity
function, then for any x in the domain, I ( x) x .
x; when x 0
(iii) Modulus Function: The function defined by f ( x)
x; when x 0
Is called modulus function.
(iv) Greatest integer function: The function f ( x) [ x] is called the greatest integer function. It means the greatest
integer less than or equal to x . e.g., [5] 5, [5.1] 5, [0] 0, [1.7] 2, [ ] 3, [ ] 4 .
(v) Signum function: The function 𝑓: 𝑅 → 𝑅 defined as
|𝑥|
𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑥 ≠ 0 1 𝑖𝑓 𝑥 > 0
𝑓(𝑥) = { 𝑥 i.e. 𝑆𝑖𝑔 𝑥 = { 0 𝑖𝑓 𝑥 = 0
0 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑥 = 0 −1 𝑖𝑓 𝑥 < 0
