Functions and relations

Definition 1
Relation: A rule which associates each element of set (A) with at least
on element in set (B).
Definition 2
Function: A rule which uniquely associates elements of one set (A) with
the elements of another set (B); each element in set (A) maps to only one
element in set (B).
Functions can be one-to-one relations or many-to-one relations. A manyto-one relation associates two or more values of the independent (input)
variable with a single value of the dependent (output) variable. The
domain is the set of values to which the rule is applied (A) and the range
is the set of values (also called the images or function values)
determined by the rule.
Example of a one-to-one function:

y=x +1

Example of a many-to-one function:

y=x 2

However, some very common mathematical constructions are not

functions. For example, consider the relation

x 2+ y 2 =4

. This relation

describes a circle of radius 2 centred at the origin. If we let x=0, we see

that

y =4

and thus either y=2 or y=2. This is a one-to-many relation

because a single x-value relates to two different y-values. Therefore

x 2+ y 2 =4

is not a function.

Vertical line test

Given the graph of a relation, there is a simple test for whether or not the
relation is a function. This test is called the vertical line test. If it is
possible to draw any vertical line (a line of constant x) which crosses the
graph of the relation more than once, then the relation is not a function.

If more than one intersection point exists, then the intersections

correspond to multiple values of y for a single value of x (one-to-many).
If any vertical line cuts the graph only once, then the relation is a
function (one-to-one or many-to-one).
The red vertical line cuts the circle twice and therefore the circle is not a
function.
The red vertical line only cuts the parabola once and therefore the
parabola is a function.

Exercise 1: Identifying functions

Problem 1:
Consider the graphs given below and determine whether or not they
are functions:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Problem 2:
The table below gives the average per capita income, d, in a region of
the country as a function of u, the percentage of unemployed people.
Write down an equation to show that the average income is a function of
the percentage of unemployed people.
u
d

1
22500

2
22000

3
21500

4
21000

Function notation
For the function y = f(x), y is the dependent variable, because the value
of y (output) depends on the value of x (input). We say x is the
independent variable, since we can choose x to be any number.
Similarly, if g(t) = 2t+1, then t is the independent variable and g is the
function name.
o If h(x) = 3x5 and we need to determine when h(x) = 3, then we
solve for the value of x such that:
h ( x )=3 x5
3=3 x5

8=3 x
x=

8
3

o If h(x) = 3x5 and we need to determine h(3), then we calculate

the value for h(x) when x=3:
h ( x )=3 x5
h ( 3 )=3 ( 9 )5
h ( 3 )=4