Relations and Functions

Two non-empty sets P and Q are given. The Cartesian product P Q is the set of
all ordered pairs of elements from P and Q, i.e.,
{ } ( , ) : and P Q p q p P q Q = e e
Example: If P = {x, y} and Q = {1, 1, 0}, then P Q = {(x, 1), (x, 1), (x, 0),
(y, 1), (y, 1), (y, 0)}
If either P or Q is a null set, then P Q will also be a null set, i.e., P Q | = .
In general, if A is any set, then A | | = .
Two ordered pairs are equal if and only if the corresponding first elements are
equal and the second elements are also equal. In other words, if (a, b) = (x, y),
then a = x and b = y.

Example: Show that there does not exist x, y e R if (x y + 1, 4x 2y 6) =
(y x 4, 7x 5y 2).

Solution:
It is given that
(x y + 1, 4x 2y 6) = (y x 4, 7x 5y 2).
x y + 1 = y x 4 and 4x 2y 6 = 7x 5y 2
2x 2y + 5 = 0 (1)
And 3x + 3y 4 = 0 (2)
Now,
2 2 2 2 5 5
, and
3 3 3 3 4 4

= = =


Since
2 2 5
3 3 4

= =

, equations (1) and (2) have no solutions. This shows that
there does not exist x, y e R if (x y + 1, 4x 2y 6) = (y x 4, 7x 5y
2).
In general, for any two sets A and B, A B B A = .
If n(A) = p, n(B) = q, then n(A B) = pq.
If A and B are non-empty sets and either A or B is an infinite set, then so is the
case with A B.
{( , , ) : , , } A A A a b c a b c A = e . Here, (a, b, c) is called an ordered triplet.
A (B C) = (A B) (A C)
A (B C) = (A B) (A C)



A relation R from a set A to a set B is a subset of the Cartesian product A B,
obtained by describing a relationship between the first element x and the second
element y of the ordered pairs (x, y) in A B.
The image of an element x under a relation R is y, where ( , ) x y R e .
The set of all the first elements of the ordered pairs in a relation R from a set A
to a set B is called the domain of the relation R.
The set of all the second elements in a relation R from a set A to a set B is called
the range of the relation R. The whole set B is called the co-domain of the
relation R. Range _Co-domain

For example, in the relation X from W to R, given by X = {(x, y): y = 2x + 1; x
e W, y e R}, we obtain X = {(0, 1), (1, 3), (2, 5), (3, 7) }. In this relation
X, domain is the set of all whole numbers, i.e., domain = {0, 1, 2, 3 }; range
is the set of all positive odd integers, i.e., range = {1, 3, 5, 7 }; and the co-
domain is the set of all real numbers. In this relation, 1, 3, 5 and 7 are called the
images of 0, 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
The total number of relations that can be defined from a set A to a set B is the
number of possible subsets of A B.
If n(A) = p and n(B) = q, then n(A B) = pq and the total number of relations is
2
pq
.
A relation f from a set A to a set B is said to be a function if every element of set
A has one and only one image in set B.
In other words, a function f is a relation from a non-empty set A to another non-
empty set B, such that the domain of f is A and no two distinct ordered pairs in f
have the same first element.
The function f from A to B is denoted by f : A B . Here, A is the domain and B
is the co-domain of f.
If f is a function from A to B and ( , ) a b f e , then f (a) = b, where b is called the
image of a under f, and a is called the pre-image of b under f.
A function having either R (real numbers) or one of its subsets as its range is
called a real-valued function. Further, if its domain is also either R or a subset of
R, it is called a real function.
Types of functions:
Identity function: The function f: R R defined by ( ) y f x x = = , for
each x e R, is called the identity function.
Here, R is the domain and range of f.
Constant function: The function f: R R defined by ( ) y f x c = = , for
each x e R, where c is a constant, is a constant function.
Here, the domain of f is R and its range is {c}.


Polynomial function: A function f: R R is said to be a polynomial
function if for each x e R,
0 1
( ) .......
n
n
y f x a a x a x = = + + + , where n is a
non-negative integer and
0 1
, ,...,
n
a a a eR.
Rational function: The functions of the type
( )
( )
f x
g x
, where f(x) and g(x)
are polynomial functions of x defined in a domain, where ( ) 0 g x = , are
called rational functions.
Modulus function: The function f: R R
+
defined by ( ) f x x = , for
each x e R, is called the modulus function.
In other words,
, 0
( )
, 0
x x
f x
x x
>
=

<

Signum function: The function f: R R defined by
1, 0
( ) 0, 0
1, 0
if x
f x if x
if x
>

= =

<

is called the signum function. Its domain is R and its range is the set {1, 0,
1}.
Greatest Integer function: The function f: R R defined by f(x) = [x],
x e R, assuming the value of the greatest integer less than or equal to x, is
called the greatest integer function.
Example: [2.7] = 3, [2.7] = 2, [2] = 2
Linear function: The function f defined by ( ) f x mx c = + , for x e R,
where m and c are constants, is called the linear function. Here, R is the
domain and range of f.
Algebra of functions:
For functions f: X R and g: X R, we define
(f + g): X R by ( )( ) ( ) ( ), f g x f x g x + = + x e X
(f g): X R by ( )( ) ( ) ( ), f g x f x g x = x e X
(fg): X R by ( )( ) ( ). ( ), fg x f x g x = x e X
(of): X R by ( )( ) ( ), f x f x o o = x e X and o is a real number

f
g
: X R by
( )
( )
( )
f f x
x
g g x
= , x e X and g(x) = 0.

Example: Let f(x) = 2x 3 and g(x) = x
2
+ 3x +2 be two real functions, then


( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2
2
2
2
1 . ( ) ( ) ( )
(2 3) ( 3 2)
5 1
2 . ( ) ( ) ( )
(2 3) ( 3 2)
5
f g x f x g x
x x x
x x
f g x f x g x
x x x
x x
+ = +
= + + +
= +
=
= + +
=

( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( )
2
3 2
2
3 . ( ) ( ) ( )
(2 3)( 3 2)
2 3 5 6
4 . 2 ( ) 2 ( )
2(2 3)
4 6
( )
5 . ( )
( )
(2 3)
, 1, 2
( 3 2)
fg x f x g x
x x x
x x x
f x f x
x
x
f f x
x
g g x
x
x
x x
=
= + +
= +
=
=
=
| |
=
|
\ .

= =
+ +