Real function of one real variable

• The set IR of the real numbers

1. Bounded sets in IR
2. Maxima and minima
3. Least upper bound and greatest lower
bound
• Functions
1. Preliminary definitions
2. Injective and surjective functions
• Real functions
1. Periodic functions
2. Bounded functions
3. Maximum and minimum (global)
4. Least upper bound and greatest lower
bound
5. Composition of functions
6. Monotonic functions

1
 7. Inverse function
8. Concave and convex functions

• Basic transformations of the graph of a

function
1. Translations
2. Reflections
3. Modulus transformations

2
 The set IR of the real numbers

IR is a totally ordered and complete field

The main difference between the set Q and the
set IR is the property of completeness.
This property ensures that every real number
correspons with one (and only one) point on an
oriented straight line (real line).

The distance of a point x from the origin of the

real line is given by:

x se x ≥ 0
|x| =
−x se x < 0

Properties of the absolute value (or modulus):

1. |x| ≥ 0, |x| = 0 ⇔ x = 0

2. |x + y | ≤ |x| + |y | (triangle inequality)

3. |x · y | = |x| · |y |

4. |x| = | − x|

3
 Bouded sets in IR

Let A ⊆ IR, A 6= ∅.

1. A is bounded above if there exists b ∈ IR

such that

a ≤ b, ∀a ∈ A.

b is called upper bound of A.

2. A is bounded below if there exists c ∈ IR

such that

a ≥ c, ∀a ∈ A.

c is called lower bound of A.

3. A is bounded if it is bounded both below

and above; in an equivalent way we can say
that A is bounded if ther exists a real
number c ≥ 0 such that

|a| ≤ c, ∀a ∈ A.

4
Examples

1. A = {x ∈ IR : x = −n2 , n ∈ IN} (bounded

above)

2. A = {x ∈ IR : x = 2n, n ∈ IN} (bounded

below)
1
3. A = { , n = 1, 2, ....} (bounded)
n
4. Bounded intervals
[α, β] = {x ∈ IR : α ≤ x ≤ β}
(α, β) = {x ∈ IR : α < x < β}
(α, β] = {x ∈ IR : α < x ≤ β}
[α, β) = {x ∈ IR : α ≤ x < β}

5. Intervals bounded below or above

[α, +∞) = {x ∈ IR : x ≥ α}
(α, +∞) = {x ∈ IR : x > α}
(−∞, β] = {x ∈ IR : x ≤ β}
(−∞, β) = {x ∈ IR : x < β}

5
 Maximum and minimum
Let A ⊆ IR, A 6= ∅.
1. The element M ∈ A is said to be the
maximum of A if

a ≤ M, ∀a ∈ A.

We use the following notation:

M = max(A).
2. The element m ∈ A is said to be the
minimum of A if

m ≤ a, ∀a ∈ A.

We use the following notation: m = min(A).

Remark. It is not always true that a bounded

above (below) set has a maximum (minimum)
• A = (0, +∞) is bounde below but it has not
the minimum.
1
• A = { , n = 1, 2, ....} is bounded, it has
n
maximum but it has not mimimum.

6
 Supremum and infimum

Let us consider a set A bounded above ⇒ the

set of the upper bounds of A is nonempty and it
contains infinite elements.
The completeness of the set R of the real
numbers allow us to prove that the set of all the
upper bounds of A has minimum.
This number is called the least upper bound (or
supremum) of A and we denote it by

sup(A).

The least upper bound of A satisfies the

following properties:

1. a ≤ sup(A);

2. ∀ε > 0 there exists aε ∈ A such that:

sup(A) − ε ≤ aε ≤ sup(A).

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Likewise, let us consider a set A bounded below.
We can prove that the set of lower bounds
admits minimum.
This real number is called the greatest lower
bound (or infimum) of A and we denote it by

inf(A).

The greatest lower bound of A satisfies the

following properties:

1. a ≥ inf(A);

2. ∀ε > 0 there exists aε ∈ A :

inf(A) ≤ aε ≤ inf(A) + ε.

8
Remarks
1. If A is not bounded above we use the
following notation

sup(A) = +∞,

while, if A is not bounded below we use the

following notation

inf(A) = −∞.

2. If A has maximum (mimimum), this number

coincides with the least upper bound (greatest
lower bound)of A.
Examples

1. A = (0, +∞) is bounded below

inf(A) = 0 and sup(A) = +∞.
1
2. A = { , n = 1, 2, ....} is bounded
n
inf(A) = 0, while sup(A) = max(A) = 1.

9
 Functions: preliminary definitions

A function f from a set A to a set B

f : A −→ B

is a rule which assigns a unique element b ∈ B

to each element a ∈ A:

b = f (a).

1. The set A is called domain of the function

f.

2. The element b = f(a) is called the image

of a under f and the element a is called an
inverse image of b by f .

3. The image of A under f is the set

[
f (A) = f (a),
a∈A

The set f (A) is also called the range of f .

Generally speaking, it is strictly contained in
B.

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4. The set of all the inverse images of b ∈ B is
called inverse image of b under f

f −1 (b) = {a ∈ A : b = f (a)}.

It is a nonempty set if and only if b ∈ f (A).

5. The set

G(f ) = {(a, b) : a ∈ A, b = f (a)}

is called the graph of f . It is a subset of

the cartesian product A × B.
Remark. Not every subset of A × B is a
graph of a function.
Indeed two points (a1 , b1 ) , (a2 , b2 ) ∈ A × B
such that a1 = a2 and b1 6= b2 cannot
belong to the graph of a function.

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6. If A1 ⊂ A, the function g : A1 → B defined
by
g(a) = f (a), ∀a ∈ A1
is called restriction to f the set A1 .

7. If A ⊂ A2 , a function h : A2 → C such that

h(a) = f (a), ∀a ∈ A

is said to be an extension of f to A2 .

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 Injective and surjective functions

Let f : A → B and y ∈ B.
The inverse image f −1 (y ) of y can be an empty
set or have only one element or more than one
element.

1. A function f is said to be surjective if every

element of B has at least an inverse image,
hence it holds that for every y ∈ B the set
f −1 (y ) has one or many elements.

2. A function f is said to be injective if every

element of B has at the most one inverse
image, hence it holds that for every y ∈ B
the set f −1 (y ) either has only one element
or it is empty.

3. A function f is said to be one-to-one

(bijection) if every element of B has
exactly one inverse image.

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Remarks

1. f is an injective function if and only if for

every a1 , a2 ∈ A such that a1 6= a2 we have
f (a1 ) 6= f (a2 ).

2. f is a surjective function if and only if

f (A) = B.
Every function can be made surjective taking
as values of f only the elements of f (A).

3. If a function f is not injective, it is possible

to find some restrictions of f that are
injective.

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 Real function of one real variable
Let A, B ⊆ IR. In the sequel we will denote by x
the elements of the domain of a function f
(independent variable) and by y or f (x) the
values of the function f (dependent variable).
Algebraic functions
• f (x) = mx + q (linear functions)
• f (x) = ax 2 + bx + c, a 6= 0 (quadratic
functions)
ax+b
• f (x) = cx+d , ad − bc 6= 0, c 6= 0
(omographic functions)
• f (x) = x α , α ∈ IR (power functions)
Transcendental functions
• f (x) = loga x, a > 0, a 6= 1 (logarithmic
functions)
• f (x) = ax , a > 0 (exponential functions)
• f (x) = sin x, f (x) = cos x, f (x) = tan x,
(trigonometric functions)

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 Even and odd functions

Let A ⊆ IR such that x ∈ A ⇒ −x ∈ A.

• A function f : A → IR is said to be even if

f (−x) = f (x), ∀x ∈ A

Its graph is symmetric with respect to the

y -axis.
Examples: f (x) = x 2 , f (x) = cos x.

• A function f : A → IR is said to be odd if

f (−x) = −f (x), ∀x ∈ A

Its graph is symmetric with respect to the

origin of the axes.
3 1
Examples: f (x) = x , f (x) = ,
x
f (x) = sin x.

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 Periodic functions

A function f : A → IR is said to be periodic

with period T > 0 if T is the smallest real
number such that

f (x + T ) = f (x)

for every x ∈ A such that (x + T ) ∈ A.

The graph of a periodic function with period T is
equal on every interval of lenght T included in A.
Examples

• Trigonometric functions: f (x) = sin x,

f (x) = cos x, f (x) = tan(x),

• f (x) = x − n, when
n ≤ x < n + 1, n = 0, 1, · · ·

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 Bounded functions

Sia f : A → IR.
The function f is said to be upper bounded if
its range f (A) is a bounded above subset of IR⇒
there exists K ∈ IR such that

f (x) ≤ K, ∀x ∈ A.

The function f is said to be lower bounded if its

range f (A) is a bounded below subset of IR ⇒
there exists k ∈ IR such that

f (x) ≥ k, ∀x ∈ A.

The function f is said to be bounded if its range

f (A) is a bounded subset of IR ⇒ there exists
L ≥ 0 such that

|f (x)| ≤ L, ∀x ∈ A.

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Examples
f (x) = e x (lower bounded)
√
f (x) = − x (upper bounded)
f (x) = sin x (bounded)
1
f (x) = (bounded)
1 + x2

x per x ≥ 0
f (x) = |x| = (lower bounded)
−x per x < 0

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 Global maxima and minima
Let f : A → IR.
The function f has global (or absolute)
maximum on A if its range f (A) has maximum
M ⇒ there exists xM ∈ A such that
1. f (xM ) = M,
2. f (x) ≤ f (xM ), ∀x ∈ A
When this case occurs, we write

M = max f (x) = max f

x∈A

The function f attains its maximum at xM ∈ A.

The point xM is called global (or absolute)
maximum point of f in A.

Remarks
1. Not all the upper bounded functions has a
maximum (f (x) = −e x );
2. The maximum of f on A is unique, whereas
the global maximum points of f in A are not
necessarily unique (f (x) = sin(x)).

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The function f has global (or absolute)
mimimum on A if its range f (A) has minimum
m ⇒ there exists xm ∈ A such that

1. f (xm ) = m,

2. f (xm ) ≤ f (x), ∀x ∈ A.

When this case occurs, we write

m = min f (x) = min f

x∈A

The function f attains its minimum at xm ∈ A.

The point xm is called global (or absolute)
minimum point of f in A.
Remarks
1. Not all the lower bounded functions has a
minimum (f (x) = −e x ) (f (x) = e x );
2. The maximum of f on A is unique, whereas
the global maximum points of f in A are not
necessarily unique (f (x) = sin(x)).

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 Supremum and infimum of a function
Let f : A → R be an upper bounded function.
We call supremum of f on A the least upper
bound of the range f (A), which is denoted by

sup f = sup(f (A))

If f is not upper bounded, we adopt the

convention
sup f = +∞.
Let f : A → R be a lower bounded function. We
call infimum of f on A the greatest lower bound
of the range f (A), which is denoted by

inf f = inf(f (A)).

If f is not lower bounded, we adopt the

convention
inf f = −∞.
Remark. The real numbers sup f and inf f do
not necessarily belong to the range of f . If both
these numbers belong to f (A), then they
coincide respectively with max f and min f .

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 Monotonic functions
Let A ⊆ IR and f : A → IR.
1. The function f is increasing on A if for
every x1 , x2 ∈ A

x1 ≤ x2 ⇒ f (x1 ) ≤ f (x2 )

2. The function f is strictly increasing on A if

for every x1 , x2 ∈ A

x1 < x2 ⇒ f (x1 ) < f (x2 ).

3. The function f is decreasing on A if and

only if the function −f is increasing on A.
4. The function f is structly decreasing on A
if and only if the function −f is strictly
increasing on A.

Theorem
Let f : A → IR be a stricly increasing
(decreasing) function on A. Then f is injective
on A.

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 Concave and convex functions

Let I ⊆ IR be an interval and f : I → IR.

1. The function f is concave on I if for every

x1 , x2 ∈ I if the segment joining the two
points (x1 , f (x1 )) and (x2 , f (x2 )) of the
graph of f does not lies above the graph
itself.

2. The function f is convex on I if for every

x1 , x2 ∈ I if the segment joining the two
points (x1 , f (x1 )) and (x2 , f (x2 )) of the
graph of f does not lies below the graph
itself.

We can introduce also the notions of strictly

concave and strictly convex functions by
requiring that the segment lies entirely (except
the extreme points) below, respectively above, of
the graph of f .
Remark. A function f is concave if and only if
−f is a convex function.

24
 Composition of function

Let f : A → IR and g : B → IR be two functions

such that f (A) ⊆ B.
Since for every x ∈ A the image f (x) belongs to
the domain of g, it is possible to define the
function h that assigns the number g(f (x)) to
every x ∈ A:

h: A −→ f (A) ⊆ B −→ IR
x 7→ f (x) 7→ g(f (x))

The function h is called the composition or the

composite of f and g. Usually the notation
h = g ◦ f is used.
In conclusion, if f (A) ⊆ B, we can consider the
function:
g ◦ f : A → IR,
defined by

(g ◦ f )(x) = g(f (x)).

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Remark
• If the function (g ◦ f ) exists, it is not
assured that also the function (f ◦ g) exists.
For instance, let us consider this pair of
functions
f (x) = −x 2 and g(x) = ln x.
• Even if both the functions (f ◦ g) and
(g ◦ f ) exist, they are not necessarily equal.
For instance., let us consider the following
pair of functions
f (x) = x 2 and g(x) = x + 2.
• If f (A) * B but f (A) ∩ B 6= ∅, we can
consider a restriction f1 of the original
function f to a subset A1 ⊂ A such that
f1 (A1 ) ⊆ B. Therefore we can define the
composite function g ◦ f1 : A1 → IR.
In order to illustrate this statement, let us
consider the following pair of functions:
x +2 √
f (x) = and g(x) = x.
x −1

26
 Inverse function
Let f : A → f (A) be an injective function ⇒ a
unique inverse image corresponds to every
element of the range of f . Therefore we can
introduce the function f −1 (with domain f (A)
and taking values in A) given by

f −1 (y ) = x ⇔ f (x) = y .

The function f −1 is called the inverse function of

In order to find the explicit analytical expression
of f −1 we should solve the equation y = f (x),
finding the variable x with respect to the variable
y.
For instance, if f (x) = 2x − 1, from

y = f (x) = 2x − 1

we obtain f −1 (y ) = 21 (y + 1).
We emphasize that is not always possible to find
an explicit expression for the inverse function.
See, e.g., the function f (x) = e x + x.

27
It holds the following properties:
1. (f −1 ◦ f )(x) = x, ∀x ∈ A
2. (f ◦ f −1 )(y ) = y , ∀y ∈ f (A)
3. The graph of f −1 is the symmetric of the
graph of f with respect to the line y = x
Examples
1) f (x) = x 2 .
It is easy to see that A = IR, f (A) = [0, +∞).
The function is not injective on A but it is
injective on the set A1 = [0, +∞) and
(separately) on A2 = (−∞, 0].
Let us consider the restriction
f1 : A1 → [0, +∞). The inverse function
f1−1 : [0, +∞) → A1 is given by
−1
√
f1 (x) = x.

The graph of f1−1 is drawn in the following

picture (the graph of f1 is drawn by a dashed
line):

28
Now, let us consider the restriction
f2 : A2 → [0, +∞). The inverse function
f2−1 : [0, +∞) → A2 is given by
√
f2−1 (x) = − x.

The graph of f2−1 is drawn in the following

picture (the graph of f2 is drawn by a dashed
line):

29
2) f (x) = e x .
It is easy to see that A = IR, f (A) = (0, +∞).
The function f is strictly increasing on A and
hence it is injective on A. Therefore it is possible
to find the inverse function f −1 : (0, +∞) → IR.
The graph of f −1 is drawn in the following
picture (the graph of f is drawn by a dashed
line):

30
The explicit expression of the inverse function is
f −1 (x) = ln x.

It holds the following relations:

ln(e x ) = x, ∀x ∈ IR;

e ln x = x, ∀x ∈ (0, +∞).

31
Theorem (Sufficient condition for the existence
of the inverse function).
Let f : A → IR be a strictly increasing
(decreasing) function. Then there exists the
inverse function of f (whose domain is f (A)).
Moreover, the inverse f −1 is a strictly increasing
(decreasing) function.
Remark. The previous result does not give also
a necessary condition. Indeed, there exist some
functions that admit the inverse even if they are
neither strictly increasing nor decreasing. Indeed,
let us consider the following function

1/x per x 6= 0
f (x) =
0 per x = 0
where A = IR. It has an inverse (what is the
inverse of f ?) but it is neither strictly increasing
nor decreasing.

Basic transformations of the graph of a function

32
Translations
Let us fix a 6= 0 and let us consider the function
t(x) = x + a.
1. The graph of the composite function

(f ◦ t)(x) = f (t(x)) = f (x + a)

is obtained by moving the graph of f along the x

axis (to the left when a > 0, to the right when
a < 0).

2. The graph of the composite function

(t ◦ f )(x) = t(f (x)) = f (x) + a

is obtainedby moving the graph of f along the y

axis (upwards when a > 0, downwards when
a < 0).

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Reflections
Let us consider the function r (x) = −x.
1. The graph of the composite function

(f ◦ r )(x) = f (r (x)) = f (−x)

is obtained by reflecting the graph of f with

respect to the y axis.

2. The graph of the composite function

(r ◦ f )(x) = r (f (x)) = −f (x)

is obtained by reflecting the graph of f with

respect to the x axis.

3. The graph of the composite function

(r ◦ f ◦ r )(x) = r (f (r (x))) = −f (−x)

is obtained by reflecting the graph of f with

respect to origin of the axes.

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Transformations involving the modulus
Let us consider the function m(x) = |x|.
1. The graph of the composite function

f (x) per x ≥ 0
(f ◦m)(x) = f (m(x)) = f (|x|) =
f (−x) per x < 0

is obtained by holding the graph of f when x ≥ 0

and by reflecting the graph of f with respect to
the y axis when x < 0.

2. The graph of the composite function


f (x) se f (x) ≥ 0
(r ◦ f )(x) = |f (x)| =
−f (x) se f (x) < 0

is obtained by holding the part of the graph of f

that is above the x axis and by reflecting, with
respect to the x axis, the part of the graph of f
that lies down the x axis.

35