Introduction to Functions 1

Types of Mapping
Mappings can be described as one-one, one-many, many-one or many-many

One-one mappings
Each x value corresponds with exactly one y value, and vice versa
Example
4 y

y=x³–1
2

–6 –4 –2 2 4 6

–1

–2

–3

–4

One-many mappings
Each x value corresponds to more than one y value, but each y value corresponds to only one x
value
Example
4 y

y²=x
2

–6 –4 –2 2 4 6

–1

–2

–3

–4

Many-one mappings
Each x value corresponds to only one y value, but each y value corresponds to more than one x
value
Example
4 y

y=x²
2

–6 –4 –2 2 4 6

–1

–2

–3

–4

Many-many mappings
Each x value corresponds to more than one y value, and each y value corresponds to more than
one x-value
Example
4 y

2
x²+y²=4
1

–8 –6 –4 –2 2 4 6 8

–1

–2

–3

–4
 Introduction to Functions 2

A function is a mapping that is either one-one or many-one

Example
Identifying the mappings given as one-one, many-one, one-many or many-many, and decide
whether they are functions or not

(a) y  x2

(b) y  4  x2

 x  2   y  1  100
2 2
(c)

Domain and Range of a Function

When a function is defined, as well as being told the equation, you must also be told the set of x
values that are to be inputted into this equation. This is called the DOMAIN of the function, and is
part of the definition of the function.
Once you know the possible x values, you can work out the corresponding y values; this is called
the RANGE of the function. The range will be different, for the same equation with a different
domain

Example
By sketching the graph of y  x 2 , work out the range of the following functions

10 y

–6 –4 –2 2 4 6

(a) f  x   x2 , x  4

(b) f  x   x 2 , x  3

(c) f  x   x 2 , x  1

(d) f  x   x2 , x 
 Introduction to Functions 3

Question 1

Place the following mappings in the table below

1
(a) y  3 x (b) y (c) y2  x  3 (d) y  x
x
(e) y x (f) y  x4 (g) y  x5 (h) y  3x

FUNCTIONS NOT FUNCTIONS

One-one Many-one One-Many Many-Many

Question 2

Match the functions in the left-hand column with the ranges in the right-hand column, and write
your answers in the space provided below

Function and Domain Range

A f  x    x2 , x 
B f  x   2 x  10, x  5
C f  x   10  2 x, x  5
D f  x    x2 , x  2
E f  x   2 x  10, x  0
F f  x   10  2 x, x  2
G f  x   x  2, x  1
2
H f  x    x 2 , x  3
I f  x   x 2  2, x  1
J f  x   x 2  2, x  0
1 f  x   20
2 f  x   10
3 f  x   9
4 f  x  6
5 f  x  2
6 f  x  3
7 f  x  0
8 f  x   4
9 f  x  2
10 f  x  0

A B C D E F G H I J

Question 3

(a) The function f  x   5  x has a range of f  x   7 . What is its domain?

(b) The function f  x   x 2 has a range of f  x   25 . State two possible domains for the
function
 Solutions to Introduction to Functions 3

Q1
(a) one-one
(b) one-one
(c) one-many
(d) many-many
(e) one-many
(f) many-one
(g) one-one
(h) one-one

Q2

A B C D E F G H I J
7 1 10 8 2 4 9 3 6 5

Q3

(a) x2
(b) x  5, x  5