Synopsis for Relations and Functions (Board)

Dhananjayareddy Thanakanti
15 February 2025

§1 Relations and Functions

§1.1 Ordered Pair
Definition 1.1. An ordered pair is a pair of elements, a and b, listed in a specific order and
enclosed in parentheses, written as (a, b).

Example 1.2

(3, 5) ̸= (5, 3)

§1.1.1 Properties of Ordered Pair

Order Matters: The order in which the elements are arranged is important, meaning (a, b) ̸=
(b, a) unless a = b.

Uniqueness: Each ordered pair is unique based on its elements and their positions. This means
that two ordered pairs are equal if and only if both the first and second elements are
equal.(a, b) = (c, d) if and only if a = c and b = d

Example 1.3
If (x, y) = (4, 7), then:
x=4 and y = 7

§1.2 Cartesian product

Definition 1.4. The Cartesian product is a mathematical operation that produces a set by
combining elements from two or more sets. For two sets A and B, the Cartesian product A × B
consists of all possible ordered pairs (a, b), where a is an element of A and b is an element of B.
Mathematically, it is represented as:

A × B = {(a, b) | a ∈ A and b ∈ B}

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 Example 1.5
Let A = {1, 2} and B = {x, y}:

A × B = {(1, x), (1, y), (2, x), (2, y)}

§1.2.1 Key Properties

Non-Commutativity: A × B ̸= B × A

Example 1.6
Let A = {1, 2} and B = {x, y}:

A × B = {(1, x), (1, y), (2, x), (2, y)}

B × A = {(x, 1), (x, 2), (y, 1), (y, 2)}

Associativity: The result is the same regardless of how the operations are grouped. (A×B)×C =
A × (B × C)

Example 1.7
Let A = {1}, B = {x}, and C = {y}:

A × (B × C) = {(1, (x, y))}

(A × B) × C = {((1, x), y)}

Distributivity: The Cartesian product is distributive over union and intersection, such that:
A × (B ∪ C) = (A × B) ∪ (A × C)
Similarly, it distributes over intersections:
A × (B ∩ C) = (A × B) ∩ (A × C)

Example 1.8
Let A = {1}, B = {x}, and C = {y}:

B ∪ C = {x, y}

A × (B ∪ C) = {(1, x), (1, y)}

(A × B) ∪ (A × C) = {(1, x)} ∪ {(1, y)} = {(1, x), (1, y)}

Interaction with the Empty Set: The Cartesian product of any set with the empty set results
in the empty set:
A × ∅ = ∅ or ∅ × B = ∅

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 Example 1.9
Let A = {1, 2}:
A×∅=∅

Cartesian Product of More Than Two Sets: The Cartesian product can extend to more than
two sets. For example, A × B × C represents ordered triples, and so on. Each element is
represented by an ordered tuple.

A × B × C = {(a, b, c) | a ∈ A, b ∈ B, c ∈ C}

Cardinality: The size of the Cartesian product of two finite sets is the product of their sizes:

n(A × B) = n(A) × n(B)

This generalizes to more than two sets as well

Example 1.10
Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {x, y}:

n(A) = 3, n(B) = 2 =⇒ n(A × B) = 3 · 2 = 6

Explicitly:
A × B = {(1, x), (1, y), (2, x), (2, y), (3, x), (3, y)}

§1.3 Relation
Definition 1.11. A relation R from a non-empty set A to a non-empty set B is defined as a
subset of the Cartesian product A × B.

Example 1.12
Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {a, b}. Define a relation R ⊆ A × B:

R = {(1, a), (2, b), (3, a)}.

This means:

• 1 is related to a,

• 2 is related to b,

• 3 is related to a.

§1.3.1 Image of a Relation

Definition 1.13. The image of an element x under a relation R is the element y for which the
ordered pair (x, y) belongs to R.

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 Example 1.14
Using the same relation R described in example 1.12:

Image of 1 = {a}, Image of 2 = {b}, Image of 3 = {a}.

The image of A under R is the subset of B:

Image of A = {a, b}.

§1.3.2 Domain of a Relation

Definition 1.15. The set of all 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.

Example 1.16
Using the same relation R described in example 1.12:

Domain of R = {1, 2, 3}.

§1.3.3 Range of a Relation

Definition 1.17. The set of all second elements in a relation R from set A to set B is referred
to as the range of the relation R. The entire set B is called the co-domain of the relation R.

Example 1.18
Using the same relation R described in example 1.12:

Range of R = {a, b}.

§1.3.4 Number of Relations on a Set

The number of possible relations on a set depends on the number of elements in the set. If the
set A has n elements, the Cartesian product A × A has n2 ordered pairs. A relation is simply
any subset of A × A, so the number of possible relations is the number of subsets of A × A.
Since the number of subsets of a set with m elements is 2m , the number of possible relations
on a set A with n elements is:
2
Number of relations on A = 2n

Example 1.19
If A = {1, 2} and B = {a, b, c}, then:

n(A) = 2, n(B) = 3,

The number of relations is:

22·3 = 26 = 64.

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§1.4 Function
Definition 1.20. A function is a relation in which each value of the independent variable
corresponds to exactly one value of the dependent variable.In other words, a function is a
special type of relation where every element in the domain is related to exactly one element
in the codomain.

Example 1.21
Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {a, b, c}.
We define a relation R ⊆ A × B:

R = {(1, a), (2, b), (3, c)}.

This relation R satisfies the properties of a function because:

1. Every element in the domain A is related to exactly one element in B.

2. There are no repeated pairs for any element in A (i.e., each x ∈ A has exactly one
y ∈ B).

Example 1.22
If the relation is defined as:

R′ = {(1, a), (1, b), (2, b), (3, c)},

then R′ is not a function because 1 is related to both a and b, violating the rule of
uniqueness for a function.

§1.4.1 Domain of the Function

Definition 1.23. The domain of a function f (x) is the set of all values of the independent
variable for which the function is defined.

Example 1.24
Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {a, b, c}. The Cartesian product A × B is:

A × B = {(1, a), (1, b), (1, c), (2, a), (2, b), (2, c), (3, a), (3, b), (3, c)}.

Now, consider a function f : A → B defined by the relation:

f = {(1, a), (2, b), (3, c)}.

The domain of the function f is the set of all elements from A that appear as the first
component in the pairs of f . In this case:

Domain of f = {1, 2, 3}.

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 Example 1.25
1
f (x) = x−2

• The function is undefined when x − 2 = 0, i.e., x = 2.

• Domain: x ̸= 2, or (−∞, 2) ∪ (2, ∞).

Example 1.26
√
g(x) = x + 4

• The square root function is only defined for x + 4 ≥ 0.

• Domain: x ≥ −4, or [−4, ∞).

§1.4.2 Range of the Function

Definition 1.27. The range of a function f (x) is the set of all values that the dependent variable
can take.
Set notation is used to describe domain and range. The symbols are:
• {} → The set of all . . ..

• ∈→ “is an element of” or ”in“

• | → “such that“

Example 1.28
Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {a, b, c}. The Cartesian product A × B is:

A × B = {(1, a), (1, b), (1, c), (2, a), (2, b), (2, c), (3, a), (3, b), (3, c)}.

Now, consider a function f : A → B defined by the relation:

f = {(1, a), (2, b), (3, c)}.

The range of the function f is the set of all elements from B that appear as the second
component in the pairs of f . In this case:

Range of f = {a, b, c}.

Example 1.29
f (x) = x2

• x2 ≥ 0 for all real numbers x.

• Range: [0, ∞).

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 Example 1.30
g(x) = 2x + 1

• For every real number x, 2x + 1 can take any real value.

• Range: (−∞, ∞).

§1.5 Algebra of Functions

The algebra of functions refers to the operations that can be performed on functions, similar
to how algebraic operations are performed on numbers. These operations include addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division, and composition of functions.

§1.5.1 Addition of Functions

Given two functions f (x) and g(x), their sum is defined as:

(f + g)(x) = f (x) + g(x)

This function adds the values of f (x) and g(x) for the same input x.

Example 1.31
Let f (x) = x2 , g(x) = x + 1.

(f + g)(x) = f (x) + g(x) = x2 + (x + 1) = x2 + x + 1.

§1.5.2 Subtraction of Functions

For two functions f (x) and g(x), their difference is defined as:

(f − g)(x) = f (x) − g(x)

This function subtracts the value of g(x) from f (x) for the same input x.

Example 1.32
Using the functions defined in Example 1.31 (f − g)(x) = f (x) − g(x)

(f − g)(x) = x2 − (x + 1) = x2 − x − 1.

§1.5.3 Multiplication of Functions

The product of two functions f (x) and g(x) is:

(f · g)(x) = f (x) · g(x)

This function multiplies the values of f (x) and g(x) for the same input x.

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 Example 1.33
Using the functions defined in Example 1.31 (f · g)(x) = f (x) · g(x)

(f · g)(x) = x2 · (x + 1) = x3 + x2 .

§1.5.4 Division of Functions

The quotient of two functions f (x) and g(x) (where g(x) ̸= 0) is:
 
f f (x)
(x) =
g g(x)

This function divides f (x) by g(x) for the same input x, provided g(x) ̸= 0.

Example 1.34
Using
  the functions defined in Example 1.31
f f (x)
g (x) = g(x) , where g(x) ̸= 0

x2
 
f
(x) = , for x ̸= −1.
g x+1

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§1.6 Multiple choice Questions

Topic Name Jeevith Spr

Ordered pairs 8 1
5,6,9 2,5,7
6
Cartesian Products 1,3
12
1,3
2,4,7 4
13,14 8
11,15 11
Relations 12,13
16, 17
10,18 9,10
19,20
Function 21,22,23,28 15,17,19,20,22,27
24,25,26 16, 18,21,23,24,25,28

§1.7 Fill in the Blanks

Topic Name Jeevith Spr

Ordered pairs 3 32,35,36

1 34
Cartesian Products
2,4,5
13,14 8
Relations
1
Function 2,3,4,5

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§1.8 Subjective Questions(2 Marks)

Topic Name Jeevith Spr

Ordered pairs 1
17 53
Cartesian Products 5,7
6
30 50
32
Relations 40
46
41
Function 52

§1.9 Subjective Questions (3 marks)

Topic Name Jeevith Spr

Ordered pairs 1
Cartesian Products 16 58
62
23
Relations
27
35
39,61,65, 57
Function 41,44,46,59
60,61

§1.10 Subjective Questions (5 marks)

Topic Name Jeevith Spr

Functions 55, 59, 66,67,68, 71

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