What is Function?

 A function assigns exactly one element of one set to each element of other sets.

 A function is a rule that assigns each input exactly one output.

 A function f from A to B is an assignment of exactly one element of B to each element of

A (where A and B are non-empty sets).

 A function f from set A to set B is represented as f: A ⇢ B where A is called the domain of

f and B is called as codomain of f.

 If b is a unique element of B to element a of A assigned by function F then, it is written as

f(a) = b.

 Function f maps A to B means f is a function from A to B i.e. f: A ⇢ B

Pre-Image and Image of a Function

A function f: A ⇢ B such that for each a ∈ A, there exists a unique b ∈ B such that (a, b) ∈ R
then, a is called the pre-image of f and b is called the image of f.
Domain of a Function
 If f is a function from set A to set B then, A is called the domain of function f.
 The set of all inputs for a function is called its domain.
Codomain (Range) of a Function
 If f is a function from set A to set B then, B is called the codomain of function f.
 The set of all allowable outputs for a function is called its codomain.

Types of Function

Some of the common types of functions are:

 One-One Function
 Many-One Function
 Onto Function
 Into Function
 One-One Correspondent Function
 One-One Into Function
 Many-One Onto Function
 Many-One Into Function

One-One Function ( or Injective Function):

A function in which one element of the domain is connected to one element of the codomain.

A function f: A ⇢ B is said to be a one-one (injective) function if different elements of A have

different images in B.
f: A ⇢ B is one-one
⇒ a ≠ b ⇒ f(a) ≠ f(b) for all a, b ∈ A
⇒ f(a) = f(b) ⇒ a = b for all a, b ∈ A

Many-One Function

A function f: A ⇢ B is said to be a many-one function if two or more elements of set A have

the same image in B.

A function f: A ⇢ B is a many-one function if it is not a one-one function.

f: A ⇢ B is many-one.

⇒ a ≠ b but f(a) = f(b) for all a, b ∈ A

Onto Function( or Surjective Function)

A function f: A ⇢ B is said to be onto (surjective) function if every element of B is an image

of some element of A i.e. f(A) = B or range of f is the codomain of f.

A function in which every element of the codomain has one pre-image.

f: A ⇢ B is onto if for each b∈ B, there exists a∈ A such that f(a) = b.

Into Function

A function f: A ⇢ B is said to be an into a function if there exists an element in B with no pre-

image in A.

A function f: A⇢ B is into function when it is not onto.

One-One Correspondent Function (or Bijective Function or One-One Onto

Function)

A function which is both one-one and onto (both injective and surjective) is called one-one
correspondent(bijective) function.

f : A ⇢ B is one-one correspondent (bijective) if:

 one-one i.e. f(a) = f(b)

o ⇒ a = b for all a, b ∈ A

 onto i.e. for each b ∈ B, there exists

o a ∈ A such that f(a) = b.

One-One Into Function

A function that is both one-one and into is called one-one into function.

Many-One Onto Function

A function that is both many-one and onto is called many-one onto function.
Many-One Into Function

A function that is both many-one and into is called many-one into function.
Composite Functions
In Maths, the composition of a function is an operation where two functions say f and g generate
a new function say h in such a way that h(x) = g(f(x)). It means here function g is applied to the
function of x. So, basically, a function is applied to the result of another function.

Let’s have a look at the definition of a composite function.

Let f : A → B and g : B → C be two functions. Then the composition of f and g, denoted by g ∘

f, is defined as the function g ∘ f : A → C given by g ∘ f (x) = g(f (x)), ∀ x ∈ A.

The below figure shows the representation of composite functions.

The order of function is an important thing while dealing with the composition of functions since
(f ∘ g) (x) is not equal to (g ∘ f) (x).

The relation and function is an important concept of Class 11 and 12. See below the function
composition symbol and domain with example.

Symbol: It is also denoted as (g∘f)(x), where ∘ is a small circle symbol. We cannot replace ∘
with a dot (.), because it will show as the product of two functions, such as (g.f)(x).

Domain: f(g(x)) is read as f of g of x. In the composition of (f o g) (x) the domain of function f

becomes g(x). The domain is a set of all values which go into the function.

Example: If f(x) = 3x+1 and g(x) = x2 , then f of g of x, f(g(x)) = f(x2) = 3x2+1.

If we reverse the function operation, such as f of f of x, g(f(x)) = g(3x+1) = (3x+1)2

Properties of Function Compositions

Associative Property: As per the associative property of function composition, if there are three
functions f, g and h, then they are said to be associative if and only if;

f ∘ (g ∘ h) = (f ∘ g) ∘ h

Commutative Property: Two functions f and g are said to be commute with each other, if and
only if;

g∘f=f∘g

Few more properties are:

 The function composition of one-to-one function is always one to one.

 The function composition of two onto function is always onto
 The inverse of the composition of two functions f and g is equal to the composition of the
inverse of both the functions, such as (f ∘ g)-1 = ( g-1 ∘ f-1).

How to Solve Composite Functions

In maths, solving a composite function signifies getting the composition of two functions. A
small circle (∘) is used to denote the composition of a function.
Go through the below-given steps to understand how to solve the given composite function.
Step 1: First write the given composition in a different way.
Consider f(x) = x2 and g(x) = 3x
Now,
(f ∘ g) (x) can be written as f[g(x)].
Step 2: Substitute the variable x that is there in the outside function with the inside function by
taking the individual functions as a reference.
That means,
(f ∘ g)(x) = f(3x) {since g(x) = 3x}
Step 3: Finally, simplify the obtained function.
(f ∘ g)(x) = f(3x) = (3x)2 {since f(x) = x2}
= 9x2

Function Composition With Itself

It is possible to compose a function with itself. Suppose f is a function, then the composition of
function f with itself will be

(f∘f)(x) = f(f(x))

Let us understand this with an example:

Example: If f(x) = 3x2, then find (f∘f)(x).

Solution: Given: f(x) = 3x2

(f∘f)(x) = f(f(x))
= f (3x2)
= 3(3x)2
= 3.9x2
= 27x2

Example of Composition of Functions

Q.1: If f (x) = 2x and g(x) = x+1, then find (f∘g)(x) if x = 1.

Solution: Given, f(x) = 2x

g(x) = x+ 1
Therefore, the composition of f from g will be;
(f∘g)(x) = f(g(x)) = f(x+1) = 2(x+1)
Now putting the value of x = 1
f(g(1)) = 2(1+1) = 2 (2) = 4
Q.2: If f(x) = 2x +1 and g(x) = -x2, then find (g∘f)(x) for x = 2.

Solution: Given,
f(x) = 2x+1
g(x) = -x2
To find: g(f(x))
g(f(x)) = g(2x+1) = -(2x+1)2
Now put x =2 to get;
g(f(2)) = -(2.2+1)2
= -(4+1)2
=-(5)2
=-25
Q.3: If there are three functions, such as f(x) = x, g(x) = 2x and h(x) = 3x. Then find the
composition of these functions such as [f ∘ (g ∘ h)] (x) for x = -1.

Solution: Given,
f(x) = x
g(x) = 2x
h(x) = 3x
To find: [f ∘ (g ∘ h)] (x)
[f ∘ (g ∘ h)] (x) = f ∘ (g(h(x)))
= f ∘ g(3x)
= f(2(3x))
= f(6x)
= 6x
If x = -1, then;
[f ∘ (g ∘ h)] (-1) = 6(-1) = -6