BASIC MATHEMATICS

Chapter 1

1.1

1.2
Introduction

Venn Diagrams
Sets

1
1.3 Equality of Sets

1.4 Subsets

1.5 Empty Set and Singleton

1.6 Operations on Sets

1.7 Number of Elements in a Finite Set

1.1 Introduction

1. A set is a collection of definite, distinguishable objects.

Example { chairs , desks , tables } is a set of furniture.
{ a , e , i , o , u } is a set of vowels.
{ 0 , 1 , −1 , 2 , −2 , 3 , −3 , ... } is a set of integers.

2. The objects of a set is called the elements or members of the set.

Example a , e , i , o and u are the elements of the set of vowels.

3. Expressing a set in two ways:

(a) Tabular form :
Examples { a , e , i , o , u } is the set of vowels.
{0 , 2 , −2 , 4 , −4 , ...} is a set containing all the even numbers.
(b) Set-Builder form :
Example { x : x is a vowels } is the set of vowels.
Example { x : x is an even number } is a set containing all the even numbers.

4. If x is a member of a set A , we write x  A.

If x is not belong to a set A , we write x  A.
Examples If A = { x : x is a vowel } , then a  A , u  A , but g  A.
If B = { x : x is an integer greater than 11 } , then 20  B , 999  B ,
but 11  B.

5. Sets containing finite number of objects are called finite sets. Otherwise, it is
called an infinite set.
Examples { x : x is a vowel } is a finite set.
{ x : x is an integer greater than 11 } is a infinite set.

6. Some symbols are frequently adopted:

1. N denoted the set of all positive integers.
N = { 1, 2, 3, 4, ... }
2. Z denoted the set of all integers.
Z = { 0, 1, −1, 2, −2, ... }
 p
3. Q={ : p, q  Z and q  0 } is the set of rational numbers.
q
4. Q+ = { x : x  Q and x > 0 }
5. R = { x : x is a real number } is the set of real numbers
6. R+ = { x : x  R and x > 0 }
7. C = { x + yi : x , y  R and i2 = −1 } is the set of complex numbers

1.2 Venn Diagrams

A = {a, e, i, o, u} , B = {1, 2, 3, 4} , C = {3, 4, 5, 6, 7} , D = {5}
A D
B 5
a u e
i o 1 3 7 6 C
2 4

1.3 Equality of Sets

Definition 1.1 Two sets are said to be equal if and only if they contain the same
elements.

i.e. A = B if x  A  x  B

Examples {1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3} = {1, 2, 3}

{1, 2, 3, 4, 5} = {2, 5, 4, 1, 3}

1.4 Subsets

Definition 1.2 A set A is said to be a subset of another set B , denoted by A  B, if and

only if every
element of A is an element of B.

i.e. A  B if  x , x  A  x  B

Examples {1, 2, 3}  {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

{4, 5, 6}  {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
A B
ZQR.

Definition 1.3 If A  B and A  B , A is called a proper subset of B.

Theorem 1.1. (a) A  A , for every set A.

(b) if A  B and B  C , then A  C.
(c) A = B if and only if A  B and B  A.

Proof : (a) x,xA  xA

AA.
(b) Since A  B
  x , x  A  x  B ............(1)
Also , since B  C
  x , x  B  x  C .............(2)
From (1) and (2), we have
x,xA  xC
i.e. AC

N.B. A  B if  x , x  A and x  B.

1.5 Empty Set and Singleton

Definition 1.4 The empty set, denoted by , is a set which contains no element.

i.e.  = { x : x  x } is unique

Examples { x | x > 3 and x < 3 } is an empty set

{ x | x is an real number and sin x = 2 } is an empty set

Theorem 1.2. For any set A ,   A

N.B. NZQRC

Definition 1.5 A set containing exactly one element is called a singleton.

Example {x}, {2}, {} is a singleton

 

N.B. (1) {} is not an empty set

(2)   {}

1.6 Operations on Sets

Definition 1.6 The intersection of A and B , denoted by A  B , is defined as

A  B = { x | x  A and x  B }.

i.e. x  A  B iff x  A and x  B

A AB B A B A
B

Examples Let A = { a, b, c, d } , B = { c, d, e, f } . Then A  B = {c, d }

Let A = { x  Z : x  3 }, B = { x  Z : x < 8 } .
Then A  B = { x  Z : 3  x < 8 }

A = { x  Z : x is an even number } , B = { x  Z : x is the multiple of 3 }

Then A  B =

Definition 1.7 Two sets A and B are said to be disjoint iff A  B = .

A B A
B

Example Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {4, 5}. Are A and B disjoint?

Solution: Since A  B =  , A and B are disjoint.

Theorem 1.3. If C is a subset of the sets A and B , then C  A  B.

Definition 1.8 The union of A and B , denoted by A  B , is defined as
A  B = { x | x  A or x  B }.

i.e. x  A  B iff x  A or x  B

AB
AB

A B A
B

Example Given that A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} , B = {3, 4, 5, 6, 7} , C = {1, 3, 5, 7}.

Then A  B = ABC=

Theorem 1.4. Let A , B and C be any three sets. Then we have

(a) Idemptotent Laws:
(i) AA=A
(ii) AA=A
(b) Commutative Laws:
(i) AA=AA
(ii) AA=AA
(c) Associative Laws:
(i) (A  B)  C = A  (B  C)
(ii) (A  B)  C = A  (B  C)
(d) Distributive Laws:
(i) (A  B)  C = (A  C)  (B  C)
(ii) (A  B)  C = (A  C)  (B  C)
(iii) C  (A  B) = (C  A)  (C  B)
(iv) C  (A  B) = (C  A)  (C  B)
(v) (A  B)  (C  D) =
 (e) Identity Laws:
(i) A=
(ii) A   = A.

Theorem 1.5. Let A and B be any two sets. Then

(a) A  B  A and A  B  B
(b) A  A  B and B  A  B.

Theorem 1.6. Let A , B , C and D be any four sets. If A  C and B  D , then

(a) ABCD
(b) A  B  C  D.

Definition 1.9 Let A be a subset of E. The complement of A in E is the set

A = E \ A = { x : x  E and x  A }.

E E \ A = A where
AE
A

e.g. If A = { x : x  3 or x  8 } , then R \ A = { x : 3 < x < 8 }

e.g. R\= , R\R=
Def.1.9The relative complement of a set B in another set A is the set
A \ B = { x : x  A and x  B } = A  B

E
A\B B \ A = B  A where
B = E \ B

A B

Example Let A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 }, B = { 2, 4, 6, 8 }, C = { 1, 3, 5 }
Then A\B= B\A=
C\B= C\A=
Theorem 1.7. Complement Laws:
Let A be a subset of a set E. Then
(a) A\A= (e) A  A =
(b) A\=A (f) A  A =
(c) \A= (g) E =
(d) (A) = A (h)  =

Proof : (a) xA\A  x  A and x  A

 x
Hence A \ A = 
Alternatively,
A \ A = A  A = A  (E \ A) = 

(d) x  (A)  x  E and x  A

 x  E and x  A
 xA

Theorem 1.9. Let A and B be a subset of a set E. Then

(A \ B) = A  B'

Example 1 Let A and B be two subsets of a set E . Prove that

(a) (A \ B)  (B \ A) = 
(b) A  (B \ A) = 

Solution: (a) (A \ B)  (B \ A) = (A  B)  (B  A)

= (A  A)  (B  B)
= 
= 

Example 2 Let A and B be any two sets.

Prove that if A \ B =  and B \ A =  , then A = B.
Theorem 1.9. De Morgan‘s Laws:
Let A and B be two subsets of E. Then
(a) (A  B) = A  B
(b) (A  B) = A  B, where A = E \ A, B = E \ B.

1.7 Number of Elements in a Finite Set

1. Let n(A) denote the number of elements in a set A.

Example If A = {a, b, c, d}, then n(A) = 4

2. n(A  B) = n(A) + n(B) − n(A  B)

If A  B =  , n(A B) = n(A) + n(B)

3. n(A \ B) = n(A) − n(A  B)

Example In a class of 40 students, every student studies either Computer Applications or

Calculus I.
If there are 30 students studying Computer Applications and 20 students studying
Calculus I,
how many students study both?

Solution : Let A = the set of students studying Computer Applications

B = the set of students studying Calculus I
Then A  B = the set of students studying both
n(A  B) = n(A) + n(B) − n(A  B)
= 30 + 20 − 40
= 10
Hence, 10 students study both subjects.
Chapter 2 Functions

2.1 Introduction

2
2.2 Direct Images and Inverse Images

2.3 Composition of Functions

2.4 Constant Function and Identity Function

2.5. Injective, Surjective and Bijective Functions

2.6. Some Special Real Functions

2.7 Elementary Functions

 2.8. Revision Exercise

2.1 Introduction

Given a set A which has two elements x, y .

We denote A = x, yor A = y, x. We can write A either equals x, y or y, x . It is unordered
pair.
In coordinate system, the x and y coordinates are written in ( x, y) ( ( y, x ) ) . It is ordered pair.
It is easy to see that two ordered pairs ( x1 , y1 ) and ( x 2 , y 2 ) are equal if and only if x1 = x 2 and
y1 = y 2 .

Definition 2.1. A function (or a mapping ) from a set A into a set B , is defined as
f : A →B
(i) Pr1 f = A
(ii) (a1 , b1 ), (a 2 , b2 )  f , if a1 = a 2 , then b1 = b2 .
For any a  A , f (a ) is unique.
f (a) − value of f at a .
Pr1 f is the first projection of the ordered pair of f .
Pr2 f − Image of f
A − Domain of f
B − Range of f

Example Let A = 1,2,3,4,5 , B = a, b, c, d , e

The following are functions (mappings) from A to B .
f1 = (1, a ), (2, c), (3, b), (4, c)
f 2 = (1, d ), (2, c), (3, b), (4, a )

The following are not functions (mappings) from A to B .

g1 = (1, a ), (2, b), (3, c)
g 2 = (1, a ), (1, b), (2, a ), (3, a ), (4, c )
g3 = (1, d ), (2, e), (3, f ), (4, h)
Remark A function of real variable is a function whose domain is the set of all real
numbers or a subset of R . A real-valued function is a function whose range is the
set of all real numbers.
Example Let x  R , find the domain as long as possible of each of the following

functions.

(a) f ( x) = 2 x − 5

1
(b) f ( x) =
x

(c) f ( x) = x

x
(d) f ( x) =
x − 2x − 3
2

(e) f ( x) = 1 − x

1
(f) f ( x) = sin x
x

(g) f ( x) = tan x

1
(h) f ( x) =
sin x

(i) f ( x) = log( x − 1)

(j) f ( x ) = sin x

Example If f ( x ) = x , x  0 , then f : [0,+) → [0,+)

Example In the following, which is/are graph(s) of a function(s) of x ?

Example For each of the following pairs of functions, are they identical ? If no,
explain.
x
(a) f ( x) = , g( x) = 1
x
(b) f ( x) = x , g ( x ) = x 2
(c) f ( x) = 1, g( x) = sin 2 x + cos2 x
(d) f ( x) = ln x 2 and g( x) = 2 ln x

2.2 Direct Images and Inverse Images

Definition 2.2 Let f : A → B be a function from A to B and X  A .

The direct image ( image ) of X under f ( f X ) is defined as
f  X  =  f (a ) : a  X 

Example (1) Let the function f : A → B be represented by the following figure.

If X = 2,3,4 , then f X  =  f (2), f (3), f (4) = b, d , e .

(2) g : 0,2 ) → C
g( x) = cos x + i sin x , where i 2 = −1 .
If X = 0,   , then g X  is a unit semi-circle above the real axis.

Definition 2.3 Let f : A → B be a function from A to B and Y  B .

( )
The Inverse image f −1 Y  of Y under f is defined as

f −1 Y  = x : x  A and f ( x)  f 
EXAMPLE (1) LET THE FUNCTION f : A → B BE REPRESENTED BY THE
FOLLOWING FIGURE.

If Y = 2,3,4 , then f −1[Y ] = a, b, c, d .

(2) Let f : R → R . f ( x) = sin x . f −1 0 =

2.3 Composition of Functions

Definition 2.4 Let f : A → B and g : B → C be two functions. The composition of f and g ,

denoted by g  f , is a function from A to C such that a  A , g  f (a) = c

with f (a) = b and g(b) = c, where b  B.

i.e. ( g  f )(a ) = g ( f (a ) ) , a  A .

Example Let A = 1,2,3,4,5 , B = x, y, z, w , C = a, b, c, d , e, f  .

f = (1, x ), (2, y), (3, z ), (4, z ), (5, x )

g = ( x, a ), ( y, d ), ( z, e), ( w, a )

g  f = (1, a ), (2, d ), (3, e), (4, e), (5, a )

Example If f ( x) = sin x , x  R , g ( x ) = 1 − x , x  (−,1] ,

then g  f = 1− sin x , x  R .
f : R → − 1,1 , g : (−,1] → 0, 

Example Given that f ( x) = 2 x + 1 , g( x) = x 2 + 1 x  R

Find f  g(0) = g  f (0)

 =

f  f ( x − 1) =

( f  ( g  f ))( x) =

Example Let f : R → R be a function defined by f ( x) = x 2 + 1 .

Find f [−2,1) , f [0,1] , f −1 [0,5] , f −1 [10,26] .

2x − 7
Example Let f ( x ) = , evaluate f  f    f (x ) .
x +1 
1997 times

2.4 Constant Function and Identity Function

Definition 2.5 Let A and B be two sets and b  B . A function (or mapping) f : A → B is
called a constant function if and only if f (a) = b, a  A .

Example f : R → R defined by f ( x) = 2, x  R is a constant function.

Definition 2.6 A function f : A → A is called an identity function of A if and only if

f (a) = a, a  A .

Definition Let A, B be two sets. f and g are two real-valued functions defined on A and
B
respectively. Then,

(1) ( f + g)( x) = f ( x) + g( x), x  A  B;

(2) ( f − g)( x) = f ( x) − g( x), x  A  B;

(3) (cf )( x) = cf ( x), x  A;

(4) ( fg)( x) = f ( x) g( x), x  A  B;

 f
x  A  B \ x : g ( x ) = 0
f ( x)
(5)  ( x ) = ,
g g( x)

Example (1) Let f ( x ) = x , x  0 and g( x) = x 2 − 1,  x  1.

Then ( f + g)( x) = f ( x) + g( x) = x + x 2 − 1,  x  1.

(2) Let f ( x) = log x, x  0 and g( x) = sin x, x  R.

f
, x  (0,+) \ n : n  N .
log x
Then  ( x ) =
g sin x

2.5 Injective, Surjective and Bijective Functions

Definition 2.7 Let f : A → B be a function (or mapping) . f is called an injection ( injective

function, one to one function ) if and only if the following holds:
a1 , a 2  A, if f (a1 ) = f (a 2 ), then a1 = a 2 .
( or equivalently, a1 , a 2  A, if a1  a 2 , then f (a1 )  f (a 2 ) ).

Example (1) The function f ( x) = log10 x,

( x  0) is injective from the set (0,+) to R .

(2) The function g( x) = x 2 ,

x  R is not injective from R to R ,
since it is easy to find x1  x 2 but g ( x1 )  g ( x 2 ) .
Now, if the domain of g is restricted to [0,+) ,
it would become injective.
Example Let f : R → R be a function defined by
f ( x) = sin x
(x  R)
Is f injective? Why?
Solution

Example Let f : R → R be a function defined by

f ( x) = x + 3
(x  R)
Prove that f is injective.
Solution

Example Let f : R 2 → C be a function defined by

f ((a, b)) = a + bi
((a, b)  R )
2

Prove that f is injective.

Solution

Example Let a, b, c, d be real numbers and c  0 .

 d ax + b
f : R \ −  → R be a function defined by f ( x ) = .
 c cx + d
Show that if ad − bc  0 , then f is injective.

Definition 2.8 Let f : A → B be a function (or mapping) . f is called a surjection (surjective

function, onto function) if and only if the following holds:
Pr2 f = B
(or equivalently, b  B, if a  A such that b = f (a). )
Example (1) The function f ( x) = x 3 , x  R is surjective from R to R .
(2) The function g( x) = sin x, x  R is not surjective from R to R , but is
surjective from R to [−1,1] .

Example Let f : R → R be a function defined by

f ( x) = x 2
(x  R)
Prove that f is not surjective.
Solution For any x  R, x 2  0 .
Hence, the pre-image of any negative element of the range R does not exist.
For example, −1 R but the pre-image of − 1 under f is purely
imaginary.
That is the pre-image of − 1 under f does not belong to R , and so f is
not surjective.

Remark If the range of f is change to

Then f becomes surjective.
1
Example Show that the function f : R → (0,1] defined by f ( x) = is
x +1
2

surjective.
Solution

Example Let f : C → C be a function satisfying f (az1 + bz2 ) = af ( z1 ) + bf ( z 2 ) for

any real
numbers a and b and any z1 , z 2  C . Show that
(a) f (0) = 0 ,
(b) f is injective if and only if when f ( z) = 0 we have z = 0 .
Solution

Definition 2.9 Let f : A → B be a function (or mapping) . f is called a bijection ( bijective

function or
one-one correspondence) if and only if f is both injective and surjective.

Let f : A → B be a function, the set S = ( x, y) : ( y, x )  f  may not be a function from B and

 A.
In order to make S also a function, f itself must be bijective.
The function so formed is known as inverse function.

Definition 2.10 Let f : A → B be a bijective function (or a bijective mapping), the set
( x, y) : ( y, x)  f 
is defined as the inverse function or inverse mapping of the function f ,
denoted by f −1 ,
i.e. f −1 = ( x, y) : ( y, x)  f  and f −1 is then a function from B to A .

Remark The inverse function of a bijective function is also bijective function.

Example (1) Let A = 1,2,3 , B = x, y, z , and f = (1, x ), (2, y ), (3, z ) is a bijective
function from
A to B . The inverse of f is f −1 = ( x,1), ( y,2), ( z,3).

(2) The function f ( x) = 2 x − 1 , x  R is bijective from R to R . Then the

x +1
, x  R .
−1
inverse function of f is f ( x ) =
2
Find the inverse function.
(3) The function f ( x) = log10 x , x  0 is a bijection from R + to R .

Then the inverse function of f is f −1 ( x) = 10 x , x  0 .

(4) The function f ( x) = x 2 , x  [0,+) is a bijection from [0,+) to [0,+) .

−1
Then the inverse function of f is f ( x ) = x 0.

Example Each of the following is a function from R to R . State whichj one is

injective (one to one),
Which is surjective (onto) and which is bijective ( one-one
correspondence)?
(a) f ( x) = 10 x (b) f ( x) = x + 1
 x2 −1
 , x 1
(c) f ( x) =  x − 1
 1, x =1

(d) f ( x) = x( x 2 − 1) (e) f ( x) = x 2 sin x
(f) f ( x) = x 3 + 1
Solution

2.6 Some Special Real Functions

A. Even and Odd Functions

Definition 2.11 A function f (x) is said to be an even function if f (− x) = f ( x) .

Example f ( x ) = x , f ( x ) = x 2 , f ( x ) = cos x on R are even functions.

Example Prove that the function f ( x) = x sin x on R is an even function.

Solution

Remark Graph of an Even Function

Definition A function f (x) is said to be an odd function if f (− x) = − f ( x) .

Example f ( x) = x 3 , f ( x) = sin x on R are odd functions.

Remark Graph of an Odd Function

• the graph must be passing through

the origin
• the graph remains the same when it
is rotated anti-clockwise ( or
clockwise ) through an angle of 
( we say that the graph is
symmetrical about the origin)

Theorem Properties of Even and Odd

Functions
(1) The sum of two even functions is even.
(2) The sum of two odd functions is odd.
(3) The product of two even functions is even.
(4) The product of two odd functions is even.
(5) The product of an even function and an odd function is odd.

Proof

Example Given that f : R → R such that x, y  R

f ( xy) = f ( x) + f ( y) .
Find f (1) and f (−1) .
Hence show that f is even.
Solution

Example Given that f : R → R such that x, y  R

f ( x + y) + f ( x − y) = 2 f ( x) f ( y) where
f (0)  0 .
Show that f is even.
Solution
Example Let f be a function on R such that

f ( x − y) = f ( x) f ( y) − f (a − x) f (a + y) ( x, y  R)
where a is a positive constant.
If f (0) = 1, find f (a ) .
Hence show that f is even.
Solution

B. Bounded Functions

Let f be a function defined on the set of real numbers A and M be a positive constant.
(1) For any x  A , if
f ( x)  M
then f is said to be bounded from above on A . M is called an upper bound of f .
(2) For any x  A , if
f ( x)  M
then f is said to be bounded from below on A . M is called an lower bound of f .
(3) For any x  A , if
f ( x)  M
then f is said to be bounded on A .
Obviously, a function which is bounded from above and also bounded from below must be a
bounded function.
From the definition of bounded function, it is obvious that the graph of a bounded function lies
between two horizontal straight lines y = M and y = − M as shown in figure.

Example The
function f ( x) = x 2 on R is bounded from below by 0 since x 2  0 .
 However, it is not bounded from above.

Example The trigonometric functions f ( x) = cos x and f ( x) = sin x on R are

bounded functions
since
sin x  1 and cos x  1
f ( x) = tan x, f ( x) = sec x, f ( x) = csc x are not bounded functions.
Solution

Example Let f : R → R be a real function such that

f ( x + y) = f ( x ) f ( y)
(x, y  R)
(a) Show that f is bounded from below by 0 .
(b) Furthermore, if f is not identically equal to zero,
(i) find f (0).
(ii) show that f ( x)  0
(x  R)
Solution

C. Monotonic Functions

Definition 2.12 Let f be a function defined on the set of real numbers A .

(1) f is said to be monotonically increasing on A if and only if
a  b  f (a)  f (b)
(a, b  A)
On the other hand, f is said to be strictly increasing on A if and
only if
a  b  f (a)  f (b)
(a, b  A)
(2) f is said to be monotonically decreasing on A if and only if
a  b  f (a)  f (b)
(a, b  A)
On the other hand, f is said to be strictly decreasing on A if and
only if
a  b  f (a)  f (b)
(a, b  A)
Example By sketching the graphs of y = x and y = x 2 , it is obvious that y = x is an
increasing function on R while the function y = x 2 is decreasing on (−,0] and
increasing on
[0,+) .
Solution

1
Example Show that the function y = is strictly decreasing on (0,+) .
x
Solution

Theorem Let f : R → R be a bijective function.

If f is strictly increasing, then f −1 is also strictly increasing;
If f is strictly decreasing, then f −1 is also strictly decreasing.
Proof

Example Let f : R → R be bijective and a1  a2    an , where n  2 .

(a) Suppose f is strictly increasing. Prove that its inverse f −1 is also strictly
1 n 
incresing and deduce that a1  f −1   f (a k )   a n .
 n k =1 
(b) Define h( x ) = pf ( x ) + q, where p, q  R and p  0 .
x−q
Show that h −1 ( x ) = f −1 ( )
p
1 n  1 n 
and deduce that h −1   h(a k )  = f −1   f (a k ) 
 n k =1   n k =1 
Solution

D. Periodic Functions

Definition Let y = f (x) be a function defined on R . If there exists a positive constant T

such that
f ( x + T ) = f ( x) (x  R)
 f (x) is called a periodic function with period T .

From definition, f (x −T) =

Similarly, f ( x + 2T ) =

Hence, we have f ( x + nT ) = f ( x) , where n is an integer,

and so if T is the period of a periodic function f (x) , then any multiple of T is also a period
of f (x) .
In general, we select the smallest positive period as the period of the periodic function.

Example (a) If f (x) is a periodic function with period T , prove that f (wx ) is also a periodic
function
T
of period .
w
(b) Find the period of the function y = sin(wx +  )
Solution

THEOREM PROPERTIES ON COMBINING PERIODIC FUNCTIONS

Let y = f (x) and y = g(x) be two periodic functions with the smallest positive
periods S and T respectively.
S f
If is a rational number, then f + g, f − g, fg and are periodic functions.
T g
Proof

Example (a) Suppose f : R → R is a function satisfying f (a + x) = f (a − x) and

f (b + x) = f (b − x) for all x , where a, b are constants and a  b .
Let w = 2(a − b) . Show that w is a period of f , i.e., f ( x + w) = f ( x) for
all x  R .
(b) Suppose g : R → R is a periodic function with period T  0
satisfying g( x) = g(− x)
for all x . Show that there exists c with 0  c  T such that
g(c + x) = g(c − x) x .
Solution
Example Given that f : R → R satisfies the following relation
1
f ( x + a ) = + f ( x ) − [ f ( x )]2 ,
2
where a is a real constant.
Show that f (x) is a periodic function with period 2a .
Solution

Example Let f : [−1,1] → [0,  ] , f ( x) = arc cos x and g : R → R ,

g( x) = f (cos x) .
Show that g(x) is even and periodic.
Solution

2.7 Elementary Functions

I. Constant Function

A constant function is a function of which the image of every

element of the domain is the same. That is, if c is a constant,
then y = c is a constant function.

II. Exponential Function

Let a be a real constant. Then the function y = a x (0  a  1)

is an exponential function.
(1) The domain of an exponential function is R .
(2) The graph of an exponential function is shown in the figure:
(3) When 0  a  1 , the exponential function a x is strictly
decreasing.
When a  1 , the exponential function a x is strictly
increasing.
(4) In particular, when a = e , an irrational number which is
approximately equal to 2.7182828, we write y = exp x to denote the function y = e x .

III. Logarithmic Function

Let a be a real constant. Then the function y = loga x , (0  a  1) is
called a logarithmic function.

In particular, when a = e , the logarithmic function loge x or

sometimes denoted by ln x , is called the natural logarithm of x . It is
the inverse function of y = exp x and is another important function in
mathematical analysis.

IV. Greatest Integer Function

The greatest integer function, denoted by y = [x] , is the

greatest integer less than or equal to x .
That is, y = [ x] = n (n  x  n + 1, n  Z )

For example, [3.1] = 3, [4] = 4 , [−0.5] = −1, [−3.5] = −4

Its graph is shown in the figure:

2.8 Revision Exercise

Example Let f : R → R be a real function such that

x, y  R, f ( x + y) = f ( x) + f ( y).

(a) Show that f (nx ) = nf ( x) for all positive integers n  1 .

(b) If f is not identically equal to zero, show that f is not bounded.
Solution

Example A function f : R → R is said to be additive if

f ( x + y) = f ( x) + f ( y), x, y  R .

(a) Let f be an additive function.

(i) Show that for all integers n , f (nx ) = nf ( x).
Hence deduce that f (rx) = rf ( x) for any rational number
r.
(ii) By using the first result of (a)(i) show that if f is also
bounded on R , then
f (x) is identically equal to zero.

(b) Suppose g is an additive function and is bounded on the interval

[0, a] , where a is a

positive real constant. Let h : R → R be a function defined by

g (a )
h( x ) = x − g( x) ,
a
x  R.
(i) Show that h is additive and bounded on [0, a] .

(ii) Show that h is a periodic function with period a .

Hence deduce that h is a bounded function.
g (a )
(iii) Prove that g ( x ) = x.
a