Discrete Mathematics : Functions and Relations : Question 2c

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on determining whether the function g, defined as g(x) = 5x² + 7, is surjective (onto). A function is surjective if every element in the codomain has a corresponding element in the domain. The participants clarify that the range of g consists of values greater than or equal to 7, as g(x) cannot produce negative values or values less than 7. They conclude that since there are integers (like 0) not in the range of g, it is not a surjective function. The conversation emphasizes the importance of understanding the relationship between the domain and range to establish surjectivity.
Supierreious
Messages
21
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



c) Is 'g' a surjective function (onto) ? Justify your answer.

Homework Equations



Let 'f' be a relation on ℤ (the set of integers) , defined by the entrance requirement :

(x;y) ∊ ƒ iff y = x + 15

and let 'g' be the function on ℤ defined by the entrance requirement :

(x;y) ∊ g iff y = 5x(to the power of 2) + 7

The Attempt at a Solution



The steps I follow is the following :
1. Clarify to myself what surjective is.
2. Confirm the correct function or relation to use, and substitute the x and y with real values.
3. Write out the formula with the proof in the required format.

1 : Surjective :

When we have a function , with a set A and a set B, as example, and all the elements of set B is mapped to an element in A. f: A→B (function f on set A to B), is a surjective function if the range of f is equal to the codomain of f, ie, f[A]=B.

2. The function to use is : (x;y) ∊ g iff y = 5x2 + 7

g(1) = 5(1)2 + 7 = 32
g(2) = 5(2)2 + 7 = 107
g(3) = 5(3)2 + 7 = 232

Rewriting the (x;y) in each of the above examples :
(1;32)
(2;107)
(3;232)

* 3.

This is how far i have gotten. My set 'A' can be defined as {1;2;3} used in my example, but i am not sure what my set B is, and if i am not sure what my set B is , then i cannot really say if every element of my set B can be mapped to set A. Not sure if this makes sense :(
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Supierreious said:

Homework Statement



c) Is 'g' a surjective function (onto) ? Justify your answer.

Homework Equations



[STRIKE]Let 'f' be a relation on ℤ (the set of integers) , defined by the entrance requirement :

(x;y) ∊ ƒ iff y = x + 15 [/STRIKE]
The question is about g, so the information above about f seems to be extraneous.
Supierreious said:
and let 'g' be the function on ℤ defined by the entrance requirement :

(x;y) ∊ g iff y = 5x(to the power of 2) + 7

The Attempt at a Solution



The steps I follow is the following :
1. Clarify to myself what surjective is.
2. Confirm the correct function or relation to use, and substitute the x and y with real values.
3. Write out the formula with the proof in the required format.

1 : Surjective :

When we have a function , with a set A and a set B, as example, and all the elements of set B is mapped to an element in A. f: A→B (function f on set A to B), is a surjective function if the range of f is equal to the codomain of f, ie, f[A]=B.

2. The function to use is : (x;y) ∊ g iff y = 5x2 + 7

g(1) = 5(1)2 + 7 = 32
g(2) = 5(2)2 + 7 = 107
g(3) = 5(3)2 + 7 = 232
You aren't doing these correctly. To evaluate 5x2, replace x by whatever number you're working with, square that number, and then multiply by 5. There's a difference between 5x2 and (5x)2, which seems to be what you are doing.

For example, g(1) = 5(1)2 + 7 = 5*1 + 7 = 12, not 32.
Supierreious said:
Rewriting the (x;y) in each of the above examples :
(1;32)
(2;107)
(3;232)

* 3.

This is how far i have gotten. My set 'A' can be defined as {1;2;3} used in my example, but i am not sure what my set B is, and if i am not sure what my set B is , then i cannot really say if every element of my set B can be mapped to set A. Not sure if this makes sense :(

Isn't the domain of g all of the integers? If so, that would be your set A, assuming that's what you mean by A. To be able to say whether g is surjective, you need to get some more (correct) function values. When you do that, you will probably be able to answer the question.
 
Sorry, i see now, i am fixing this immediately.
 
Ok, so i have miscalculated this by far :

Incorrect values :

-------2. The function to use is : (x;y) ∊ g iff y = 5x2 + 7

g(1) = 5(1)2 + 7 = 32
g(2) = 5(2)2 + 7 = 107
g(3) = 5(3)2 + 7 = 232

Rewriting the (x;y) in each of the above examples :
(1;32)
(2;107)
(3;232)

-------

Correct Values :2. The function to use is : (x;y) ∊ g iff y = 5x2 + 7

g(1) = 5(1)2 + 7 = 12
g(2) = 5(2)2 + 7 = 27
g(3) = 5(3)2 + 7 = 52

Rewriting the (x;y) in each of the above examples :
(1;12)
(2;27)
(3;52)

------------

And the question is, is 'g' a surjective function.

Isn't the domain of g all of the integers? If so, that would be your set A, assuming that's what you mean by A. To be able to say whether g is surjective, you need to get some more (correct) function values. When you do that, you will probably be able to answer the question.

The domain would be ℤ , yes, all integers. I cannot find a limitation, and no limitation was specified. I have added the correct values for the range.

My problem is this :

a) I have 'domain' (x value) examples, and know it consist of ℤ. The range cannot possibly b
e ℤ, however if it is g: ℤ→ℤ , then ℤ includes negative elements as well? To me if the x is multiplied with itself, it will definitely be positive , and cannot be negative. (Correct me if i am wrong, looking at the function 'g')

Can you confirm what the range values will be ? After that, I should be able to see if it is surjective or not.

Thanks!
 
Supierreious said:
Correct Values :


2. The function to use is : (x;y) ∊ g iff y = 5x2 + 7

g(1) = 5(1)2 + 7 = 12
g(2) = 5(2)2 + 7 = 27
g(3) = 5(3)2 + 7 = 52

Rewriting the (x;y) in each of the above examples :
(1;12)
(2;27)
(3;52)

------------

And the question is, is 'g' a surjective function.

Isn't the domain of g all of the integers? If so, that would be your set A, assuming that's what you mean by A. To be able to say whether g is surjective, you need to get some more (correct) function values. When you do that, you will probably be able to answer the question.

The domain would be ℤ , yes, all integers. I cannot find a limitation, and no limitation was specified. I have added the correct values for the range.
The numbers you calculated are in the range (or codomain), but they aren't the range.
Supierreious said:
My problem is this :

a) I have 'domain' (x value) examples, and know it consist of ℤ. The range cannot possibly b
e ℤ, however if it is g: ℤ→ℤ , then ℤ includes negative elements as well?
Z includes all of the integers: positive, negative, and zero.
Supierreious said:
To me if the x is multiplied with itself, it will definitely be positive , and cannot be negative. (Correct me if i am wrong, looking at the function 'g')

Can you confirm what the range values will be ? After that, I should be able to see if it is surjective or not.
I think you're on the right track, so I'll give you a push. All you need to do to establish that g is not surjective is to find one value in Z that is not in the range of g.

It might be helpful to sketch a graph of g. Note that the graph is not a smooth curve -- it's a bunch of disconnected points that lie on a curve.
 
Thanks for your quick reply, I appreciate your assistance. i am quickly reading your reply. And thank you once again for the assistance, you are seriously helping me an insane amount here.
 
Sheez, i am still struggling a bit

I have attached the graph, however , if i go into a minus, it still gives positive values ( this graph was done on excel).

Further to this i did some more reading, and found something else which confuses me a bit more :)

Let me share this with you :


ran(g) = {g(x) | x ∊ ℤ}
= {5x2 + 7 | x ∊ ℤ }
= {y | for some x ∊ ℤ, y = 5x2 + 7 }
= {y | 5x2 = -7 } [this cannot be possible because it must be positive ]
= { y | don't know what else.. but it is confusing :D }

it cannot be equal to the codomain
 

Attachments

  • Physics forum q2c.png
    Physics forum q2c.png
    6.3 KB · Views: 551
Supierreious said:
Sheez, i am still struggling a bit

I have attached the graph, however , if i go into a minus, it still gives positive values ( this graph was done on excel).

Further to this i did some more reading, and found something else which confuses me a bit more :)

Let me share this with you :


ran(g) = {g(x) | x ∊ ℤ}
= {5x2 + 7 | x ∊ ℤ }
= {y | for some x ∊ ℤ, y = 5x2 + 7 }
OK to here, but incorrect in the next step. You are assuming that y = 0 for some x. Your graph should show you that this is not true. IOW, 0 is not in the range of g.
Supierreious said:
= {y | 5x2 = -7 } [this cannot be possible because it must be positive ]
= { y | don't know what else.. but it is confusing :D }

it cannot be equal to the codomain
Who is "it"?
 
I see ( i think i see.. :)


So i took away the y, which i cannot really do. but after a cup of coffee I saw.

so let me do the next step again :

y = 5x2 + 7
y - 7 = 5x2

y-7
---- = x2
5

So y cannot be a couple of things :

a) it cannot be less than 7
b) it must be a multiple of 5, and if it is, it must be possible to calculate the square root, because x is a ℤ, and thus the left hand side of the formula must amount to the sqaure root of any ℤ,

Not sure if i am on the right track here :)
 
  • #10
I double checked the graph values - and i think that the scale is just right, however y will be 7 when x = 0 :X Y
-10 507
-9 412
-8 327
-7 252
-6 187
-5 132
-4 87
-3 52
-2 27
-1 12
0 7
1 12
2 27
3 52
4 87
5 132
6 187
7 252
8 327
9 412
10 507
 
  • #11
Supierreious said:
I see ( i think i see.. :)


So i took away the y, which i cannot really do. but after a cup of coffee I saw.

so let me do the next step again :

y = 5x2 + 7
y - 7 = 5x2

y-7
---- = x2
5

So y cannot be a couple of things :

a) it cannot be less than 7
b) it must be a multiple of 5, and if it is, it must be possible to calculate the square root, because x is a ℤ, and thus the left hand side of the formula must amount to the sqaure root of any ℤ,
a) Yes, y cannot be less than 7 (equivalently, y >= 7).
b) No, y is not a multiple of 5, but y - 7 must be a multiple of 5. Further, y - 7 must be a multiple of 5 such that (y - 7)/5 is a perfect square. For example, y = 12 satisfies these criteria, because 12 - 7 = 5, and 5/5 = 1, which is a perfect square.

However, I think you're getting a bit lost in the weeds. All you need to do is find a number in Z (the domain of g) that is not also in the range of g. If you can find such a number, which should be easy now, you can say whether g is surjective.


Supierreious said:
Not sure if i am on the right track here :)
 
Back
Top