Function Composition: Simplifying f((f(t)-f(s))?

Screwdriver
Messages
125
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



If f is some function defined at points "s" and "t," is there any way to simplify the following expression?

f((f(t)-f(s))

Homework Equations



None that I know of.

The Attempt at a Solution



I've been tinkering with this for a while and so far, I've determined the answer to be no. I know that

f(t)-f(s)\neq f(t-s)

in general, and that implies that

f(f(t)-f(s))\neq f(f(t))-f(f(s))

But does anyone know another way to simplify this to maybe some kind of composition?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Let f(x)=sin x to give you a few ideas, I think the general answer is no.
 
sin(sin(t)-sin(s)) = [sin\circ sin(t)][cos\circ sin(s)] - [sin\circ sin(s)][cos\circ sin(t)]

Well that's a mess and a half. It is as I feared :redface:
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
Back
Top