Function (nonfiction): Difference between revisions
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[[File:Mathematical_function.svg|thumb|A function ''f'' takes an input ''x'', and returns a single output ''f(x)''. One metaphor describes the function as a "machine" or "black box" that for each input returns a corresponding output.]]In [[ | [[File:Mathematical_function.svg|thumb|A function ''f'' takes an input ''x'', and returns a single output ''f(x)''. One metaphor describes the function as a "machine" or "black box" that for each input returns a corresponding output.]]In [[Mathematics (nonfiction)|mathematics]], a '''function''' is a relation between a set of inputs and a set of permissible outputs with the property that each input is related to exactly one [[Output (nonfiction)|output]]. | ||
== Description == | == Description == | ||
Revision as of 18:44, 7 June 2016
In mathematics, a function is a relation between a set of inputs and a set of permissible outputs with the property that each input is related to exactly one output.
Description
An example is the function that relates each real number x to its square x2.
The output of a function f corresponding to an input x is denoted by f(x) (read "f of x").
In this example, if the input is −3, then the output is 9, and we may write f(−3) = 9.
Likewise, if the input is 3, then the output is also 9, and we may write f(3) = 9. (The same output may be produced by more than one input, but each input gives only one output.)
Nonfiction cross-reference
External links
- Function (mathematics) @ Wikipedia