Is (2,1), (1,-2), (-3,2), (2,-3) a function?

1 Answer
Jul 6, 2015

No - there are two distinct values for f(2), so this relation does not describe a function.

Explanation:

A set of pairs (xi,yi) defines a function if

For all i,j we have xj=xiyj=yi

This is trivially satisfied if all the xi's are distinct.

In our example, we have pairs (2,1) and (2,3) which break the condition.