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Questions tagged [functions]

For elementary questions about functions, notation, properties, and operations such as function composition. Consider also using the (graphing-functions) tag.

39 votes
7 answers
23k views

Show that the $\max{ \{ x,y \} }= \frac{x+y+|x-y|}{2}$.

Show that the $\max{ \{ x,y \} }= \dfrac{x+y+|x-y|}{2}$. I do not understand how to go about completing this problem or even where to start.
user72195's user avatar
  • 1,557
37 votes
5 answers
5k views

Why are removable discontinuities even discontinuities at all?

If I have, for example, the function $$f(x)=\frac{x^2+x-6}{x-2}$$ there will be a removable discontinuity at $x=2$, yes? Why does this discontinuity exist at all if the function can be simplified to $...
Kyle Delaney's user avatar
  • 1,431
5 votes
2 answers
2k views

I need a better explanation of $(\epsilon,\delta)$-definition of limit

I am reading the $\epsilon$-$\delta$ definition of a limit here on Wikipedia. It says that $f(x)$ can be made as close as desired to $L$ by making the independent variable $x$ close enough, but ...
themhz's user avatar
  • 1,223
3 votes
4 answers
14k views

How do I prove that $\arccos(x) + \arccos(-x)=\pi$ when $x \in [-1,1]$? [closed]

Prove that $\arccos x + \arccos(-x) = \pi$ when $x \in [-1,1]$. How do I prove this? Where should I begin and what should I consider?
Rocky G.'s user avatar
  • 307
39 votes
4 answers
7k views

Is There a Natural Way to Extend Repeated Exponentiation Beyond Integers?

This question has been in my mind since high school. We can get multiplication of natural numbers by repeated addition; equivalently, if we define $f$ recursively by $f(1)=m$ and $f(n+1)=f(n)+m$, ...
Ben Blum-Smith's user avatar
37 votes
3 answers
66k views

Derivative of a function with respect to another function. [duplicate]

I want to calculate the derivative of a function with respect to, not a variable, but respect to another function. For example: $$g(x)=2f(x)+x+\log[f(x)]$$ I want to compute $$\frac{\mathrm dg(x)}{\...
Marco's user avatar
  • 771
31 votes
7 answers
8k views

How to evaluate fractional tetrations?

Recently I've come across 'tetration' in my studies of math, and I've become intrigued how they can be evaluated when the "tetration number" is not whole. For those who do not know, tetrations are the ...
Mr. Vubio's user avatar
  • 681
52 votes
3 answers
28k views

Why is an empty function considered a function?

A function by definition is a set of ordered pairs, and also according the Kuratowski, an ordered pair $(x,y)$ is defined to be $$\{\{x\}, \{x,y\}\}.$$ Given $A\neq \varnothing$, and $\varnothing\...
user11750's user avatar
  • 1,009
31 votes
4 answers
30k views

When do two functions become equal?

When do two functions become equal? I have stumbled over this definition of equality of functions in elementary real analysis. Let $X$ and $Y$ be two sets. Let $f:X\rightarrow Y$ and $g:X\...
Tommjjerry's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
19k views

X,Y are independent exponentially distributed then what is the distribution of X/(X+Y)

Been crushing my head with this exercise. I know how to get the distribution of a ratio of exponential variables and of the sum of them, but i can't piece everything together. The exercise goes as ...
entourager's user avatar
45 votes
3 answers
68k views

How do I divide a function into even and odd sections?

While working on a proof showing that all functions limited to the domain of real numbers can be expressed as a sum of their odd and even components, I stumbled into a troublesome roadblock; namely, I ...
Mana's user avatar
  • 749
27 votes
2 answers
23k views

Prove that the only eigenvalue of a nilpotent operator is 0?

I need to prove that: if a linear operator $\phi : V \rightarrow V$ on a vector space is nilpotent, then its only eigenvalue is $0$. I know how to prove that this for a nilpotent matrix, but I'm ...
Mathlete's user avatar
  • 1,347
8 votes
3 answers
5k views

bijection between $\mathbb{N}$ and $\mathbb{N}\times\mathbb{N}$ [duplicate]

I understand that both $\mathbb{N}$ and $\mathbb{N}\times\mathbb{N}$ are of the same cardinality by the Shroeder-Bernstein theorem, meaning there exists at least one bijection between them. But I can'...
rurouniwallace's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
808 views

Does $f(a,b)$ being directly proportional to $a$ and $b$ separately imply that $f(a,b)$ is directly proportional to $ab?$

For example, in physics, if $$\text{F} \propto m_1m_2$$ and $$\text{F} \propto \frac{1}{r^2},$$ then $$\text{F} \propto (m_1m_2)\left(\frac{1}{r^2}\right)= \frac{m_1m_2}{r^2}.$$ This property (...
aaksaksyk's user avatar
  • 171
24 votes
4 answers
28k views

Count number of increasing functions, nondecreasing functions $f: \{1, 2, 3, \ldots, n\} \to \{1, 2, 3, \ldots, m\}$, with $m \geq n$.

I stumbled upon a question given like: Let $m$ and $n$ be two integers such that $m \geq n \geq 1$. Count the number of functions $$f: \{1, 2, · · · , n\} \to \{1, 2, · · · , m\}$$ of the following ...
lu5er's user avatar
  • 491

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