Let's return to the subject of domains and ranges.

When functions are first introduced, you will probably have some simplistic "functions"
and relations to deal with, usually being just sets of points. These won't be terribly useful
or interesting functions and relations, but your text wants you to get the idea of what the
domain and range of a function are. Small sets of points are generally the simplest sorts
of relations, so your book starts with those.

For instance:

Domain and Range

 State the domain and range of the following relation. Is the relation a
function?

{(2, –3), (4, 6), (3, –1), (6, 6), (2, 3)}

The above list of points, being a relationship between certain x's and certain y's, is a
relation. The domain is all the x-values, and the range is all the y-values. To give the
domain and the range, I just list the values without duplication:

domain: {2, 3, 4, 6}

range: {–3, –1, 3, 6}

(It is customary to list these values in numerical order, but it is not required. Sets are
called "unordered lists", so you can list the numbers in any order you feel like. Just don't
duplicate: technically, repetitions are okay in sets, but most instructors would count off
for this.)

While the given set does indeed represent a relation (because x's and y's are being related
to each other), the set they gave me contains two points with the same x-value: (2, –3)
and (2, 3). Since x = 2 gives me two possible destinations (that is, two possible y-values),
then this relation is not a function.

Note that all I had to do to check whether the relation was a function was to look for
duplicate x-values. If you find any duplicate x-values, then the different y-values mean
that you do not have a function. Remember: For a relation to be a function, each x-value
has to go to one, and only one, y-value.

 State the domain and range of the following relation. Is the relation a
function?

{(–3, 5), (–2, 5), (–1, 5), (0, 5), (1, 5), (2, 5)}
I'll just list the x-values for the domain and the y-values for the range:

domain: {–3, –2, –1, 0, 1, 2}

range: {5}

This is another example of a "boring" function, just like the example on the previous
page: every last x-value goes to the exact same y-value. But each x-value is different, so,
while boring,

this relation is indeed a function.

In point of fact, these points lie on the horizontal line y = 5.

By the way, the name for a set with only one element in it, like the "range" set above, is
"singleton". So the range could also be stated as "the singleton of 5"

Content Continues Below

There is one other case for finding the domain and range of functions. They will give you
a function and ask you to find the domain (and maybe the range, too). I have only ever
seen (or can even think of) two things at this stage in your mathematical career that you'll
have to check in order to determine the domain of the function they'll give you, and those
two things are denominators and square roots.

 Determine the domain and range of the given function:

y=x2+x−2x2−x−2\mathbf{\color{green}{\mathit{y} = \dfrac{\mathit{x}^2 + \mathit{x}

- 2}{\mathit{x}^2 - \mathit{x} - 2}}}y=x2−x−2x2+x−2

The domain is all the values that x is allowed to take on. The only problem I have with
this function is that I need to be careful not to divide by zero. So the only values that x
can not take on are those which would cause division by zero. So I'll set the denominator
equal to zero and solve; my domain will be everything else.

x2 – x – 2 = 0

(x – 2)(x + 1) = 0

x = 2 or x = –1
Then the domain is "all x not equal to –1 or 2".

The range is a bit trickier, which is why they may not ask for it. In general, though, they'll
want you to graph the function and find the range from the picture. In this case:

As you can see from my picture, the graph "covers" all y-values; that is, the graph will go
as low as I like, and will also go as high as I like. For any point on the y-axis, no matter
how high up or low down, I can go from that point either to the right or to the left and,
eventually, I'll cross the graph. Since the graph will eventually cover all possible values
of y, then:

the range is "all real numbers".

 Determine the domain and range of the given function:

y=−−2x+3\mathbf{\color{green}{\mathit{y} = -\sqrt{-2\mathit{x} + 3}}}y=−√−2x+3

Advertisement

The domain is all values that x can take on. The only problem I have with this function is
that I cannot have a negative inside the square root. So I'll set the insides greater-than-or-
equal-to zero, and solve. The result will be my domain:

–2x + 3 ≥ 0

–2x ≥ –3

2x ≤ 3

x ≤ 3/2 = 1.5

Then the domain is "all x ≤ 3/2".

The range requires a graph. I need to be careful when graphing radicals:

The graph starts at y = 0 and goes down (heading to the left) from there. While the graph
goes down very slowly, I know that, eventually, I can go as low as I like (by picking an x
that is sufficiently big). Also, from my experience with graphing, I know that the graph
will never start coming back up. Then:

the range is "all y ≤ 0".

Affiliate

 Determine the domain and range of the given function:

y = –x4 + 4

This is just a garden-variety polynomial. There are no denominators (so no division-by-

zero problems) and no radicals (so no square-root-of-a-negative problems). There are no
problems with a polynomial. There are no values that I can't plug in for x. When I have a
polynomial, the answer for the domain is always:

the domain is "all x".

The range will vary from polynomial to polynomial, and they probably won't even ask,
but when they do, I look at the picture:
The graph goes only as high as y = 4, but it will go as low as I like. Then:

The range is "all y ≤ 4".

 n general mathematics, a correspondence is an ordered triple (X,Y,R), where R is

a relation from X to Y, i.e. any subset of the Cartesian product X×Y.[1]
 One-to-one correspondence is an alternate name for a bijection. For instance, in
projective geometry the mappings are correspondences[2] between projective
ranges.

 In algebraic geometry, a correspondence between algebraic varieties V and W is

in the same fashion a subset R of V×W, which is in addition required to be closed
in the Zariski topology. It therefore means any relation that is defined by algebraic
equations. There are some important examples, even when V and W are algebraic
curves: for example the Hecke operators of modular form theory may be
considered as correspondences of modular curves.

However, the definition of a correspondence in algebraic geometry is not

completely standard. For instance, Fulton, in his book on Intersection theory,[3]
uses the definition above. In literature, however, a correspondence from a variety
X to a variety Y is often taken to be a subset Z of X×Y such that Z is finite and
surjective over each component of X. Note the asymmetry in this latter definition;
which talks about a correspondence from X to Y rather than a correspondence
between X and Y. The typical example of the latter kind of correspondence is the
graph of a function f:X→Y. Correspondences also play an important role in the
construction of motives.[4]
 In category theory, a correspondence from to is a functor . It is the "opposite" of
a profunctor.
 In von Neumann algebra theory, a correspondence is a synonym for a von
Neumann algebra bimodule.
 In economics, a correspondence between two sets and is a map from the
elements of the set to the power set of .[5] This is similar to a correspondence as
 defined in general mathematics (i.e., a relation,) except that the range is over sets
instead of elements. However, there is usually the additional property that for all
a in A, f(a) is not empty. In other words, each element in A maps to a non-empty
subset of B; or in terms of a relation R as subset of A×B, R projects to A
surjectively. A correspondence with this additional property is thought of as the
generalization of a function, rather than as a special case of a relation, and is
referred to in other contexts as a multivalued function.

An example of a correspondence in this sense is the best response correspondence

in game theory, which gives the optimal action for a player as a function of the
strategies of all other players. If there is always a unique best action given what
the other players are doing, then this is a function. If for some opponent's strategy,
there is a set of best responses that are equally good, then this is a
correspondence.

In mathematics, the vertical line test is a visual way to determine if a curve is a

graph of a function or not. A function can only have one output, y, for each unique
input, x. If a vertical line intersects a curve on an xy-plane more than once then for one
value of x the curve has more than one value of y, and so, the curve does not represent
a function. If all vertical lines intersect a curve at most once then the curve represents a
function.[1]

To use the vertical line test, take a ruler or other straight edge and draw a line parallel to
the y-axis for any chosen value of x. If the vertical line you drew intersects the graph
more than once for any value of x then the graph is not the graph of a function. If,
alternatively, a vertical line intersects the graph no more than once, no matter where the
vertical line is placed, then the graph is the graph of a function. For example, a curve
which is any straight line other than a vertical line will be the graph of a function. As
another example, a sideways parabola (one whose directrix is a vertical line) is not the
graph of a function because some vertical lines will intersect the parabola twice.

Horizontal and Vertical Lines

What if we want to graph this?

Hmm... It doesn't look like there's enough there!

Where's the x?  We're used to these:

Well, here's the deal:

If the x isn't there, then it can be anything!

And y is locked in at -2.

So, what would this look like?

 

So, what's the slope of this line?  Grab two points and see?

The slope of a horizontal line is 0!

Since it's always hard to remember when these guys are horizontal and when they are
vertical, I've got a sentence that will always save you...

When you see y = -2, say this:

y is always -2 and x can be anything!

This tells you what the graph should look like!

 TRY IT:

Graph

... Then, grab two points and find the slope.

Now, let's graph this thing:

Dang!  That's even weirder than the last guy!

Let's use what we've learned...

If y isn't there, then it can be anything!

And x is locked in at 3.

What's your sentence?

x is always 3 and y can be anything!

YOUR TURN:
Graph
,

then grab two points and find the slope.

Domain and Range of a Function

Definitions of Domain and Range

Domain

The domain of a function is the complete set of possible values of the independent
variable.

In plain English, this definition means:

The domain is the set of all possible x-values which will make the function "work", and
will output real y-values.

When finding the domain, remember:

 The denominator (bottom) of a fraction cannot be zero

 The number under a square root sign must be positive in this section

Example 1a

Here is the graph of y=x+4\displaystyle{y}=\sqrt{{{x}+{4}}}y=x+4 :

1 2 3 4 5 -1 -2 -3 -4 1 2 3 x y
Domain: x≥−4\displaystyle{x}\ge-{4}x≥−4

Interactive examples

Don't miss the applet exploring these examples here:

Domain and Range interactive applet

The domain of this function is x≥−4\displaystyle{x}\ge-{4}x≥−4, since x cannot be less

than −4\displaystyle-{4}−4. To see why, try out some numbers less than −4\displaystyle-
{4}−4 (like −5\displaystyle-{5}−5 or −10\displaystyle-{10}−10) and some more than
−4\displaystyle-{4}−4 (like −2\displaystyle-{2}−2 or 8\displaystyle{8}8) in your
calculator. The only ones that "work" and give us an answer are the ones greater than or
equal to −4\displaystyle-{4}−4. This will make the number under the square root
positive.

Notes:
 1. The enclosed (colored-in) circle on the point (−4,0)\displaystyle{\left(-{4},
{0}\right)}(−4,0). This indicates that the domain "starts" at this point.
2. We saw how to draw similar graphs in section 4, Graph of a Function. For a more
advanced discussion, see also How to draw y^2 = x − 2.

How to find the domain

In general, we determine the domain of each function by looking for those values of the
independent variable (usually x) which we are allowed to use. (Usually we have to avoid
0 on the bottom of a fraction, or negative values under the square root sign).

Continues below ⇩

Range

The range of a function is the complete set of all possible resulting values of the
dependent variable (y, usually), after we have substituted the domain.

In plain English, the definition means:

The range is the resulting y-values we get after substituting all the possible x-values.

How to find the range

 The range of a function is the spread of possible y-values (minimum y-value to

maximum y-value)
 Substitute different x-values into the expression for y to see what is happening.
(Ask yourself: Is y always positive? Always negative? Or maybe not equal to
certain values?)
 Make sure you look for minimum and maximum values of y.
 Draw a sketch! In math, it's very true that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Example 1b

Let's return to the example above, y=x+4\displaystyle{y}=\sqrt{{{x}+{4}}}y=x+4 .

We notice the curve is either on or above the horizontal axis. No matter what value of x
we try, we will always get a zero or positive value of y. We say the range in this case is y
≥ 0.

1 2 3 4 5 -1 -2 -3 -4 1 2 3 x y
Range: y≥0\displaystyle{y}\ge{0}y≥0

The curve goes on forever vertically, beyond what is shown on the graph, so the range is
all non-negative values of y\displaystyle{y}y.
Example 2

The graph of the curve y = sin x shows the range to be betweeen −1 and 1.

1 2 3 4 5 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 1 -1 x y
Range: −1≤y≤1\displaystyle-{1}\le{y}\le{1}−1≤y≤1

The domain of y = sin x is "all values of x", since there are no restrictions on the values
for x. (Put any number into the "sin" function in your calculator. Any number should
work, and will give you a final answer between −1 and 1.)

From the calculator experiment, and from observing the curve, we can see the range is y
betweeen −1 and 1. We could write this as −1 ≤ y ≤ 1.

Where did this graph come from? We learn about sin and cos graphs later in Graphs of
sin x and cos x

Note 1: Because we are assuming that only real numbers are to be used for the x-values,
numbers that lead to division by zero or to imaginary numbers (which arise from
finding the square root of a negative number) are not included. The Complex Numbers
chapter explains more about imaginary numbers, but we do not include such numbers in
this chapter.

Note 2: When doing square root examples, many people ask, "Don't we get 2 answers,
one positive and one negative when we find a square root?" A square root has at most one
value, not two. See this discussion: Square Root 16 - how many answers?

Note 3: We are talking about the domain and range of functions, which have at most
one y-value for each x-value, not relations (which can have more than one.).

Finding domain and range without using a graph

It's always a lot easier to work out the domain and range when reading it off the graph
(but we must make sure we zoom in and out of the graph to make sure we see everything
we need to see). However, we don't always have acces to graphing software, and
sketching a graph usually requires knowing about discontinuities and so on first anyway.

As meantioned earlier, the key things to check for are:

1. There are no negative values under a square root sign

2. The are no zero values in the denominator (bottom) of a fraction

Example 3
Find the domain and range of the function f(x)=x+2x2−9,\displaystyle
f{{\left({x}\right)}}=\frac{\sqrt{{{x}+{2}}}}{{{x}^{2}-{9}}},f(x)=x2−9x+2 , without
using a graph.

Solution

In the numerator (top) of this fraction, we have a square root. To make sure the values
under the square root are non-negative, we can only choose x\displaystyle{x}x-values
grater than or equal to -2.

The denominator (bottom) has x2−9\displaystyle{x}^{2}-{9}x2−9, which we recognise

we can write as (x+3)(x−3)\displaystyle{\left({x}+{3}\right)}{\left({x}-{3}\right)}(x+3)
(x−3). So our values for x\displaystyle{x}x cannot include −3\displaystyle-{3}−3 (from
the first bracket) or 3\displaystyle{3}3 (from the second).

We don't need to worry about the −3\displaystyle-{3}−3 anyway, because we dcided in

the first step that x≥−2\displaystyle{x}\ge-{2}x≥−2.

So the domain for this case is x≥−2,x≠3\displaystyle{x}\ge-{2},{x}\ne{3}x≥−2,x≠3,

which we can write as [−2,3)∪(3,∞)\displaystyle{\left[-{2},
{3}\right)}\cup{\left({3},\infty\right)}[−2,3)∪(3,∞).

To work out the range, we consider top and bottom of the fraction separately.

Numerator: If x=−2\displaystyle{x}=-{2}x=−2, the top has value

2+2=0=0\displaystyle\sqrt{{{2}+{2}}}=\sqrt{{{0}}}={0}2+2 =0 =0. As
x\displaystyle{x}x increases value from −2\displaystyle-{2}−2, the top will also increase
(out to infinity in both cases).

Denominator: We break this up into four portions:

When x=−2\displaystyle{x}=-{2}x=−2, the bottom is

(−2)2−9=4−9=−5\displaystyle{\left(-{2}\right)}^{2}-{9}={4}-{9}=-{5}
(−2)2−9=4−9=−5. We have f(−2)=0−5=0.\displaystyle f{{\left(-{2}\right)}}=\frac{0}{{-
{5}}}={0}.f(−2)=−50=0.

Between x=−2\displaystyle{x}=-{2}x=−2 and x=3\displaystyle{x}={3}x=3,

(x2−9)\displaystyle{\left({x}^{2}-{9}\right)}(x2−9) gets closer to 0\displaystyle{0}0, so
f(x)\displaystyle f{{\left({x}\right)}}f(x) will go to −∞\displaystyle-\infty−∞ as it gets
near x=3\displaystyle{x}={3}x=3.

For x>3\displaystyle{x}>{3}x>3, when x\displaystyle{x}x is just bigger than

3\displaystyle{3}3, the value of the bottom is just over 0\displaystyle{0}0, so
f(x)\displaystyle f{{\left({x}\right)}}f(x) will be a very large positive number.
For very large x\displaystyle{x}x, the top is large, but the bottom will be much larger, so
overall, the function value will be very small.

So we can conclude the range is (−∞,0]∪(∞,0)\displaystyle{\left(-\infty,

{0}\right]}\cup{\left(\infty,{0}\right)}(−∞,0]∪(∞,0).

Have a look at the graph:

See graph

We can see in the following graph that indeed, the domain is

[−2,3)∪(3,∞)\displaystyle{\left[-{2},{3}\right)}\cup{\left({3},\infty\right)}[−2,3)∪(3,∞)
(which includes −2\displaystyle-{2}−2, but not 3\displaystyle{3}3), and the range is "all
values of f(x)\displaystyle f{{\left({x}\right)}}f(x) except F(x)=0\displaystyle{F}
{\left({x}\right)}={0}F(x)=0."

1234567-1-212-1-2xf(x)

Graph of f(x)=x+2x2−9\displaystyle f{{\left({x}\right)}}=\frac{\sqrt{{{x}+{2}}}}

{{{x}^{2}-{9}}}f(x)=x2−9x+2 .

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Summary

In general, we determine the domain by looking for those values of the independent
variable (usually x) which we are allowed to use. (We have to avoid 0 on the bottom of a
fraction, or negative values under the square root sign).

The range is found by finding the resulting y-values after we have substituted in the
possible x-values.

Exercise 1

Find the domain and range for each of the following.

(a) f(x)=x2+2\displaystyle f{{\left({x}\right)}}={x}^{2}+{2}f(x)=x2+2.

Show answer

Domain: The function

f(x) = x2 + 2

is defined for all real values of x (because there are no restrictions on the value of x).
Hence, the domain of f(x)\displaystyle f{{\left({x}\right)}}f(x) is

"all real values of x".

Range: Since x2 is never negative, x2 + 2 is never less than 2\displaystyle{2}2

Hence, the range of f(x)\displaystyle f{{\left({x}\right)}}f(x) is

"all real numbers f(x)≥2\displaystyle f{{\left({x}\right)}}\ge{2}f(x)≥2".

We can see that x can take any value in the graph, but the resulting y = f(x) values are
greater than or equal to 2.

1 2 3 -1 -2 -3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -1 x f(x)
Range: y≥2\displaystyle{y}\ge{2}y≥2
Domain: All x\displaystyle{x}x

Note

1. It is important to label the axes when sketching graphs. It helps with

understanding what the graph represents.
2. We saw how to sketch such graphs in Graph of a Function.

Easy to understand math videos:

MathTutorDVD.com

Need Graph Paper?

Download graph paper

(b) f(t)=1t+2\displaystyle f{{\left({t}\right)}}=\frac{1}{{{t}+{2}}}f(t)=t+21

Show answer

Domain: The function

f(t)=1t+2\displaystyle f{{\left({t}\right)}}=\frac{1}{{{t}+{2}}}f(t)=t+21

is not defined for t = -2, as this value would result in division by zero. (There would be a
0 on the bottom of the fraction.)

Hence the domain of f(t) is

"all real numbers except -2"

Range: No matter how large or small t becomes, f(t) will never be equal to zero.

[Why? If we try to solve the equation for 0, this is what happens:

0=1t+2\displaystyle{0}=\frac{1}{{{t}+{2}}}0=t+21

Multiply both sides by (t + 2) and we get

0=1\displaystyle{0}={1}0=1

This is impossible.]

So the range of f(t) is

"all real numbers except zero".

We can see in the graph that the function is not defined for t=−2\displaystyle{t}=-
{2}t=−2 and that the function (the y-values) takes all values except 0\displaystyle{0}0.

1 2 3 4 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 1 2 3 4 5 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 t f(t)
Domain: All t≠−2\displaystyle{t}\ne-{2}t≠−2
Range: All f(t)≠0\displaystyle f{{\left({t}\right)}}\ne{0}f(t)≠0

(c) g(s)=3−s\displaystyle g{{\left({s}\right)}}=\sqrt{{{3}-{s}}}g(s)=3−s

Show answer

(d) f(x)=x2+4\displaystyle f{{\left({x}\right)}}={x}^{2}+{4}f(x)=x2+4 for

x>2\displaystyle{x}>{2}x>2

Show answer

Exercise 2

More Domain and Range Examples

In case you missed it earlier, you can see more examples of domain and range in the
section Inverse Trigonometric Functions.

See also Domain and Range interactive applet.

We fire a ball up in the air and find the height h, in metres, as a function of time t, in
seconds, is given by
h = 20t − 4.9t2

Find the domain and range for the function h(t).

Show answer

Generally, negative values of time do not have any meaning. Also, we need to assume the
projectile hits the ground and then stops - it does not go underground.

So we need to calculate when it is going to hit the ground. This will be when h = 0. So we
solve:

20t − 4.9t2 = 0

Factoring gives:

(20 − 4.9t)t = 0

This is true when

t=0 s\displaystyle{t}={0}\ \text{s}t=0 s,

or

t=204.9=4.082s\displaystyle{t}=\frac{20}{{4.9}}={4.082}\text{s}t=4.920=4.082s

Hence, the domain of the function h is

"all real values of t such that 0≤t≤4.082\displaystyle{0}\le{t}\le{4.082}0≤t≤4.082"

We can see from the function expression that it is a parabola with its vertex facing up.
(This makes sense if you think about throwing a ball upwards. It goes up to a certain
height and then falls back down.)

What is the maximum value of h? We use the formula for maximum (or minimum) of a
quadratic function.

The value of t that gives the maximum is

t=−b2a=−202×(−4.9)=2.041s\displaystyle{t}=-\frac{b}{{{2}{a}}}=-\frac{20}
{{{2}\times{\left(-{4.9}\right)}}}={2.041}{s}t=−2ab=−2×(−4.9)20=2.041s

So the maximum value is

20(2.041) − 4.9(2.041)2 = 20.408 m

By observing the function of h, we see that as t increases, h first increases to a maximum
of 20.408 m, then h decreases again to zero, as expected.

Hence, the range of h is

"all real numbers, 0≤h≤20.408\displaystyle{0}\le{h}\le{20.408}0≤h≤20.408"

Here is the graph of the function h:

1 2 3 4 5 6 5 10 15 20 -5 t h(t)
Domain: 0≤t≤4.08\displaystyle{0}\le{t}\le{4.08}0≤t≤4.08
Range:
0≤h≤20.4\displaystyle{0}\le{h}\le{20.4}0≤h≤20.4

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Functions defined by coordinates

Sometimes we don't have continuous functions. What do we do in this case? Let's look at
an example.

Exercise 3

Find the domain and range of the function defined by the coordinates:

{(−4,1),(−2,2.5),(2,−1),(3,2)}\displaystyle{\left\lbrace{\left(-{4},{1}\right)},{\left(-{2},
{2.5}\right)},{\left({2},-{1}\right)},{\left({3},{2}\right)}\right\rbrace}{(−4,1),(−2,2.5),
(2,−1),(3,2)}

Show answer

The domain is simply the x-values given: x={−4,−2,2,3}\displaystyle{x}={\left\lbrace-

{4},-{2},{2},{3}\right\rbrace}x={−4,−2,2,3}

The range consists of the f(x)\displaystyle f{{\left({x}\right)}}f(x)-values given:

f(x)={−1,1,2,2.5}\displaystyle f{{\left({x}\right)}}={\left\lbrace-{1},{1},{2},
{2.5}\right\rbrace}f(x)={−1,1,2,2.5}

Here is the graph of our discontinuous function.