Question

Let f be the subset of Z × Z defined by f = {(ab, a + b): a, b ∈ Z}. Is f a function from Z to Z: justify your answer.

Answer 1

The relation f is defined as f = {(ab, a + b): a, b ∈ Z}

We know that a relation f from a set A to a set B is said to be a function if every element of set A has unique images in set B.

Since 2, 6, –2, –6 ∈ Z, (2 × 6, 2 + 6), (–2 × –6, –2 + (–6)) ∈ f

i.e., (12, 8), (12, –8) ∈ f

It can be seen that the same first element i.e., 12 corresponds to two different images i.e., 8 and –8. Thus, relation f is not a function.