MAT1001 Week 1: Sets, Functions and Real

Numbers

Dr. Dongxu JI (Lec 01)

Prof. Pooi-Yuen KAM (Lec 02)
Dr. Bojun LU (Lec 03 & 06)
Prof. Xian ZHOU (Lec 04)
Dr. Mario HUANG (Lec 05)

School of Science and Engineering

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

Week 1 1
Outline

Sets

Functions

Extreme Values

Basic Trigonometry and Triangle Inequality

Week 1 2
Sets

A set is a collection of distinct objects; these objects are called

elements of the set. Some definitions:
I x ∈ S means “x is an element of the set S”; we say that x
belongs to S, or simply x is in S.
I x∈
/ S means “x is not an element of S”.
I S ⊆ T means “every element of S is an element of T ”; we
say that S is a subset of T , or that S is contained in T .
I S = T means that S ⊆ T and T ⊆ S both hold.
I S ( T means that S ⊆ T and S 6= T (we say that S is a
proper subset of T ).
I ∅ denotes the set containing no element (called the empty
set).
By convention, ∅ ⊆ S holds for every set S.

Week 1 3
Frequently Used Sets
We use
{x ∈ S : P(x)} or {x ∈ S | P(x)}
to denote the set of all elements x in S for which P(x) is true. We
may simply write {x : P(x)} when S is obvious or not important.
The following symbols are frequently used:
I Z := {. . . , −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, . . . } — the set of integers.
I N := {n ∈ Z : n ≥ 0} = {0, 1, 2, 3, . . . } — the set of natural
numbers.
I N+ := {n ∈ Z : n > 0} = {1, 2, 3, . . . } — the set of positive
integers.
I Q := {m/n : m ∈ Z, n ∈ N+ } — the set of rational numbers.
I R — the set of real numbers.
We use the symbol := to mean that the symbol on the left is
defined by the object on the right.
Week 1 4
Set Operations

Let S and T be sets. We define:

I S ∩ T := {x : x ∈ S and x ∈ T }. (Intersection of S and T )
I S ∪ T := {x : x ∈ S or x ∈ T }. (Union of S and T )
I S \ T := {x : x ∈ S and x ∈
/ T }. (S minus T )
It is also common to write S − T instead of S \ T .
I R \ Q, the set of all real numbers that are not rational, is
called the set of irrational
√ numbers. Examples of irrational
numbers include 2 and π.
I If S ∩ T = ∅ then we say that S and T are disjoint.

Week 1 5
Cartesian Products

Definition
Let S and T be nonempty sets. The Cartesian product of S and
T , denoted by S × T , is the set of all ordered pairs (x, y ) such
that x ∈ S and y ∈ T . That is,

S × T := {(x, y ) : x ∈ S, y ∈ T }.

More generally, if S1 , . . . , Sn are nonempty sets, the Cartesian

product of S1 , . . . , Sn is defined to be

S1 × · · · × Sn := {(x1 , . . . , xn ) : x1 ∈ S1 , . . . , xn ∈ Sn }.

An object of the form (x1 , . . . , xn ) is called an (ordered) n-tuple.

Week 1 6
Cartesian Products: Examples and Remarks

I If S = {1, 2, 3} and T = {4, 8}, then

S × T = {(1, 4), (1, 8), (2, 4), (2, 8), (3, 4), (3, 8)}.

I We use the symbol S n to mean S × · · · × S (with n copies of

S). In particular, R2 is the set of all ordered pairs of real
numbers:

R2 := R × R = {(x, y ) : x ∈ R, y ∈ R}.

Similarly, Rn is the set of all ordered n-tuples of real numbers.

Week 1 7
Intervals

We use the following notations for intervals, where a ∈ R and

b ∈ R:
I [a, b] := {x ∈ R : a ≤ x ≤ b}. (Closed intervals)
I (a, b) := {x ∈ R : a < x < b}. (Open intervals)
I [a, b) := {x ∈ R : a ≤ x < b}. (Half-open or half-closed
intervals)
I (a, b] is defined similarly.

We also allow a or b to be ∞ or −∞ for unbounded intervals. For

example:
I (−∞, ∞) := R.
I [0, ∞) := {x ∈ R : x ≥ 0}.

Week 1 8
Functions
Definition
Let D and Y be nonempty sets.
I A function from D to Y is a rule that assigns to each element
of D exactly one element of Y .
I We use the notation f : D → Y to mean that the function f is
from D to Y , with f (x) being the element of Y assigned to x.
I For a function f : D → Y , the set D and Y are called the
domain and the codomain of f , respectively, and the set
{f (x) : x ∈ D} is called the range of f .

Week 1 9
Functions

I It is common to use the notation y = f (x) to mean that y is

a function of x.
I The same rule defined on different domains are considered
different functions: f (x) := x 2 defined on [1, 2] is not the
same function as f (x) := x 2 defined on R.
I While functions f : D → Y can be defined for any nonempty
sets D and Y , this course focuses on cases where D and Y
are subsets of R.

Week 1 10
Injectivity, Surjectivity and Bijectivity
Definition
Let f : D → Y be a function.
I We say that f is one-to-one (or injective) if f (x1 ) 6= f (x2 ) for
all distinct x1 and x2 in D (that is, x1 6= x2 ).
I We say that f is onto (or surjective) if, for every y ∈ Y , there
exists x ∈ D such that f (x) = y .
I We say that f is bijective if it is both one-to-one and onto. A
bijective function is called a bijection.

Remark
I Whether a function is onto depends on its codomain: the
function f : R → [0, ∞) with f (x) := x 2 is onto, while the
function f : R → R with f (x) := x 2 is not.
I By definition, any function is automatically onto its range.

Week 1 11
Examples

I The rule f : N → Z defined by f (x) := 2x is a one-to-one

(injective) function.
I The rule f (x) := 2x defines a bijection between Z and the set
of all even integers.
I The rule f : R → {3} defined by f (x) := 3 (for all x in R) is
an onto (surjective) function. It is common to write f (x) ≡ 3
for such a constant function.
I Consider the statement “x > 48” with real number input x,
which is either true or false depending on the value of x. This
statement can be thought of as an onto function
P : R → {“true”, “false”}, with P(46) = “false” and
P(49) = “true”.

Week 1 12
Piecewise-Defined Functions

Week 1 13
The Floor Function
Definition
The function that assigns the greatest integer smaller than or equal
to x to any real number input x, is called the greatest integer
function or the floor function. The floor function is commonly
denoted by bxc. For example, b48.99c = 48, b314c = 314.

Week 1 14
Monotone Functions
Definition
Let f : D → R be a function.
I If f (x1 ) ≤ f (x2 ) for all x1 and x2 in D with x1 < x2 , then f is
said to be nondecreasing or weakly increasing.
I If f (x1 ) ≥ f (x2 ) for all x1 and x2 in D with x1 < x2 , then f is
said to be nonincreasing or weakly decreasing.
I If f (x1 ) < f (x2 ) for all x1 and x2 in D with x1 < x2 , then f is
said to be increasing or strictly increasing.
I If f (x1 ) > f (x2 ) for all x1 and x2 in D with x1 < x2 , then f is
said to be decreasing or strictly decreasing.
I If f is nondecreasing or nonincreasing, then f is said to be
monotone or monotonic.
I If f is (strictly) decreasing or increasing, then f is said to be
strictly monotone or strictly monotonic.

Week 1 15
Even and Odd Functions

Definition
Let f : D → R be a function, where D is a subset of R that is
symmetric about the origin. Then
I f is called an even function if f (−x) = f (x) for every x ∈ D.
I f is called an odd function if f (−x) = −f (x) for every x ∈ D.

Example
The function f (x) := x 2 is even, while f (x) := sin x is odd (with
domain R).

Week 1 16
Inverse Functions

Definition
Let f : D → Y be a bijection. The inverse of f is defined to be the
function g : Y → D via the following rule: for every y ∈ Y ,

g (y ) := x, where f (x) = y .

The inverse of f is denoted by f −1 .

Hence f (x) = y if and only if f −1 (y ) = x.

Week 1 17
Inverse Functions

I Any strictly monotone function must be bijective between its

domain and its range, and thus has an inverse.
I For example, f : [0, 1] → [0, 1] defined by f (x) := x 2 has
√
inverse f −1 : [0, 1] → [0, 1] with f −1 (x) = x. (Note that f
is strictly increasing on [0, 1]).
I For the function f : R → R defined by f (x) := 2x + 1, since

y = 2x + 1 if and only if x = (y − 1)/2,

we have f −1 (y ) = (y − 1)/2.

Week 1 18
Composite Functions
Definition
Let g : A → B and f : B → C be functions. The composite
function f ◦ g is the function from A to C defined by

(f ◦ g )(x) := f (g (x)) for all x ∈ A.

In general, f ◦ g 6= g ◦ f — one of these may not even be defined!

And even if they are defined, they are not the same — just
consider f (x) := x 2 and g (x) := x + 1 with domains R.

Week 1 19
The Identity Function

Definition
Let D be any nonempty set. The function i : D → D defined by
i(x) := x for all x in D, is called the identity function (on D).

Remark
If f : A → B has an inverse, then it follows from the definition of
inverse functions that both f ◦ f −1 and f −1 ◦ f are identity
functions (although one of them has domain A and the other has
domain B).

Week 1 20
Basic Elementary Functions

The following are some basic functions (with the natural domains):

I Constant functions: f (x) ≡ C for a fixed real number C .

I Power functions: f (x) := x α where α is a real constant. The
natural domain of this function depends on α.
I Natural exponential function: f (x) := e x .
I Natural logarithmic function: f (x) := ln x, also denoted as
f (x) = log x (where x > 0).
I Trigonometric functions: f (x) := sin x, f (x) := cos x.

Week 1 21
Elementary Functions
If a function can be obtained by applying finitely many basic
arithmetic operations (+, −, ×, ÷), function compositions and
inverse operations to the basic elementary functions on the
previous slide, then it is called an elementary function. Examples
of elementary functions include:
I Polynomials: P(x) := an x n + an−1 x n−1 + · · · + a1 x + a0 ,
where n ∈ N and a0 , a1 , . . . , an are real numbers.
I Rational functions: R(x) := P(x)/Q(x), where P and Q are
polynomials (and Q is not the zero function).
I Exponential functions: f (x) := ax := e x ln a , where a is a
positive constant.
I Logarithmic function: f (x) := loga x := ln x/ ln a, defined on
(0, ∞), where a is a positive constant (with a 6= 1).
I Inverse trigonometric functions: f (x) := arcsin(x),
f (x) := arccos(x) (also denoted as sin−1 (x), cos−1 (x)).
Week 1 22
Examples: Rational Functions

Week 1 23
Non-Elementary Functions: An Example

In this course we will mainly study elementary functions mentioned

on the previous three slides. There are other functions that are of
interest in mathematical analysis, such as the Dirichlet function,
which is the function f : R → R defined by
(
1, if x ∈ Q;
f (x) :=
0, if x ∈
/ Q.

Week 1 24
Maxima and Minima
Definition
Let S be a nonempty subset of R, and let y ∈ S.
I We say that y is a maximum of S if y ≥ s for all s ∈ S.
I We say that y is a minimum of S if y ≤ s for all s ∈ S.

Remark
I The word extremum (plural: extrema) means a maximum or a
minimum.
I Not every set has an extremum: the interval [0, 1) has
minimum 0 but no maximum, and any open interval (a, b) has
neither a maximum nor a minimum.
I Every nonempty finite set has a maximum and a minimum.
I In this course, we will study the maximum and minimum (and
other related concepts) of the range of a given function.

Week 1 25
Boundedness

Definition
Let S be a nonempty subset of R.
I The set S is said to be bounded above if there exists u ∈ R
such that x ≤ u for all x ∈ S. Any such number u is called an
upper bound of S.
I The set S is said to be bounded below if there exists l ∈ R
such that x ≥ l for all x ∈ S. Any such number l is called a
lower bound of S.
I A set is said to be bounded if it is both bounded above and
bounded below, and it is said to be unbounded otherwise.

Note that if S has one upper bound u, then it has infinitely many
upper bounds, e.g., u + 1, u + 2, . . . .

Week 1 26
Suprema and Infima

Definition
Let S be a nonempty subset of R. A real number x is called the
supremum of S (or the least upper bound of S), if
(i) x is an upper bound of S, and;
(ii) if u is an upper bound of S then x ≤ u.
In this case, we write x = sup S. Similarly, we call x the infimum
of S (or the greatest lower bound of S), and write x = inf S, if
(i) x is an lower bound of S, and;
(ii) if l is a lower bound of S then l ≤ x.

Week 1 27
Suprema and Infima: Remarks and Examples

I By definition, supremum and infimum of a set are unique

when exist. (In other words, there cannot be two different
suprema or two different infima for the same set.)
I In contrast to maximum and minimum, the supremum and the
infimum of S do not have to belong to S even if they exist.
For example, if S = {1/n : n ∈ N+ }, then sup S = 1 and
inf S = 0, so S contains its supremum but not its infimum.
I If S = (0, 1), then sup S = 1 and inf S = 0, none of which is
in S.
I By definitions, if sup S ∈ S, then sup S = max S. Similarly, if
inf S ∈ S, then inf S = min S.

Week 1 28
Least-Upper-Bound Property

Theorem (Least-Upper-Bound Property of R)

Every nonempty set of real numbers that is bounded above has a
least upper bound.

The proof of the theorem above requires some more fundamental

theory of real numbers. We will not prove it in this course.

Week 1 29
Greatest-Lower-Bound Property

Suppose that S is bounded below and nonempty. Then

−S := {−x : x ∈ S} is bounded above, so sup(−S) exists by the
least-upper-bound property. It follows that − sup(−S) is the
greatest-lower-bound of S; that is,

inf S = − sup(−S).

This proved the following.

Theorem (Greatest-Lower-Bound Property)

Every nonempty set of real numbers that is bounded below has a
greatest lower bound.

Week 1 30
Trigonometric Functions: Angle Measurement
When we apply trigonometric functions, angles are measured in
radian (i.e., π instead of 180◦ ), starting from the positive x-axis,
with counterclockwise direction indicating positive measurement.

Examples of some trigonometric identities to be used in this course

will be listed on the next slide.

Week 1 31
Trigonometric Identities

Week 1 32
Trigonometric Inequalities

Week 1 33
Triangle Inequality

Theorem (Triangle Inequality)

For all real numbers x and y , we have:

|x + y | ≤ |x| + |y |.

Other useful inequalities can be derived from the triangle

inequality. For example, for real numbers x, y and z, the triangle
inequality implies that

|x − y | = |x − z + (z − y )| ≤ |x − z| + |z − y |.

Other consequences of the triangle inequality include

I |x − y | ≤ |x| + |y |.
I |x| − |y | ≤ |x − y |.

Week 1 34