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Injection

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An injection, or "one-to-one function," is a function that takes distinct values on distinct inputs. Equivalently, an injection is a function for which every value in the range is the image of exactly one value in the domain.

Alternative definition: A function f:A\to B is an injection if for all x,y\in A, if f(x)=f(y) then x=y.

Examples

Linear functions are injections: f:\mathbb R \to \mathbb R, f(x)= ax+b, a\neq 0. The domain choosing is also important. For example, while f:\mathbb R \to \mathbb R, f(x)=x^2 is not an injection (f(-1)=f(1)=1), the function g:[0,\infty)\to\mathbb R, g(x)=x^2, is an injection.

See also


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