1.3 Using Function Notation

Once we determine that a relationship is a function, we need to display and define the functional relationships so that we can understand and use them, and sometimes also so that we can program them into computers. There are various ways of representing functions. A standard function notation is one representation that facilitates working with functions.

To represent “height is a function of age,” we start by identifying the descriptive variables $h$ for height and $a$ for age. The letters $f,g,$ and $h$ are often used to represent functions just as we use $x,y,$ and $z$ to represent numbers and $A,B,$  and  $C$ to represent sets.

$\begin{array}{lllll}h\text{ is }f\text{ of }a& \hfill \hfill & \hfill \hfill & \hfill \hfill & \text{We name the function }f;\text{ height is a function of age}.\\ h=f\left(a\right)& \hfill \hfill & \hfill \hfill & \hfill \hfill & \text{We use parentheses to indicate the function input}\text{. }\\ f\left(a\right)& \hfill \hfill & \hfill \hfill & \hfill \hfill & \text{We name the function }f;\text{ the expression is read as “}f\text{ of }a\text{.”}\end{array}$

Remember, we can use any letter to name the function; the notation $h\left(a\right)$ shows us that $h$ depends on $a$. The value $a$ must be put into the function $h$ to get a result. The parentheses indicate that age is input into the function; they do not indicate multiplication.

We can also give an algebraic expression as the input to a function. For example $f(a+b)$ means “first add a and b, and the result is the input for the function f.” The operations must be performed in this order to obtain the correct result.

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