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In mathematics, a surjective function (also known as surjection, or onto function / ˈ ɒ n. t uː /) is a function f such that, for every element y of the function's codomain, there exists at least one element x in the function's domain such that f(x) = y. In other words, for a function f : X → Y, the codomain Y is the image of the function ...
The function is surjective, or onto, if each element of the codomain is mapped to by at least one element of the domain; that is, if the image and the codomain of the function are equal. A surjective function is a surjection . [ 1 ]
Functions which satisfy property (4) are said to be "one-to-one functions" and are called injections (or injective functions). [2] With this terminology, a bijection is a function which is both a surjection and an injection, or using other words, a bijection is a function which is both "one-to-one" and "onto". [3]
In some cases the codomain and the image of a function are the same set; such a function is called surjective or onto. For any non-surjective function :, the codomain and the image ~ are different; however, a new function can be defined with the original function's image as its codomain, ~: ~ where ~ = ().
Variations of the horizontal line test can be used to determine whether a function is surjective or bijective: The function f is surjective (i.e., onto) if and only if its graph intersects any horizontal line at least once. f is bijective if and only if any horizontal line will intersect the graph exactly once.
The above definition of a function is essentially that of the founders of calculus, Leibniz, Newton and Euler. However, it cannot be formalized, since there is no mathematical definition of an "assignment". It is only at the end of the 19th century that the first formal definition of a function could be provided, in terms of set theory.
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In mathematics, an injective function (also known as injection, or one-to-one function [1]) is a function f that maps distinct elements of its domain to distinct elements of its codomain; that is, x 1 ≠ x 2 implies f(x 1) ≠ f(x 2) (equivalently by contraposition, f(x 1) = f(x 2) implies x 1 = x 2).