Week Number of Children in the Car
Sunday 2
Monday 4
Tuesday 4
Wednesday 3
Thursday 4
Friday 3
Saturday 0
Describe the meaning of the word function in math. Then consider the table. Why does this table show a function?
In math, a function refers to a relation between two sets, where each element in the first set (called the domain) corresponds to exactly one element in the second set (called the range). It can be thought of as a rule or a machine that takes an input and produces a unique output.
In the given table, the days of the week are the input values (domain), and the number of children in the car is the output values (range). Each day of the week corresponds to a specific number of children in the car. For example, on Sunday, there were 2 children in the car, on Monday and Tuesday there were 4 children, and so on.
This table shows a function because each day of the week has a unique number of children in the car, and there is no repetition or ambiguity in the mapping of inputs to outputs.