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Section 5.2 Image and Preimage

Definition 5.5.

Let \(P \subseteq A\text{.}\) The image of \(P\) under \(f\text{,}\) denoted \(f(P)\text{,}\) is the set defined by
\begin{equation*} f (P) = {b\in B | b = f (p) for some p\in P}. \end{equation*}
The range of \(f\) (also called the image of \(f\) ) is the set \(f(a)\text{.}\)

Definition 5.6.

Let \(Q \subseteq B\text{.}\) The inverse image of \(Q\) under \(f\text{,}\) denoted \(f\inv (Q)\text{,}\) is the set defined by
\begin{equation*} f\inv(Q) = {a\in A | f(a)\in Q}. \end{equation*}
Let \(A\) and \(B\) be sets, let \(P, Q \subseteq A\) be subsets and let \(f : A \to B\) be a function.
  1. Prove that \(f (P) - f (Q) \subseteq f (P - Q)\text{.}\)
  2. Is it necessarily the case that \(f (P - Q) \subseteq f (P) - f (Q)\text{?}\) Give a proof or a counterexample.