What Is a Mathematical Relation?
“So what is a mathematical relation? Hi, I’m Jimmy Chang, and I’ve been teaching college mathematics for over nine years, and the phrase “mathematical relation” pretty much implies the word relationship, so let’s get into the definition of what it actually is. Now, it is, generally, if you want to talk about in a general sense, it’s a relationship between sets — sets of numbers, sets of elements. It can be between people, it can be words, et cetera. But in terms of, you know, mathematical relations, generally between numbers or variables. Now, typically what happens in a mathematical relation is that every element from one set, generally labeled the X coordinates, is paired with an element in the other set, typically known as the Y coordinates. It doesn’t…they aren’t necessarily labeled X and Y, but that tends to be the most general relationship that there is. And playing off of that definition: If no two pairs share the same X coordinate, the relation is a function. So no two diffe
