A function f:X\longrightarrow Y is said to be 11 (read one-to-one) when f(x)\neq f(x') for all x,x'\in X with x\neq x'. A 11 function is also called an injection or we say that f is injective.
The Pigeon Hole Principle
A function \(f:X\longrightarrow Y\) is said to be \(1\)\(1\) (read one-to-one) when \(f(x)\neq f(x')\) for all \(x,x'\in X\) with \(x\neq x'\). A \(1\)\(1\) function is also called an injection or we say that \(f\) is injective. When \(f:X\longrightarrow Y\) is \(1\)\(1\), we note that \(|X|\le |Y|\). Conversely, we have the following self-evident statement, which is popularly called the Pigeon Hole principle.
In more casual language, if you must put \(n+1\) pigeons into \(n\) holes, then you must put two pigeons into the same hole.
Here is a classic result, whose proof follows immediately from the .
In , we will explore some powerful generalizations of the . All these results have the flavor of the general assertion that total disarray is impossible.
Ask whether order matters. A lock code is a permutation (order matters); a hand of cards is a combination (it does not).
What is a graph in this sense?
Dots (vertices) joined by lines (edges), not a plot. Road maps, social networks and molecules are graphs; questions like "is there a route" and "how few colours" are graph theory.