MHT-CET Maths · Free notes
Sets, Relations and Functions — MHT-CET Maths
Sets, Relations and Functions is 66 past-year questions in the MHT-CET Maths bank across 2021–2026 and one of its cheapest chapters. Barely one in eight of them is HARD, it appears in most papers, and its questions are the same handful of stems with the numbers changed: the domain of 2ˣ + 2ʸ = 2, the greatest-integer quadratic, a composite evaluated at a point, the inverse of a linear-fractional function. It is also the vocabulary every calculus chapter assumes — domain, range, one-one, onto, composition, inverse. The pages below run from the definitions through domain-and-range technique to composition and then inversion, because an inverse question is a composition question read backwards. Nothing here needs more than two lines of algebra. The marks are lost on an open bracket, a strict inequality, or a square-root sign that was never checked. Every PYQ is tagged.
The handout has every subtopic, worked example, formula and trap with answers shown. The formula sheet is the chapter’s formulas and traps alone, on one page.
Subtopic notes
Sets, Relations and Types of Functions — One-One, Onto and the Greatest-Integer Equation
13 PYQsThe definitions the chapter runs on: counting with sets and Cartesian products, whether a function is one-one and onto, and reading an equation in [x] as an interval.
Domain and Range — Where a Formula Is Defined and What It Produces
23 PYQsDomain: intersect the conditions each piece imposes (log argument > 0, even root ≥ 0, denominator ≠ 0, inverse-sine argument in [−1, 1]). Range: solve y = f(x) for x and ask which y allow a real solution.
Composite Functions — f∘g, Iteration and Functional Identities
21 PYQs(f∘g)(x) = f(g(x)): apply the inner function first, then the outer — evaluate numerically from the inside out, recover f from a given f(g(x)) by matching shapes, and prove a functional identity by simplifying the argument.
Inverse Functions — Finding f⁻¹ and Solving f(x) = f⁻¹(x)
9 PYQsSwap the roles: set y = f(x), solve for x in terms of y, and rename — a linear-fractional (ax + b)/(cx + d) inverts to (dx − b)/(−cx + a); for an increasing f, f(x) = f⁻¹(x) reduces to f(x) = x.
Formula & revision sheet
15 formulas · 15 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Formula & revision sheet
15 formulas · 15 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Formulas (4)
- Sets and Cartesian Products: Counting Subsets and Double Counting · Counting with sets
- One-One and Onto: Test Injectivity by f(x₁) = f(x₂), Surjectivity by Solving for x · One-one and onto
- Equations in [x]: Solve for the Integer, Then Widen to the Interval · Greatest integer
- Identities Like f(x + 1) − f(x) = 8x + 3: Compare Coefficients · Comparing coefficients
Watch out for (4)
- Subtracting only the empty set→ Sets and Cartesian Products: Counting Subsets and Double Counting
- Calling a linear-fractional function onto ℝ→ One-One and Onto: Test Injectivity by f(x₁) = f(x₂), Surjectivity by Solving for x
- Closing the right end→ Equations in [x]: Solve for the Integer, Then Widen to the Interval
- Substituting one value of x→ Identities Like f(x + 1) − f(x) = 8x + 3: Compare Coefficients
Formulas (3)
Watch out for (3)
- Closing the bracket at a root in the denominator→ Domain: Write One Condition Per Piece, Then Intersect
- Solving x² − x − 4 ≥ 0 as x ≥ the smaller root→ Domain Through a Quadratic Inequality: sin⁻¹ of a Rational Function With |x|
- Guessing the bracket from the shape→ Range of a Rational Function: Set y = f(x), Clear, and Demand a Real x
Formulas (4)
- Evaluate a Composite at a Point: Innermost First · Composition
- Composite as a Formula: Substitute in Two Steps, Then Simplify · Two-step composition
- Recover f From f(g(x)): Match the Shape, or Evaluate at the Right x · Shape matching
- Functional Identities: f(2x/(1 + x²)) = 2f(x) and the Cubic Twin · The two identities
Watch out for (4)
- Reading f(g(g(f(x)))) as (f∘g)² or as f²g²→ Evaluate a Composite at a Point: Innermost First
- Matching α² = 1 alone→ Composite as a Formula: Substitute in Two Steps, Then Simplify
- Solving for f(x) when only f(2) is asked→ Recover f From f(g(x)): Match the Shape, or Evaluate at the Right x
- Reading the sign of the ratio backwards→ Functional Identities: f(2x/(1 + x²)) = 2f(x) and the Cubic Twin
Formulas (4)
- Inverse of (ax + b)/(cx + d): Solve for x, and the Swap-and-Negate Shortcut · Linear-fractional inverse
- Self-Inverse: f(f(x)) = x Fixes the Parameter · Involution test
- Inverse With a Square Root: Choose the Branch From the Domain · Order of inverses
- Solving f(x) = f⁻¹(x): For an Increasing f, Solve f(x) = x · Fixed points
Watch out for (4)
- Taking the reciprocal→ Inverse of (ax + b)/(cx + d): Solve for x, and the Swap-and-Negate Shortcut
- Solving f(x) = x instead of f(f(x)) = x→ Self-Inverse: f(f(x)) = x Fixes the Parameter
- Keeping the '−' branch→ Inverse With a Square Root: Choose the Branch From the Domain
- Including the complex roots→ Solving f(x) = f⁻¹(x): For an Increasing f, Solve f(x) = x
PYQ weightage by concept
15 concepts · 66 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
PYQ weightage by concept
15 concepts · 66 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Equations in [x]: Solve for the Integer, Then Widen to the Interval | 4 | 6% |
| Sets and Cartesian Products: Counting Subsets and Double Counting | 3 | 5% |
| One-One and Onto: Test Injectivity by f(x₁) = f(x₂), Surjectivity by Solving for x | 2 | 3% |
| Identities Like f(x + 1) − f(x) = 8x + 3: Compare Coefficients | 1 | 2% |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Domain: Write One Condition Per Piece, Then Intersect | 7 | 11% |
| Range of a Rational Function: Set y = f(x), Clear, and Demand a Real x | 3 | 5% |
| Domain Through a Quadratic Inequality: sin⁻¹ of a Rational Function With |x| | 1 | 2% |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluate a Composite at a Point: Innermost First | 4 | 6% |
| Composite as a Formula: Substitute in Two Steps, Then Simplify | 2 | 3% |
| Recover f From f(g(x)): Match the Shape, or Evaluate at the Right x | 2 | 3% |
| Functional Identities: f(2x/(1 + x²)) = 2f(x) and the Cubic Twin | 2 | 3% |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Inverse With a Square Root: Choose the Branch From the Domain | 3 | 5% |
| Inverse of (ax + b)/(cx + d): Solve for x, and the Swap-and-Negate Shortcut | 2 | 3% |
| Self-Inverse: f(f(x)) = x Fixes the Parameter | 1 | 2% |
| Solving f(x) = f⁻¹(x): For an Increasing f, Solve f(x) = x | 1 | 2% |
Test yourself on Sets, Relations and Functions
15 past MHT-CET questions from this chapter, timed at 27 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.