A mapping is a function that is represented by two sets of objects with arrows drawn between them to show the relationships between the objects.

Examples of mathematical mapping

In all mappings, the oval on the left holds values for the domain, and the oval on the right holds values for the codomain.

The figure shows a mapping of people and the sports they play. The mapping in (a) shows that Albert and Bill play basketball, Carla plays golf, and nobody plays football or hockey. The domain is {Albert, Bill, Carla}, and the codomain is {Basketball, Football, Golf, Hockey}. The sports that they do play {Basketball, Golf} comprise the range. The domain, codomain, and range are always listed using set notation.

In (b) of the figure, the domain is {Donna, Elisha, Fernando}, the codomain is {Basketball, Golf, Hockey}, and the range is {Basketball, Golf, Hockey}. In...