Functional Equations

This book provides mathematics teachers with an introduction to elementary aspects of functional equations. These equations are linked to function in various topics of the senior secondary mathematics curriculum including transformations, identities, difference equations and mathematical modelling. A computer algebra system has been used to generate tables and graphs, as well as carrying out symbolic computation for the illustrative examples. Functional equations are equations that have functions as solutions. They have been studied in some form or other since antiquity, and especially from the 19th century. At this time, further consideration was given to the notion of function in general, and in-depth analysis of functions, derivatives, integrals and their properties. The contemporary study of functional equations in mathematics involves their widespread use to model a broad range of practical and theoretical situations. Functional equations provide a powerful and concise means of characterising the algebraic properties of functions, in particular identities, and the use of mathematical software for computation. Series overview