Question Details

Let f: A → B and g : B → C be the bijective functions. Then (g o f)-1 is,

Options

A

f⁻¹ o g⁻¹

B

f o g

C

g⁻¹ o f⁻¹

D

g o f

Correct Answer :

f⁻¹ o g⁻¹

Solution :

The correct option is f⁻¹ o g⁻¹.

To understand why this is correct, let us analyze the properties of bijective functions and their compositions step-by-step.

Step 1: Understand the Functions and Their Inverses
We are given two bijective (one-to-one and onto) functions:
f:AB
and
g:BC
Because both f and g are bijective, their inverse functions exist and are also bijective:
f1:BA
and
g1:CB

Step 2: Map the Composition and its Inverse
The composition function gf maps elements from set A to set C:
(gf):AC
The inverse of this composition, (gf)1, must reverse this direction and map elements from set C back to set A:
(gf)1:CA

Step 3: Track the Elements through the Mapping
Let us select an arbitrary element xA. Under the function f, this maps to an element yB:
f(x)=y  f1(y)=x
Next, under the function g, the element yB maps to an element zC:
g(y)=z  g1(z)=y

Step 4: Express the Inverse Composition
Using the mappings above, the composite function evaluated at x yields:
(gf)(x)=g(f(x))=g(y)=z
By the definition of an inverse function, applying (gf)1 to z must return us to x:
(gf)1(z)=x

Step 5: Apply the Inverses Separately
Now let us trace the path backwards from z using the individual inverse functions. Since we want to map CA, we must first apply g1 to map CB, and then apply f1 to map BA:
(f1g1)(z)=f1(g1(z))
Substituting g1(z)=y into the equation gives:
f1(y)
Substituting f1(y)=x gives:
x

Conclusion
Since both operations yield the same result for any arbitrary element in the domain:
(gf)1(z)=(f1g1)(z)=x
We conclude that:
(gf)1=f1g1

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