5 Functions

The next foundational concept of mathematics that we will study is the concept of function. Some of the early ideas of function involved describing how different quantities covaried, with the work of Oresme (1323-1382) being some of the earliest related work. Our current concept of function arose in the 17th century with the rise of analytic geometry and the foundation of calculus, with Leibniz first using the word the late 1600’s (Ponte, 1992).

References

Ponte, J. P. (1992). The history of the concept of function and some educational implications. The Mathematics Educator, 3(2), 3–8.