When do you use the brackets [ x, y ] and when do you use the parenthesis ( x, y) when writing the domain and range of a function in interval notation?

1 Answer
Jun 20, 2018

It tells you whether the end point of the interval is included

Explanation:

The difference is whether the end of the interval in question includes the end value or not. If it includes it, it is called "closed", and is written with a square bracket: [ or ]. If it doesn't include it, it is called "open", and is written with a round bracket: ( or ).

An interval with both ends open or closed is called an open or closed interval. If one end is open and the other closed, then the interval is called "half-open". For example, the set [0,1) includes all numbers x such that x>=0 and x<1.