Composite Function: IB Maths Definition

Written by: Naomi C

Reviewed by: Roger B

Published

3 March 2025

Last updated

3 March 2025

Contents

What is a composite function in IB maths?

In the context of the IB Maths course, a composite function is a function that is formed by applying one function to the result of another.

If you have two functions, $f (x)$ and $g (x)$ , a possible composite function may be $(f \circ g) (x)$ . You would need to apply the function $g$ to get $g (x)$ , then apply the function $f$ to the result of $g (x)$ to get $(f \circ g) (x)$ . This combines the operations of both functions into a single function.

Composite function revision resources to ace your exams

Save My Exams has a great range of resources to explore the topic of composite functions in more detail. Try exploring these additional revision notes on language of functions, and graphing functions.

Explore our IB Maths revision resources.

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Author

Reviewer

Author: Naomi C

Expertise: Maths

Naomi graduated from Durham University in 2007 with a Masters degree in Civil Engineering. She has taught Mathematics in the UK, Malaysia and Switzerland covering GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level and IB. She particularly enjoys applying Mathematics to real life and endeavours to bring creativity to the content she creates.

Author: Roger B

Expertise: Maths

Roger's teaching experience stretches all the way back to 1992, and in that time he has taught students at all levels between Year 7 and university undergraduate. Having conducted and published postgraduate research into the mathematical theory behind quantum computing, he is more than confident in dealing with mathematics at any level the exam boards might throw at you.

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