Final answer:
A function in mathematics is a relationship where each input in the domain correlates to exactly one output in the range. An example of a function is a linear equation, commonly written as y = mx + b, showing a straightforward relationship between x and y.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the context of economic models and mathematics, a function describes a specific kind of relationship between two sets of elements. If we consider each pair of elements where one is from the first set (called the domain) and the other is from the second set (called the range), a function makes sure that each element in the domain corresponds to exactly one element in the range. This means that for each input value (x), there will be only one output value (y).
An example of a function in mathematics is a linear equation, which represents a linear relationship between variables x (independent variable) and y (dependent variable). A common form of a linear equation is y = mx + b, where m represents the slope of the line and b represents the y-intercept, which is the point where the line crosses the y-axis. In the context of statistics, this equation might be written as y = a + bx, to help differentiate between the statistical and algebraic contexts.