Domain

Definition

Domain in plain English

The domain is the complete list of inputs a function is actually allowed to accept, the values you're permitted to feed in. Picture a vending machine: the domain is the set of buttons that actually do something; press a 'button' that isn't there and you get nothing. Some inputs get banned because they'd break the math, like dividing by zero or taking the square root of a negative number. So finding the domain really means asking, 'Which inputs won't blow up this function?'

Learn these first

• Absolute Value
• Arithmetic Mean

Related GMAT terms

• Absolute Value
• Arithmetic Mean
• Composite Number
• Discrete Data
• Discriminant
• Exponent
• Factorial
• Greatest Common Divisor (GCD)
• Independent Events
• Inequality