Class 12 Maths NCERT Solutions Chapter 1 Miscellaneous Exercise – Relations and Functions | Boundless Maths
Class 12 Maths Chapter 1 Miscellaneous Exercise Solutions

Class 12 Maths NCERT Solutions Chapter 1 Miscellaneous Exercise – Relations and Functions

Free, step-by-step Class 12 Maths NCERT Solutions for the Chapter 1 Miscellaneous Exercise — all 7 questions solved, bringing together injective/onto proofs, equivalence relations on a power set, and two classic counting problems.

Questions 1 and 2 are harder one-one/onto proofs than anything in Exercise 1.2 — Q1 needs a full case split by sign, and Q2 needs factoring a cubic. Question 3 is a conceptual trap: the subset relation "looks" like it should be an equivalence relation but fails symmetry, which is exactly the kind of question CBSE likes to test understanding (not just mechanics) with. Questions 4 and 5 are a counting result and a direct equality check, and the exercise closes with two of the most commonly asked MCQs in this entire chapter — counting how many relations or equivalence relations satisfy a given constraint, which trips up students who don't reason through why certain extensions are impossible.

7Questions
Med–HardDifficulty Mix
2026-27CBSE Syllabus

Class 12 Maths NCERT Solutions Chapter 1 Miscellaneous Exercise — All 7 Questions

1

Show that the function f:\mathbb{R}\to\{x\in\mathbb{R}: -1 \lt x \lt 1\} defined by f(x)=\dfrac{x}{1+|x|}, x\in\mathbb{R}, is one-one and onto.

Hard +
Solution

Write the function piecewise: f(x)=\frac{x}{1+x} for x\ge0, and f(x)=\frac{x}{1-x} for x \lt 0. Within either piece, the same algebra used in Exercise 1.2 Q1 gives one-one directly: \frac{x_1}{1+x_1}=\frac{x_2}{1+x_2}\Rightarrow x_1=x_2 (and similarly for the negative piece).

For mixed signs, if x_1\ge0 and x_2 \lt 0, then f(x_1)\ge0 while f(x_2) \lt 0 — they can never coincide except trivially at 0, already covered. So f is one-one throughout.

For onto, given 0\le y \lt 1, solving y=\frac{x}{1+x} for x\ge0 gives x=\frac{y}{1-y}\ge0. Given -1 \lt y \lt 0, solving y=\frac{x}{1-x} for x \lt 0 gives x=\frac{y}{1+y} \lt 0. Every y\in(-1,1) has a valid pre-image.

f is one-one and onto, proved.
2

Show that the function f:\mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{R} given by f(x)=x^3 is injective.

Medium +
Solution

If f(x_1)=f(x_2), then x_1^3-x_2^3=0, which factors as (x_1-x_2)(x_1^2+x_1x_2+x_2^2)=0. The second factor rewrites as \left(x_1+\frac{x_2}{2}\right)^2+\frac{3x_2^2}{4} — a sum of squares, so it's zero only when x_1=x_2=0.

Either the second factor is strictly positive (forcing x_1=x_2 from the first factor), or both variables are already zero (also giving x_1=x_2).

In every case x₁ = x₂, so f is injective, proved.
3

Given a non-empty set X, consider P(X), the set of all subsets of X. Define the relation R in P(X) as follows: for subsets A,B in P(X), A\,R\,B if and only if A\subset B. Is R an equivalence relation on P(X)? Justify your answer.

Medium +
Solution

Every set is a subset of itself — reflexive.

Taking X=\{1,2\}, A=\{1\}, B=\{1,2\}: A\subset B holds, but B\subset A fails since 2\in B but 2\notin A — not symmetric.

If A\subset B and B\subset C, then A\subset C — transitive.

No — R is not an equivalence relation. It is reflexive and transitive, but fails symmetry, as the counterexample shows.
4

Find the number of all onto functions from the set \{1,2,3,\ldots,n\} to itself.

Medium +
Solution

For a function f:X\to X on a finite set, onto is equivalent to one-one (the chapter's own characteristic property of finite sets). So counting onto functions on \{1,\ldots,n\} is the same as counting one-one functions — which are exactly the permutations of the n elements.

The number of onto functions is n! (n factorial).
5

Let A=\{-1,0,1,2\}, B=\{-4,-2,0,2\} and f,g:A\to B be functions defined by f(x)=x^2-x, x\in A and g(x)=2\left|x-\dfrac12\right|-1, x\in A. Are f and g equal? Justify your answer.

Medium +
Solution

Two functions on the same domain are equal exactly when they agree at every point, so check all four elements of A.

At x=-1: f(-1)=1+1=2, g(-1)=2(\tfrac32)-1=2 — match.

At x=0: f(0)=0, g(0)=2(\tfrac12)-1=0 — match.

At x=1: f(1)=0, g(1)=2(\tfrac12)-1=0 — match.

At x=2: f(2)=2, g(2)=2(\tfrac32)-1=2 — match.

Yes — f and g agree at every point of A, so f = g.
6

MCQ. Let A=\{1,2,3\}. Then the number of relations containing (1,2) and (1,3) which are reflexive and symmetric but not transitive is:   (A) 1   (B) 2   (C) 3   (D) 4

Hard +
Solution

Reflexivity forces (1,1),(2,2),(3,3) in; including (1,2) and (1,3) forces their reverses (2,1),(3,1) too (symmetry). The smallest such relation, R_1, already fails transitivity on its own — (2,1),(1,3)\in R_1 would need (2,3), which is missing.

The only pairs left to add are (2,3) and (3,2). Adding just one breaks symmetry; adding both gives the full universal relation, which — containing every pair — is automatically transitive, so it no longer qualifies as "not transitive." There's no way to extend R_1 while keeping it non-transitive.

Answer: (A) 1.
7

MCQ. Let A=\{1,2,3\}. Then the number of equivalence relations containing (1,2) is:   (A) 1   (B) 2   (C) 3   (D) 4

Medium +
Solution

Reflexivity and symmetry force (1,1),(2,2),(3,3),(2,1) in alongside (1,2); this smallest relation, R_1, is already transitive — it corresponds to the partition \{1,2\},\{3\}.

Every equivalence relation is entirely determined by how it partitions A, and any relation containing (1,2) must keep 1 and 2 in the same class. There are only two such partitions: \{1,2\},\{3\} (giving R_1) or all of \{1,2,3\} together (the universal relation).

Answer: (B) 2.

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🎉 Chapter 1 Complete!

You've solved all 35 questions across Exercise 1.1, Exercise 1.2 and the Miscellaneous Exercise. Chapter 2 (Inverse Trigonometric Functions) is next in the syllabus, or head back to the Chapter 1 hub for the full formula reference.

Common Questions

Class 12 Maths NCERT Solutions Chapter 1 Miscellaneous Exercise — FAQs

How many questions are there in the Chapter 1 Miscellaneous Exercise?
The Miscellaneous Exercise has 7 questions (5 short-answer/proof questions plus 2 MCQs), covering one-one and onto functions, equivalence relations on a power set, and counting problems on relations.
Is there an Exercise 1.3 in Chapter 1?
No. In the current rationalised CBSE syllabus, Chapter 1 (Relations and Functions) has only Exercise 1.1, Exercise 1.2, and the Miscellaneous Exercise. Section 1.4 on composition of functions and invertible functions is covered through worked examples only, without its own numbered exercise.
Where can I find the official NCERT textbook for this chapter?
Relations and Functions is Chapter 1 of the NCERT Class 12 Mathematics textbook (Part I), published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and prescribed by CBSE. You can download the official textbook PDF directly from ncert.nic.in, NCERT's official website — the solutions on this page follow the exercise exactly as it appears there.

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