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Mathematics LibreTexts

17.5: Activities

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Activity 17.5.1

In each of the following, describe the requested combination of relations in words (i.e. in the form “a is related to b if …”). Try to “simplify” your description, if possible.

In Task h and Task i, the symbol k represents a relation on Z, where mkn means that m and n have the same remainder when divided by k. (It may help to know that this is equivalent to k dividing the difference mn.)

  1. <> on Z.
  2. Union of “longer than” and “shorter than” on Σ for some alphabet Σ.
  3. Union of “longer than”, “shorter than”, and “same length as” on Σ for some alphabet Σ.
  4. Intersection of “longer than” and “shorter than” on Σ for some alphabet Σ.
  5. The complement of on Z.
  6. The inverse of on Z.
  7. The inverse of “xRy if 2x+3y=0” on Z.
  8. The intersection of 5 and 7 on Z.
  9. The intersection of 2 and 4 on Z.

Activity 17.5.2

In each of the following, you are given a set A and a relation R on A. Determine which of the properties reflexive, symmetric, antisymmetric, and transitive R possesses.

  1. A=Z, R is <.
  2. A is the set of all straight lines in the plane, R means “is parallel to.”
  3. A is the set of all straight lines in the plane, R means “is perpendicular to.”
  4. A=Σ for some alphabet Σ, R means “is the same length as.”
  5. A=Σ for some alphabet Σ, R means “is shorter than.”
  6. A=Σ for some alphabet Σ, x is some fixed choice of letter in Σ, R means “contains the same number of occurrences of x as.”
  7. A is an arbitrary set, R is the empty relation.
  8. A is an arbitrary set, R is the universal relation.

Activity 17.5.3

  1. Suppose R is a relation on a set A. Convince yourself that RR1 is symmetric. (See the Symmetric Relation Test.)
  2. Recall that | represents the relation “divides” on sets of integers. Draw the directed graph for | on the set A={2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16}. Then describe how to obtain the graph for the symmetric relation ||1 as an undirected graph from the graph of R using only an eraser.

Activity 17.5.4

For each of the properties reflexive, symmetric, antisymmetric, and transitive, carry out the following.

Assume that R and S are nonempty relations on a set A that both have the property. For each of RC, RS, RS, and R1, determine whether the new relation

  1. must also have that property;
  2. might have that property, but might not; or
  3. cannot have that property.

Any time you answer Statement i or Statement iii, outline a proof. Any time you answer Statement ii, provide two examples: one where the new relation has the property, and one where the new relation does not. (You may use graphs to describe your examples.)


This page titled 17.5: Activities is shared under a GNU Free Documentation License 1.3 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jeremy Sylvestre via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.

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