RELATIONS

Definition 1
 A relation R from a set A to a set B is a subset of
the Cartesian product A x B. If (x,y)  R, we write x
R y and say that x is related to y. In case A = B, we
call R a relation on A.
 The set {x  A | (x, y)  R for some y  B} is called
the domain of R.
 The set {y  B | (x, y)  R for some x  A} is called
the range of R.
 In the set of ordered pairs corresponding to the
relation R, the domain consists of the first elements
of the ordered pair, and the range, the second
elements.
Example 1

 Let A = {2, 3, 4} and B = {3, 4, 5, 6, 7}

we define a relation R from A to B by
(x, y)  R if x divides y (with zero
remainder)
 R = {(2,4), (2,6), (3,3), (3,6), (4,4)}
 The domain of R is the set {2, 3, 4}
and the range is the set {3, 4, 6}.
 Example 2

 Let R be the relation on B = {1, 2, 3}

defined by (x, y)  R if x ≤ y, x,y  B.
 R = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (2,2), (2,3), (3,3)}
 The domain and the range of R are both
equal to B.
Definition 2

 A relation R on a set X is called

reflexive if (x, x)  R, for every x  X.
 The relation R on A in Example 2 is
reflexive because for each element x 
A, (x, x)  R, specifically, (1,1), (2,2),
(3,3)  R.
Definition 3

 A relation R on a set A is called

symmetric if for all x, y  A, if (x, y) 
R, then (y, x)  R.
 Example: The relation R on X = {a, b,
c, d} is
R = {(a,a), (b,c), (c,b), (d,d)}
Definition 4

 A relation R on a set X is called

antisymmetric if for all x, y  X, if
(x,y)  R and x ≠ y, then (y, x)  R.
 The relation of Example 2 is
antisymmetric because for all x, y, if
(x,y)  R and x ≠ y, then (y, x)  R. For
example, (1,2)  R, but (2,1)  R.
Definition 5

 A relation R on a set X is called

transitive if for all x,y,z  X, if (x,y)
and (y,z)  R, then (x,z)  R.
 The relation R of Example 2 is
transitive. To formally verify that a
relation satisfies the above definition,
all of the form (x,y) and (y,z) in R have
to be inspected and verify that in every
case, (x,z)  R.
Definition 6

 A relation R on a set X is called a

partial order if R is reflexive,
antisymmetric and transitive.
 If a relation R on a set X is a partial
order, then the relation R can be used
to order the elements of set X.
Definition 7

 Let R be a relation from A to B. The

inverse of R, denoted R-1, is the
relation from B to A defined by
R-1 = {(y,x) | (x,y)  R}
Example 3

 The inverse of the relation R of

Example 1 is

R-1 = {(4,2),(6,2),(3,3),(6,3),(4,4)}
Equivalence Relations

 A relation that is reflexive, symmetric,

and transitive on a set X is called an
equivalence relation on X.
 Consider the relation
R = {(1,1),(1,3),(1,5),(2,2),(2,4),(3,1),
(3,3),(3,5),(4,2),(4,4),(5,1),(5,3),
(5,5)}
Seatwork:1/4

 List all the ordered pairs of the relation

R from A = {0,1,2,3,4} to B = {0,1,2,3}
where(a,b) is an element of R if:
1. a=b
2. a+b=4
3. a>b
4. a|b
For each of these relations on set{1,2,3,4} decide
whether it is reflexive, symmetric, antisymmetric or
transitive.

5. {(2,2),(2,3),(2,4),(3,2),(3,3),(3,4)}
6. {(1,1),(1,2),(2,1),(2,2), (3,3),(4,4)}
7. {(2,4),(4,2)}
8. {(1,2),(2,3),(3,4)}
9. {(1,1),(2,2),(3,3),(4,4)}
10. {(1,3),(1,4),(2,3),(2,4),(3,1),(3,4)}
Seatwork: 1/4

1. List the ordered pairs in the relation R

from A = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4} and B = {0, 1,
2, 3} where (a,b)  R if
a.) a = b
{(0,0), (1,1), (2,2), (3,3)}
b.) a>b
{(1,0), (2,0), (3, 0), (4, 0), (2,1), (3,1),
(4,1), (3,2), (4,2), (4,3)}
2. Decide whether the relations on the
set {1, 2, 3, 4} is symmetric,
antisymmetric, reflexive or transitive.
a.) {(2,2), (2,3), (2,4), (3,2), (3,3), (3,4)}
transitive
b.) {(1,1), (1,2), (2,1), (2,2), (3,3), (4,4)}
Reflexive, symmetric, transitive
c.) {(2,4), (4,2)} - symmetric