NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SMA 1103

FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED MATHEMATICS

SMA 1103:DISCRETE MATHEMATICS

JANUARY 2011: EXAMINATION

Time : 3 hours

Candidates should attempt ALL questions from Section A (40 marks) and ANY THREE
questions from Section B (20 marks each). GOOD LUCK!

SECTION A

A1. Prove the following:

(a) −(−x) = x. [5]

(b) x ∗ 0 = 0. [3]

√
A2. Prove that 2 is irrational. [5]

A3. Let A be a set and let {Bi }i∈N be a family of sets. Show that
\ [
A− Bi = (A − Bi ) [6]
i∈N i∈N

A4. Use mathematical induction to prove the following:

2 n−1 1 − (n + 1)z n + nz n+1

(a) 1 + 2z + 3z + ... + nz = [5]
(1 − z)2

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(b) A set is called an inductive set if 1 is an element. If Pk is an element of the set

then the element Pk+1 is also an element. Prove that the set N(set of natural
numbers) is inductive. [4]

A5. How many committees can be formed with three females and four males from a group
of nine member of which four are females and five are males. [6]

A6. Show that the relation x ≡ y(modm), m > 1 is an equivalent relation. [6]

SECTION B

B7. (a) Prove that the set of real numbers is dense. [3]
(b) If
x = 2(mod3)
x = 3(mod5)
x = 6(mod7)
Find the value of x and express it in the form x = y(modm) [6]
(c) Prove the following identity for non-empty sets A,and B
(A ∩ B)c = Ac ∪ B c [4]
(d) A lotto game in Zimbabwe requires that one guesses correctly, in any order six
numbers from a possible 45 numbers so that he/she wins the first price. If each
lotto ticket allows four entries, find the number of tickets one has to buy so that
he/she is 100% certain that he/she wins the first price. [5]
(e) Find x and y if (x + 2, 4) = (5, 2x + y) [2]

B8. (a) Find the exact rational numbers represented by the following decimals:
(i) 0.142857 [2]
(ii) 0.618 [3]
(b) Let f : A → B and g : B → C be bijections. Prove that (g ◦ f )−1 = f −1 ◦ g −1 [5]
(c) Define the logical terms
(i) tautology [2]
(ii) contradiction [2]
(d) Prove that the disjunction distributes over the conjunction, that is, prove the
distributive law:
p ∨ (q ∧ r) ≡ (p ∨ q) ∧ (p ∨ r) [6]

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B9. (a) Using an example show how a relation is represented using the matrix notation. [3]
(b) Show that the quadratic function f (x) = ax2 + bx + c is
£ b ¢
(i) strictly increasing in the interval − 2a ,∞ [4]
b
¡ ¤
(ii) strictly decreasing in the interval −∞, − 2a [4]
(c) Prove by induction that 11n+1 +122n−1 is a multiple of 133 for n ∈ N and n > 1 [5]
(d) Zimstats wishes to conduct a survey on income levels for two randomly selected
cities and two new resettlement areas. Eleven employees are to conduct the survey.
Two employees will be deployed to each city, three to one of the resettlement and
four to the other resettlement due to problems of accessibility. Find the number
of ways the employees may be deployed. [4]

n! n!
B10. (a) Find the value of n if = 20 [4]
(n − 5)! (n − 3)!
3
(b) Using f (x) = 6−3x and g(x) = verify that (f ◦g)−1 (x) = (f −1 ◦g −1 )(x) [6]
7 − 2x
(c) On the set < define the relation ∼ by x ∼ y ⇔ x2 = y 2 determine whether ∼ is
an equivalence relation [4]
(d) Which propositions P and Q should be true and which should be false if the
proposition
(∼ (∼ P ∨ Q) ∧ Q) ⇒ Q is true? [6]

END OF QUESTION PAPER

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