Department of Mathematics & Statistics

University of Calgary
Instructors: Dr. Thi Dinh and Dr. Jerrod Smith
MATH 271 Discrete Mathematics
Assignment # 3
Due: Friday, March 22, 2024 at 11:59 PM Mountain Time via Gradescope
Late submissions will be accepted without penalty for 48 hours after the deadline.
Late assignments after this period will not be accepted.

Assignments must be understandable by the marker (i.e., logically correct, with good no-
tation and clear exposition, as well as legible), and must be written by the student in their own
words. You are encouraged to work with your peers during the initial problem-solving stages
using the D2L Discussion Boards; however, you must write up your solutions to all
problems individually. See Sections 7 and 12 (d) of the Course Outline, and Section K of
the University Calendar for more information on Expectations and Academic Misconduct.
Answer all questions, but only one question will be marked for credit. Both math-
ematical correctness and writing quality will be assessed. We strongly recommend submis-
sions as a single PDF file uploaded to Gradescope or using the Gradescope app.
You may NOT use homework answer services (e.g., Chegg) nor mathematics question
& answer forums (e.g., Mathematics Stack Exchange) nor AI tools to generate solutions.
Reminders: in order to prove that a statement is false, you must write out its negation
and then prove that the negation is true. Answer counting questions with a detailed recipe
and simplify your answer to a number.

1. Let A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} and let B = {6, 7, 8, 9}.

Prove or disprove the following statements.
(a) For all functions f : A → B, there exists a function g : B → A so that g ◦ f = IA .
(b) For all functions f : A → B, there exists a function g : B → A so that f ◦ g = IB .
(c) There exist functions f : A → B and g : B → A so that g ◦ f = IA .
(d) There exist functions f : A → B and g : B → A so that f ◦ g = IB .
2. Prove or disprove each of the following statements.
(a) For every nonempty set A, if f is a function from A to A so that f ◦ f = IA , then
f is one-to-one and onto.
(b) For every nonempty set A, if f is a one-to-one and onto function from A to A,
then f ◦ f = IA .
(c) There exists a function f from A to A where A = {1, 2, 3, 4} so that f ◦ f = IA
and f (x) ̸= x for all x ∈ A.
(d) There exists a function f from A to A where A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} so that f ◦ f = IA
and f (x) ̸= x for all x ∈ A.
(e) For parts (c) and (d), if such a function exists, then count the number of such
functions. Give a detailed recipe and simplify your answer to a number.
MATH 271 Discrete Mathematics Assignment # 3 Due: Friday, March 22, 2024

3. Let f : R → R be the function given by f (x) = ⌊2x⌋ − x, for all x ∈ R.

(a) Prove that: for all x ∈ R, ⌊2x⌋ = ⌊x⌋ + ⌊x + 12 ⌋.

(b) Prove that f is one-to-one.
(c) Prove that f is onto.

©University of Calgary 2024