Unit 2 Important Questions - Discrete
Mathematics
Table of Contents
2 Marks Questions
5 Marks Questions
Additional Practice Questions
Study Tips for Unit 2
Course: CS201 - Discrete Mathematics
Academic Year: 2024-25
Date: October 12, 2025
2 Marks Questions
Propositional Calculus
1. Define propositional calculus and write any two applications of it.
2. What is a proposition? Give examples of propositions and non-propositions.
3. Define tautology and contradiction with examples.
4. State De Morgan's laws for logical operations.
5. What are conditional and biconditional statements? Write their truth tables.
6. Define logical equivalence. Show that .
7. What is the difference between conjunction and disjunction? Write their symbols.
8. Define compound statement and give an example.
9. What are the basic logical operations in propositional calculus?
10. Write the truth table for exclusive OR operation.
Combinatorial Mathematics
11. State the fundamental counting principles: Rule of Sum and Rule of Product.
12. Define permutation and combination. Write their formulas.
13. What is the difference between and ?
14. Define factorial. Calculate 5! and 0!.
15. State the pigeonhole principle with an example.
16. What is the principle of inclusion-exclusion for two sets?
17. Define circular permutation and give its formula.
18. How many ways can 3 books be arranged on a shelf?
19. What are the techniques of counting in combinatorics?
20. Define restricted permutation with an example.
Recursion and Recurrence Relations
21. Define sequence and give examples of arithmetic and geometric sequences.
22. What is a recurrence relation? Give an example.
23. Define homogeneous recurrence relation with constant coefficients.
24. What is the difference between homogeneous and non-homogeneous recurrence
relations?
25. Define generating function and its use in solving recurrence relations.
26. What is partial fraction decomposition? Why is it used?
27. Write the recurrence relation for Fibonacci sequence.
28. Define characteristic equation of a recurrence relation.
29. What is the general form of first-order linear recurrence relation?
30. Define particular solution of a recurrence relation.
5 Marks Questions
Propositional Calculus
1. Explain propositional calculus in detail. Discuss the basic logical operations: conjunction,
disjunction, and negation with their truth tables.
2. Define tautology, contradiction, and contingency. Prove that using
truth table method.
3. Explain conditional and biconditional statements with examples. Construct truth tables for
both and discuss their applications.
4. State and prove De Morgan's laws using truth tables. Show how these laws can be used to
simplify logical expressions.
5. Discuss logical equivalence and its importance. Prove the following equivalences:
6. Explain the concept of logical arguments and validity. Show how propositional calculus is
used to determine the validity of arguments.
7. Define compound statements and explain how complex logical expressions are evaluated.
Give examples with step-by-step evaluation.
Combinatorial Mathematics
8. Explain the fundamental counting principles: Rule of Sum and Rule of Product with
detailed examples. Show their applications in solving counting problems.
9. Define permutations and combinations. Derive their formulas and solve:
In how many ways can 5 people be arranged in a row?
How many committees of 3 can be formed from 8 people?
10. Explain the pigeonhole principle in detail. Prove that in any group of 13 people, at least two
have birthdays in the same month. Give two more applications.
11. State and prove the principle of inclusion-exclusion for two and three sets. Apply it to
solve: In a class of 30 students, 18 study Math, 15 study Physics, and 10 study both. How
many study neither?
12. Discuss permutations with restrictions. Solve: In how many ways can 8 people be seated
around a circular table if 2 specific people must sit together?
13. Explain circular permutations and permutations with repetition. Derive their formulas with
examples and solve practical problems.
14. Define and explain combinations with repetition. Solve: How many ways can 10 identical
balls be distributed among 4 different boxes?
Recursion and Recurrence Relations
15. Define recurrence relations and classify them. Explain homogeneous and non-
homogeneous recurrence relations with examples.
16. Solve the recurrence relation with initial conditions
using characteristic equation method.
17. Explain the method of solving homogeneous linear recurrence relations with constant
coefficients. Solve with .
18. Define generating functions and explain their role in solving recurrence relations. Find the
generating function for the Fibonacci sequence.
19. Explain partial fraction decomposition and its application in solving recurrence relations.
Demonstrate with an example.
20. Solve the non-homogeneous recurrence relation with . Explain
the method for finding particular solution.
21. Define sequence and discuss arithmetic and geometric sequences. Derive formulas for
their nth terms and sum of n terms.
22. Explain the Tower of Hanoi problem as a recurrence relation. Set up the recurrence relation
and solve it to find the minimum number of moves required.
Additional Practice Questions
2 Marks Questions
Write the converse, inverse, and contrapositive of .
Define well-formed formula in propositional logic.
What is the multiplicative principle of counting?
Define recurrence sequence with an example.
5 Marks Questions
Prove that the number of subsets of a set with n elements is using combinatorial
arguments and mathematical induction.
Explain how recurrence relations model real-world problems. Set up and solve the
recurrence relation for compound interest calculation.
Study Tips for Unit 2
1. For Propositional Calculus:
Practice constructing truth tables for complex expressions
Memorize De Morgan's laws and their applications
Understand the difference between tautology, contradiction, and contingency
2. For Combinatorial Mathematics:
Master the fundamental counting principles
Practice permutation and combination problems with restrictions
Understand when to use each counting technique
3. For Recurrence Relations:
Learn to identify the type of recurrence relation
Practice the characteristic equation method
Understand generating functions and their applications
Note: This question bank covers all major topics from Unit 2 of the Discrete Mathematics syllabus.
Regular practice of these questions will help in thorough preparation for examinations.
