Discrete Structure II:

Introduction

Discrete Structure II, Fordham Univ., Dr. Zhang

Variables

Is there a number with the following property: doubling it and

adding 3 gives the same result as squaring it?

introduce a variable to replace potentially ambiguous word

“it”:

Is there a number x with the property that 2x + 3 = x2?

Variables

• No matter what number might be chosen, if it is greater

than 2, then its square is greater than 4.

Use a variable to give a temporary name to the (arbitrary)

number you might choose

No matter what number n might be chosen, if n is greater

than 2, then n2 is greater than 4.
Exercise: Writing Sentences Using Variables

Use variables to rewrite following sentences more formally.

Are there two numbers with the property that the sum of their
squares equals the square of their sum?

Given any real number, its square is nonnegative.

Example of complicated statements

Many mathematical concepts can only be defined using phrases

such as “for all,” “there is,” and “if-then.”
• A relation R defined on domain D, saying R is reflexive means for any
element d in D, d is related to d.

• R is symmetric if and only if for any two element d1, d2 in D, if d1 is

related to d2, then d2 is related to d1.

• Let a1, a2, a3, . . . is a sequence of real numbers, saying that

the limit of an as n approaches infinity is L

means that

for all positive real numbers ε, there is an integer N such that

for all integers n, if n > N then –ε < an – L < ε.
Universal Statements

A universal statement says that a certain property is

true of all elements in a set.

e.g., All positive numbers are greater than zero.

All swans are white.

Conditional Statements

A conditional statement says that if one thing is true

then some other thing also has to be true.

e.g., If 378 is divisible by 18, then 378 is divisible by 6.

Existential Statements

A existential statement says that there is at least one

thing for which a certain property is true.

e.g., There is a prime number that is even.

There is a smallest natural number.

Some Important Kinds of Mathematical Statements

A universal conditional statement is a statement that is

both universal and conditional. Here is an example:

For all animals a, if a is a dog, then a is a mammal.

Universal conditional statements can be rewritten to be

purely universal or purely conditional.
Rewriting an Universal Conditional Statement

Fill in the blanks to rewrite following statement:

For all real numbers x, if x is nonzero then x2 is positive.

a. If a real number is nonzero, then its square _____.

b. For all nonzero real numbers x, ____.

c. If x ____, then ____.

d. The square of any nonzero real number is ____.

e. All nonzero real numbers have ____.

Universal Existential Statements

A universal existential statement is a statement whose

first part says that a certain property is true for all objects of
a given type, and whose second part asserts the existence
of something.
e.g.,
Every real number has an additive inverse.

• property “has an additive inverse” applies universally to all real

numbers.
• “has an additive inverse” asserts the existence of additive inverse
for each real number.
• the additive inverse depends on real number; different real numbers
have different additive inverses.
Rewriting an Universal Existential Statement

Every pot has a lid.

a. All pots _____.

b. For all pots P, there is ____.

c. For all pots P, there is a lid L such that _____.

Existential Universal Statements

An existential universal statement is a statement whose

first part asserts that a certain object exists and whose
second part says that the object satisfies a certain property
for all things of a certain kind.
e.g.,
There is a positive integer that is less than or equal to
every positive integer.

This statement is true because the number one is a positive

integer, and it satisfies the property of being less than or
equal to every positive integer.
Rewriting an Existential Universal Statement

Fill in the blanks to rewrite the following statement in three

different ways:

There is a person in my class who is at least as old as every

person in my class.

a. Some _____ is at least as old as _____.

b. There is a person p in my class such that p is _____.

c. There is a person p in my class with the property that for

every person q in my class, p is _____.
The Language of Sets
• Use of the word set as a formal mathematical term was
introduced in 1879 by Georg Cantor (1845–1918).
• For most mathematical purposes we can think of a set
intuitively, as Cantor did, simply as a collection of
elements.

• For instance, if C is the set of all countries that are

currently in the United Nations, then the United States is
an element of C.

• If I is the set of all integers from 1 to 100, then the

number 57 is an element of I.
The Language of Sets
Using Set-Roster Notation

a. Let A = {1, 2, 3}, B = {3, 1, 2}, and C = {1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3}.

What are the elements of A, B, and C? How are A, B, and
C related?

b. Is {0} = 0?

c. How many elements are in the set {1, {1}}?

d. For each nonnegative integer n, let Un = {n, –n}. Find U1,

U2, and U0.
Sets of numbers

Certain sets of numbers are so frequently referred to that

they are given special symbolic names. These are
summarized in the following table:
Set of Real Number

Set of real numbers is usually pictured as the set of all points

on a line:

• 0: corresponds to a middle point, called the origin.

• Each point to the right of the origin corresponds to a positive
real number found by computing its distance from the origin.
• Each point to the left of the origin corresponds to a negative
real number, which is denoted by computing its distance from
origin, and putting a minus sign in front of resulting number.
Real number line

• Real number line is called continuous because it is

imagined to have no holes.
• Set of integers corresponds to a collection of points located
at fixed intervals along the real number line.
• Because integers are all separated from each other, the
set of integers is called discrete.
• The name discrete mathematics comes from the distinction
between continuous and discrete mathematical objects.
Set Builder Notation
Using Set-Builder Notation

Given that R denotes the set of all real numbers, Z the set of
all integers, and Z+ the set of all positive integers, describe
each of the following sets.
Subsets

A basic relation between sets is that of subset.

Subsets

It follows from the definition of subset that for a set A not to

be a subset of a set B means that there is at least one
element of A that is not an element of B.

Symbolically:
Distinction between ∈ and ⊆

Which of the following are true statements?

a. 2 ∈ {1, 2, 3} b. {2} ∈ {1, 2, 3} c. 2 ⊆ {1, 2, 3}

d. {2} ⊆ {1, 2, 3} e. {2} ⊆ {{1}, {2}} f. {2} ∈ {{1}, {2}}
 Ordered Pair

a. Is (1, 2) = (2, 1)?

b. Is ?

c. What is the first element of (1, 1)?

Cartesian Products
Example 6 – Cartesian Products

Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {u, v}.

a. Find A × B

b. Find B × A

c. Find B × B

d. How many elements are in A × B, B × A, and B × B?

e. Let R denote the set of all real numbers. Describe R × R.

Cartesian Plane cont’d

The term Cartesian plane is often used to refer to a plane with

this coordinate system

A Cartesian Plane
Figure 1.2.1
Relations

The objects of mathematics may be related in various ways.

• A set A may be said to be related to a set B if A is a subset

of B, or if A is not a subset of B, or if A and B have at least
one element in common.

• A number x may be said to be related to a number y if

x < y, or if x is a factor of y, or if x2 + y2 = 1.
Relations notation

• Let A = {0, 1, 2} and B = {1, 2, 3} and let us say that an

element x in A is related to an element y in B if, and only if,
x is less than y.

We use notation x R y as a shorthand for “x is related to y.”

e.g., 0 R 1, 2 R 3, …

Use notation to represent “x is not related to y,” then

Relation as a subset of Cartesian product

Consider: A = {0, 1, 2}, B = {1, 2, 3},

an element x in A is related to an element y in B if, and only if, x is
less than y.

Consider the set of all ordered pairs whose elements are

related:

Recall: Cartesian product of A and B is a set consists of all ordered

pairs whose first element is in A and whose second element is in B:
Relations as sets of ordered pairs

Relation can be thought of as the set of ordered pairs whose

elements are related under the given condition.
The Language of Relations and Functions

The notation for a relation R may be written symbolically as

follows:

x R y means that (x, y ) ∈ R.

The notation x y means that x is not related to y by R:

x y means that (x, y ) ∉ R.

Relation as a Subset

Let A = {1, 2} and B = {1, 2, 3} and define a relation R from A

to B as follows: Given any (x, y) ∈ A ⋅ B,

a. State explicitly which ordered pairs are in A x B and

which are in R.

b. Is 1 R 3? Is 2 R 3? Is 2 R 2?

c. What are the domain and co-domain of R?

Arrow Diagram of a Relation

Suppose R is a relation from a set A to a set B. The arrow

diagram for R is obtained as follows:

1.Represent the elements of A as points in one region and

the elements of B as points in another region.

2.For each x in A and y in B, draw an arrow from x to y if,

and only if, x is related to y by R.
Draw an arrow from x to y
if, and only if, xRy
if, and only if, (x, y) ∈ R.
Arrow Diagrams of Relations

Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {1, 3, 5} and define relations S and

T from A to B as follows:

For all (x, y ) ∈ A ⋅ B,

Draw arrow diagrams for S and T.

Example 3 – Solution

These example relations illustrate that it is possible to have

several arrows coming out of the same element of A pointing
in different directions.

Also, it is quite possible to have an element of A that does

not have an arrow coming out of it.
Functions
Functions

Properties (1) and (2) can be stated less formally as follows:

A relation F from A to B is a function if, and only if:

1. Every element of A is the first element of an ordered pair

of F.

2. No two distinct ordered pairs in F have the same first

element.
Example 4 – Functions and Relations on Finite Sets

Let A = {2, 4, 6} and B = {1, 3, 5}. Which of the relations R,

S, and T defined below are functions from A to B?

a. R = {(2, 5), (4, 1), (4, 3), (6, 5)}

b. For all (x, y ) ∈ A ⋅ B, (x, y ) ∈ S means that y = x + 1.

c. T is defined by the arrow diagram

Function Machines

Another useful way to think of a function is as a machine.

Suppose f is a function from X to Y and an input x of X is
given.

Imagine f to be a machine that processes x in a certain way

to produce the output f (x). This is illustrated in Figure 1.3.1

Figure 1.3.1
Example 6 – Functions Defined by Formulas

The squaring function f from R to R is defined by the formula f

(x) = x2 for all real numbers x.

This means that no matter what real number input is

substituted for x, the output of f will be the square of that
number.

This idea can be represented by writing f (● ) = ● 2. In other

words, f sends each real number x to x2, or, symbolically,
f : x → x2. Note that the variable x is a dummy variable; any
other symbol could replace it, as long as the replacement is
made everywhere the x appears.
Example 6 – Functions Defined by Formulas cont’d

The successor function g from Z to Z is defined by the formula

g (n) = n + 1. Thus, no matter what integer is substituted for
n, the output of g will be that number plus one: g (● ) = ● + 1.

In other words, g sends each integer n to n + 1, or,

symbolically, g : n → n + 1.

An example of a constant function is the function h from Q to Z

defined by the formula h (r) = 2 for all rational numbers r.
Example 6 – Functions Defined by Formulas cont’d

This function sends each rational number r to 2. In other

words, no matter what the input, the output is always
2: h(● ) = 2 or h : r → 2.

The functions f, g, and h are represented by the function

machines in Figure 1.3.2.

Figure 1.3.2
Function Machines

• A relation is a subset of a Cartesian product

• A function is a special kind of relation.
Function Machines

If f and g are functions from a set A to a set B, then

f = {(x, y) ∈ A × B | y = f (x)}
and
g = {(x, y) ∈ A × B | y = g (x)}.

It follows that

f equals g, written f = g,
if, and only if, f (x) = g (x) for all x in A.
Example 7 – Equality of Functions

Define f : R → R and g: R → R by the following formulas:

Does f = g?