UNIT Fn:Multiple Choice Questions

Lectures in Discrete Mathematics, Course 2, Bender/Williamson Review Questions

Multiple Choice Questions for Review

1. In each case some information is given about a function. In which case is the informa-
tion not sufficient to define a function?
(a) f ∈ 43 , 2 → 3, 1 → 4, 3 → 2.
(b) f ∈ {>, <, +, ?}3 , f = (?, <, +).
(c) f ∈ 3{>,<,+,?} , f = (3, 1, 2, 3).
(d) f ∈ 3{>,<,+,?} , f = (3, 1, 2, 3). Domain ordered as follows: >, <, +, ?.
3
(e) f ∈ {>, <, +, ?} , f = (?, <, +). Domain ordered as follows: 3, 2, 1.
 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2. The following function is in two line form: . Which
9 3 7 2 6 4 5 1 8
of the following is a correct cycle form for this function?
(a) (1, 8, 9)(2, 3, 7, 5, 6, 4)
(b) (1, 9, 8)(2, 3, 5, 7, 6, 4)
(c) (1, 9, 8)(2, 3, 7, 5, 4, 6)
(d) (1, 9, 8)(2, 3, 7, 5, 6, 4).
(e) (1, 9, 8)(3, 2, 7, 5, 6, 4)
3. In each case some information about a function is given to you. Based on this infor-
mation, which function is an injection?
(a) f ∈ 65 , Coimage(f ) = {{1}, {2}, {3}, {4}, {5}}
6
(b) f ∈ 6 , Coimage(f ) = {{1}, {2}, {3}, {4}, {5, 6}}
5
(c) f ∈ 5 , f −1 (2) = {1, 3, 5}, f −1 (4) = {2, 4}}
(d) f ∈ 45 ,
 
Image(f ) = 4

(e) f ∈ 55 , Coimage(f ) = {{1, 3, 5}, {2, 4}}

 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
4. The following function is in two line form: f = .
8 5 9 2 4 1 3 6 7
Which of the following is a correct cycle form for h = f 3 ◦ f −1 ?
(a) (1, 6, 8)(2, 3, 7)(5, 6, 4)
(b) (1, 6, 8)(2, 4, 5)(3, 7, 9)
(c) (1, 8, 6)(2, 3, 7)(5, 9, 4)
(d) (1, 9, 8)(2, 3, 5)(7, 6, 4)
(e) (8, 5, 9, 2, 4, 1, 3, 6, 7)
 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
5. The following permutation is in two line form: f = .
8 6 4 7 2 9 1 3 5
The permutation g = (1, 2, 3) is in cycle form. Let h = f ◦ g be the composition of f
and g. Which of the following is a correct cycle form for h?

Fn-41
Functions

(a) (1, 6, 9, 5, 2, 4, 7)(3, 8)

(b) (1, 8, 3, 4, 7, 2, 6)(5, 9)
(c) (1, 8, 3, 7, 4, 2, 6)(9, 5)
(d) (1, 8, 4, 3, 7, 2, 6)(9, 5)
(e) (8, 6, 4, 7, 9, 1, 2)(3, 5)
6. We want to find the smallest integer n > 0 such that, for every permutation f on 4,
the function f n is the identity function on 4. What is the value of n?
(a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 12 (d) 24 (e) It is impossible.
7. In the lexicographic list of all strictly decreasing functions in 95 , find the successor of
98432.
(a) 98431 (b) 98435 (c) 98521 (d) 98532 (e) 98543
8. The 16 consecutive points 0, 1, . . . , 14, 15 have 0 and 15 converted to exterior box
boundaries. The interior box boundaries correspond to points 1, 5, 7, 9. This configu-
ration corresponds to
(a) 9 balls into 5 boxes
(b) 9 balls into 6 boxes
(c) 10 balls into 5 boxes
(d) 10 balls into 6 boxes
(e) 11 balls into 4 boxes
9. The 16 consecutive points 0, 1, . . . , 14, 15 have 0 and 15 converted to exterior box
boundaries. The interior box boundaries correspond to the strictly increasing functions
1 ≤ x1 < x2 < x3 < x4 ≤ 14 in lex order. How many configurations of balls into boxes
come before the configuration •| | | | • • • • • • • • • ? (Exterior box boundaries are not
shown.)
(a) 13 (b) 13 (c) 14 (d) 14 (e) 15






3 4 3 4 3

10. Suppose f ∈ 76 . How many such functions have |Image(f )| = 4?

(a) S(7, 4) (b) S(7, 4)(6)4 (c) S(6, 4)(7)4 (d) S(4, 7)(6)4 (e) S(7, 4) 6!
11. Let X be a random variable with distribution b(k; n, p), q = 1 − p. Let Y = (X + 1)2 .
Then E(Y ) =?
(a) npq + (np + 1)2
(b) 2npq + (np + 1)2
(c) npq + 2(np + 1)2
(d) (npq)2 + (np + 1)2
(e) 2npq(np + 1)2
12. Let X and Y be independent random variables with distribution b(k; n, a) and b(k; n, b)
respectively. Let Z = X + 2Y . Then, for all ǫ > 0, Tchebycheff’s inequality guarantees
that P (|Z − na − 2nb| ≥ ǫ) is always less than or equal to what?

Fn-42
 Review Questions

(a) (na(1 − a) + nb(1 − b))/ǫ2

(b) (na(1 − a) + 2nb(1 − b))/ǫ2
(c) (na(1 − a) + 4nb(1 − b))/ǫ2
(d) (na(1 − a) + 2nb(1 − b))/ǫ3
(e) (na(1 − a) + 4nb(1 − b))/ǫ3
13. An 800 page book has 400 misprints. If the misprints are distributed uniformly
throughout the book, and the Poisson approximation to the binomial distribution
is used to calculate the probability of exactly 2 misprints on page 16, which of the
following represents the correct use of the Poisson approximation?
(a) e0.5 /8 (b) e−0.5 /8 (c) e0.5 /16 (d) e−0.5 /16 (e) e−0.5 /32
14. For 40 weeks, once per hour during the 40 hour work week, an employee of Best Cars
draws a ball from an urn that contains 1 black and 9 white balls. If black is drawn, a
$10 bill is tacked to a bulletin board. At the end of the 40 weeks, the money is given
to charity. What is the expected amount of money given?
(a) 1000 (b) 1200 (c) 1400 (d) 1600 (e) 1800
15. For 40 weeks, once per hour during the 40 hour work week, an employee of Best Cars
draws a ball from an urn that contains 1 black and 9 white balls. If black is drawn,
$10 is tacked to a bulletin board. At the end of the 40 weeks, the money is given to
charity. Using the normal approximation, what interval under the standard normal
curve should be used to get the area which equals the probability that $1800 or more
is given?
(a) from 1.67 to ∞
(b) from 0 to 1.67
(c) from 0.6 to ∞
(d) from 0 to 0.6
(e) from 0.6 to 1.67
16. A fair coin is tossed three times. Let X be the random variable which is one if the
first throw is T (for tails) and the third throw is H (for heads), zero otherwise. Let
Y denote the random variable that is one if the second and third throws are both H,
zero otherwise. The covariance, Cov(X, Y ) is
(a) 1/8 (b) −1/8 (c) 1/16 (d) −1/16 (e) 1/32
17. A fair coin is tossed three times. Let X be the random variable which is one if the
first throw is T (for tails) and the third throw is H (for heads), zero otherwise. Let
Y denote the random variable that is one if the second and third throws are both H,
zero otherwise. The correlation, ρ(X, Y ) is
(a) 0 (b) 1/3 (c) −1/3 (d) 1/8 (e) −1/8
18. A fair coin is tossed three times and a T (for tails) or H (for heads) is recorded, giving
us a 3-long list. Let X be the random variable which is zero if no T has another T
adjacent to it, and is one otherwise. Let Y denote the random variable that counts

Fn-43
Functions

the number of T’s in the three tosses. Let hX,Y denote the joint distribution of X and
Y . hX,Y (1, 2) equals
(a) 5/8 (b) 4/8 (c) 3/8 (d) 2/8 (e) 1/8
19. Which of the following is equal to Cov(X + Y, X − Y ), where X and Y are random
variables on a sample space S?
(a) Var(X) − Var(Y )
(b) Var(X 2 ) − Var(Y 2 )
(c) Var(X 2 ) + 2Cov(X, Y ) + Var(Y 2 )
(d) Var(X 2 ) − 2Cov(X, Y ) + Var(Y 2 )
(e) (Var(X))2 − (Var(Y ))2
20. Which of the following is equal to Var(2X − 3Y ), where X and Y are random variables
on S?
(a) 4Var(X) + 12Cov(X, Y ) + 9Var(Y )
(b) 2Var(X) − 3Var(Y )
(c) 2Var(X) + 6Cov(X, Y ) + 3Var(Y )
(d) 4Var(X) − 12Cov(X, Y ) + 9Var(Y )
(e) 2Var(X) − 6Cov(X, Y ) + 3Var(Y )
21. The strictly decreasing functions in 1003 are listed in lex order. How many are there
before the function (9,5,4)?
(a) 18 (b) 23 (c) 65 (d) 98 (e) 180
22. All but one of the following have the same answer. Which one is different?
(a) The number of multisets of size 20 whose elements lie in 5.
(b) The number of strictly increasing functions from 20 to 24.
(c) The number of subsets of size 20 whose elements lie in 24.
(d) The number of weakly decreasing 4-lists made from 21.
(e) The number of strictly decreasing functions from 5 to 24.
23. Let X be a random variable with Poisson distribution p(k; λ) Let Y = (X + 2)(X + 1).
What is the value of E(Y )?
(a) λ2 + 3λ + 1
(b) λ2 + 3λ + 2
(c) λ2 + 4λ + 2
(d) 3λ2 + 3λ + 2
(e) 4λ2 + 4λ + 2

Answers: 1 (c), 2 (d), 3 (a), 4 (b), 5 (a), 6 (c), 7 (c), 8 (c), 9 (a), 10 (c), 11 (a),
12 (c), 13 (b), 14 (d), 15 (a), 16 (c), 17 (b), 18 (d), 19 (a), 20 (d), 21 (c), 22 (e),
23 (c).

Fn-44
 Notation Index

∃ (there exists) Fn-4

∀ (for all) Fn-4
∋ (such that) Fn-4
Cov(X, Y ) (covariance) Fn-25
µX (expectation
or mean) Fn-24
E(X) (expectation) Fn-24
f ◦ g (composition) Fn-7
n (first n integers) Fn-1
Pk (A) (k-subsets of A) Fn-1
S(A) (permutations of A) Fn-7
PER(A) (permutations of A) Fn-7
Probability notation
µX (expectation, or
mean) Fn-24
ρ(X, Y ) (correlation) Fn-25
σX (standard deviation) Fn-25
E(X) (expectation) Fn-24
Cov(X, Y ) (covariance) Fn-25
Var(X) (variance) Fn-25
Q (rational numbers) Fn-1
R (real numbers) Fn-1
ρ(X, Y ) (correlation) Fn-25
Set notation
∼A (complement) Fn-1
A′ (complement) Fn-1
A − B (difference) Fn-1
A ∩ B (intersection) Fn-1
A ∪ B (union) Fn-1
A ⊕ B (symmetric
difference) Fn-1
A \ B (difference) Fn-1
A × B (Cartesian product) Fn-1
Ac (complement) Fn-1
Pk (A) (k-subsets of A) Fn-1
σX (standard deviation) Fn-25
Var(X) (variance) Fn-25
Z (integers) Fn-1

Index-1
 Index

Subject Index

Bijection Fn-3 Event Fn-21

Binomial distribution Fn-34 independent pair Fn-29
Blocks of a partition Fn-15 Expectation of a random
variable Fn-24

Cartesian product Fn-1

Function
Central Limit Theorem Fn-38
bijection Fn-3
Chebyshev’s inequality Fn-27 codomain (range) of Fn-2
Codomain (range) of a coimage of Fn-14
function Fn-2 composition of Fn-7
Coimage of a function Fn-14 density Fn-22
distribution, see Distribution
Complement of a set Fn-1
domain of Fn-2
Composition of functions Fn-7 image of Fn-14
Correlation Fn-25 image of and Stirling numbers
Covariance Fn-25 (set partitions) Fn-15
injective (one-to-one) Fn-3
Cycle in a permutation Fn-9
inverse Fn-3
inverse image of Fn-14
monotone Fn-17
Decreasing (strictly) function or one-line notation Fn-2
list Fn-17 probability Fn-21
Decreasing (weakly) function or range of Fn-2
list Fn-17 restricted growth and set
Density function Fn-22 partitions Fn-20
strictly decreasing Fn-17
Derangement Fn-12
strictly increasing Fn-17
Deviation surjective (onto) Fn-3
standard Fn-25 two-line notation Fn-5
Direct (Cartesian) product Fn-1 weakly decreasing Fn-17
Distribution Fn-22 weakly increasing Fn-17
binomial Fn-34 Functional relation Fn-4
joint Fn-28
marginal Fn-28
normal Fn-36 Identity permutation Fn-7
Poisson Fn-35
Image of a function Fn-14
Distribution function Stirling numbers (set partitions)
see Distribution and Fn-15
Domain of a function Fn-2 Increasing (strictly) function or
list Fn-17
Increasing (weakly) function or
Envelope game Fn-2 list Fn-17

Index-3
Index

Independent events Fn-29 Onto function (surjection) Fn-3

Independent random
variables Fn-29
Induction Fn-8 Partition
set Fn-14
Inequality
set and restricted growth
Tchebycheff Fn-27
function Fn-20
Injection Fn-3
Permutation Fn-3, Fn-7
Intersection of sets Fn-1 cycle Fn-9
Inverse image of a function Fn-14 cycle form Fn-9
Involution Fn-10 cycle length Fn-9
derangement Fn-12
identity Fn-7
involution Fn-10
Joint distribution function Fn-28
is a bijection Fn-3
matrix Fn-11
powers of Fn-7
List random generation Fn-33
strictly decreasing Fn-17
Poisson distribution Fn-35
strictly increasing Fn-17
weakly decreasing Fn-17 Probability distribution function
weakly increasing Fn-17 see Distribution
without repetition are Probability function Fn-21
injections Fn-3 see also Distribution
Probability space Fn-21
see also Distribution
Marginal distribution Fn-28
Matrix
permutation Fn-11 Random generation of
Monotone function Fn-17 permutations Fn-33
Multiset Random variable Fn-22
and monotone function Fn-17 binomial Fn-34
correlation of two Fn-25
covariance of two Fn-25
independent pair Fn-29
Nondecreasing function or
standard deviation of Fn-25
list Fn-17
variance of Fn-25
Nonincreasing function or list Fn-17
Range of a function Fn-2
Normal distribution Fn-36
Relation Fn-4
Numbers
Restricted growth function and set
Stirling (set partitions) Fn-15
partitions Fn-20

One-line notation Fn-2

Sample space Fn-21
One-to-one function (injection) Fn-3

Index-4
 Index

Set Weakly decreasing function or

and monotone function Fn-17 list Fn-17
complement of Fn-1 Weakly increasing function or
intersection of two Fn-1 list Fn-17
partition, see Set partition
symmetric difference of
two Fn-1
union of two Fn-1
Set partition Fn-14
restricted growth function Fn-20
Standard deviation Fn-25
Stirling numbers (set partitions)
image of a function Fn-15
Strictly decreasing function or
list Fn-17
Strictly increasing (or decreasing)
function or list Fn-17
Strictly increasing function or
list Fn-17
Surjection Fn-3
Symmetric difference of sets Fn-1

Tchebycheff’s inequality Fn-27

Theorem
Central Limit Fn-38
correlation bounds Fn-26
covariance when independent Fn-32
expectation is linear Fn-24
expectation of a product Fn-32
monotone functions and
(multi)sets Fn-18
permutations of set to fixed
power Fn-10
Tchebycheff’s inequality Fn-27
variance of sum Fn-32
Two-line notation Fn-5

Union of sets Fn-1

Variance Fn-25

Index-5