Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises

in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;

2nd Edition 2002

13.1 Congruences

13.1.1
Without carrying out any ‘long multiplication’ show that

(i) 1 234 567 × 90 123 ≡ 1 (mod 10),

(ii) 2468 × 13 579 ≡ −3 (mod 25).

Solution This exercise relies on the second part of Theorem 13.1. Note that,
in part (i), working modulo 10 is equivalent to taking the final digit.

(i) 1 234 567 × 90 123 ≡ 7 × 3 = 21 ≡ 1,

(ii) 2468 × 13 579 ≡ 18 × 4 = 72 ≡ −3.
 Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises
in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;
2nd Edition 2002

13.1.2
Use the method of casting out nines to show that two of the following equations
are false. What can be said about the other equation?

(i) 5783 × 40 162 = 233 256 846,

(ii) 9787 × 1258 = 12 342 046,
(iii) 8901 × 5743 = 52 018 443.

Solution The method is to take the sum of the digits in each number, and
repeat if necessary, until we have a statement that is easy to check. If the final
statement is false, the original one must also be false. If the final statement is
true, the original statement may be true, but it could be false.

(i)
5783 × 40 162 233 256 846
23 × 13 39
5 × 4 ≡
6 12

The original statement must be false.

(ii)
9787 × 1258 12 342 046
31 × 16 22
4 × 7 ≡
6 4
The original statement must be false.

(iii)
8901 × 5743 52 018 443
18 × 19 27
9 × 10 ≡ 9

The original statement could be true. But in fact it is false, as can be

verified by explicit calculation.
 Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises
in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;
2nd Edition 2002

13.1.3
Suppose we are given m ≥ 2 and an integer x. The remainder r when x is
divided by m satisfies

x ≡ r (mod m), 0 6 r 6 m − 1,

and is sometimes called the least non-negative residue of x (mod m). Find the
least non-negative residue of 315 (mod 17) and 1581 (mod 13).

Solution Working mod 17,

33 = 10, 34 = 13, 35 = 5
∴ 315 = 35 × 35 × 35 = 125 = 6.

Working mod 13, we have 15 = 2 so 1581 = 281 . Now

24 = 3, 212 = (24 )3 = 33 = 1, 272 = (212 )6 = 1;

281 = 272 × 29 = 1 × 3 × 3 × 2 = 18 = 5.
 Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises
in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;
2nd Edition 2002

13.2 Zm and its arithmetic

13.2.1
Complete Tables 13.2.1(a, b), the addition and multiplication tables for Z6 .

Solution
⊕ 0 1 2 3 4 5
0 0 1 2 3 4 5
1 1 2 3 4 5 0
2 2 3 4 5 0 1
3 3 4 5 0 1 2
4 4 5 0 1 2 3
5 5 0 1 2 3 4

⊗ 0 1 2 3 4 5
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 2 3 4 5
2 0 2 4 0 2 4
3 0 3 0 3 0 3
4 0 4 2 0 4 2
5 0 5 4 3 2 1
 Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises
in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;
2nd Edition 2002

13.2.2
Deduce from Theorem 7.5.2 that if x and y are integers such that xy = 0 and
x 6= 0, then y = 0. Show by counter-examples that this axiom does not hold in
Z6 , Z8 , and Z15 . Is there a counter-example in Z7 ?

Solution Theorem 7.5.2 says that if xz = yz and z 6= 0 then x = y. Here we

have xy = 0 and x 6= 0, and we can rearrange this as

yx = 0x, x 6= 0,

which implies that y = 0, as required.

For the second part, we have, for example:

3×2=0 in Z6 ,
4×2=0 in Z8 ,
3×5=0 in Z15 .

There is no such example in Z7 .You can check this by looking at the multipli-
cation table. The general theory is discussed in the next section (Section 13.3).
 Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises
in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;
2nd Edition 2002

13.2.3
Solve the simultaneous equations

x + 2y = 4,
4x + 3y = 4

in Z7 . Is there a solution in Z5 ?

Solution In Z7 , the solution is x = 2, y = 1. This can be obtained by

multiplying the first equation by 4 (and reducing the coefficients mod 7), which
gives

4x + 8y = 16, that is 4x + y = 2.
Subtracting this from the second equation gives 2y = 2, y = 1.
In Z5 there is no solution. There are many ways to see this: for example,
adding the equations gives 0(x + y) = 3, which is impossible.
 Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises
in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;
2nd Edition 2002

13.3 Invertible elements of Zm

13.3.1
Find the invertible elements of Z6 , Z7 , and Z8 .

Solution By ‘trial and error’, the invertible elements are:

Z6 : 1, 5;
Z7 : 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6;
Z8 : 1, 3, 5, 7.

A general rule will be found in Theorem 13.3.1.

 Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises
in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;
2nd Edition 2002

13.3.2
Show that 0 is not invertible in any Zm , but 1 is always invertible.

Solution For any x, we have 0 × x = 0, and 0 6= 1. So no x can be the inverse

of 0.

On the other hand 1 × 1 = 1, so 1 is its own inverse.

 Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises
in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;
2nd Edition 2002

13.3.4
Find the inverses of

(i) 2 in Z11 ,
(ii) 7 in Z15 ,
(iii) 7 in Z16 ,
(iv) 5 in Z13 .

Solution In these examples, the inverses are easily found by trial and error.

(i) 6,
(ii) 13,
(iii) 7,
(iv) 8.
 Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises
in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;
2nd Edition 2002

13.3.5
Use Fermat’s Theorem to calculate the remainder when 347 is divided by 23.

Solution By Fermat’s Theorem, 322 ≡ 1 mod 23. Thus

347 = 322 × 322 × 33 ≡ 1 × 1 × 33 = 4 (mod 23).

 Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises
in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;
2nd Edition 2002

13.4 Cyclic constructions for designs

13.4.1
Which of the following are difference sets?
(i) {2, 3, 5, 11} in Z13 ,
(ii) {0, 1, 3, 5} in Z13 ,
(iii) {3, 6, 7, 12, 14} in Z21 .

Solution We construct the difference tables, as in Table 13.4.1 on p.151.

(i)
2 3 5 11
2 – 12 10 4
3 1 – 11 5
5 3 2 – 7
11 9 8 6 –

This is a difference set, because every value occurs exactly once.

(ii)
0 1 3 5
0 – 12 10 8
1 1 – 11 9
3 3 2 – 11
5 5 4 2 –

This is not a difference set because, for example, 11 occurs twice and 6
not at all.
(iii)
3 6 7 12 14
3 – 18 17 12 10
6 3 – 20 15 13
7 4 1 – 16 14
12 9 6 5 – 19
14 11 8 7 2 –

This is a difference set because every value occurs exactly once.

 Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises
in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;
2nd Edition 2002

13.4.2
Repeat the Example given on p. 152 with 23 replaced by 11, and with 23 replaced
by 31. Make a conjecture about the parameters of the associated design when
m is any prime of the form 4n + 3.

Solution In Z11 the squares are 1, 3, 4, 5 and 9, and in the difference table
each value occurs twice. In Z31 the squares are 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 16, 18,
19, 20, 25 and 28, and in the difference table each value occurs seven times.
We observe that working in Zp where p is a prime of the form 4n + 3, the
number of non-zero squares is 2n + 1. Furthermore, in the cases n = 2, 5, 7, each
value occurs exactly n times in the difference table. This observation leads to
the conjecture that we can always construct a 2-design with parameters

v = 4n + 3, k = 2n + 1, r2 = n
in this way. (For the proof of a more general result, see Section 23.8.)
 Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises
in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;
2nd Edition 2002

13.5 Latin squares

13.5.1
An ordinary pack (deck) of cards contains four Jacks, four Queens, four Kings,
and four Aces, one of each denomination from each of the four suits—Hearts,
Clubs, Diamonds, and Spades. Explain how to arrange these 16 cards in a 4 × 4
square in such a way that each row contains one card from each suit and one
card from each denomination. Interpret your result in terms of latin squares.

Solution One solution is as follows.

AS KH QC JD
KC AD JS QH
QD JC AH KS
JH QS KD AC
If we denote A,K,Q,J by 1,2,3,4 respectively, and H,C,D,S in the same way,
we get the arrangement

14 21 32 43
22 13 44 31
33 42 11 24
41 34 23 12

which is a pair of orthogonal latin squares using the symbols 1,2,3,4.

 Solutions to Chapter 13 Exercises
in Discrete Mathematics by Norman L. Biggs;
2nd Edition 2002

13.5.2
Use the construction given in Theorem 13.5.2 to obtain four mutually orthogonal
latin squares of order 5.

Solution
L1 : 0 1 2 3 4 L2 : 0 1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4 0 2 3 4 0 1
2 3 4 0 1 4 0 1 2 3
3 4 0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2
4 0 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 0
L3 : 0 1 2 3 4 L4 : 0 1 2 3 4
3 4 0 1 2 4 0 1 2 3
1 2 3 4 0 3 4 0 1 2
4 0 1 2 3 2 3 4 0 1
2 3 4 0 1 1 2 3 4 0