CSC 208 DISCRETE STRUCTURES
There are three (3) Modules and eight (8) Units in this course:
Module 1 Introduction to Discrete Structures
Unit 1 Set Theory
Unit 2 Proofs and Induction
Unit 3 Logic
Module 2 Boolean Algebra and Graph Theory
Unit 1 Boolean Algebra and Lattices Unit 2 Graph Theory
Module 3 Matrices, Applications to Counting and Discrete
Probability
Unit 1 Matrices
Unit 2 Applications to Counting
Unit 3 Discrete Probability Generating Function
Introduction to Mathematical Statements
The general objectives of this course are to familiarize students with the basic concepts of
sets, logic, functions, matrices and graph theory.
We will take a few examples of mathematical statements to illustrate what a proper
communication in mathematics is all about.
Statement Definitions
A statement is a declarative sentence that is either true or false. A statement is said to be an
Atomic Statement if it cannot be divided into smaller statements, else it is termed a
Molecular Statement
Example
These statements are examples of atomic statements:
Mobile numbers in Nigeria have 11 digits.
5 is larger than 7.
12 is a perfect square.
Every even number that is greater than 2 can be expressed as the sum of two prime
numbers.
However, these examples are not statements:
Would you like some ice cream?
The product of two numbers.
1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + · · · + 2n + 1.
Go to the lecture room!
4 + x = 15
This sentence “4 + x = 15” is clearly not a statement. This is because it contains an unknown
variable, x. The sentence is either true or false, depending on the value of x. However, at the
moment, it is neither true nor false. We can also build a complicated (molecular) sentence
by combining more than one or more simple atomic or molecular sentences by using Logical
Connectives. An example of a molecular statement is:
Mobile numbers in Nigeria have 11 digits and 5 is larger than 7.
This example of a molecular statement can also be broken down into smaller statements
which were only connected by an “and”. Obviously, molecular statements are also
statements, therefore, they must be either true or false. The five connectives we can consider
are “and”, “or”, “if… then”, “if and only if”, and “not.
“and” - I am a boy and my sister is a girl.
“or” - Delight is a boy or a girl.
“if… then” - If you register then you can write the exam.
“if and only if”- You can register if and only if you were admitted.
“not - You are not admitted.
The connectives, “and”, “or”, “if… then”, “if and only if”, connects two statements and are
called binary connectives while the connective “not” applies to only a single sentence and
is called a unary connective.
In order to determine the truth values of molecular statements, the key observation to make
is to completely determine what the truth values of the parts are and the type of
connective(s). We do not necessarily have to know what the individual parts actually say,
we however, only need to know whether those parts are true or false. Therefore, in order to
analyse logical connectives, we use propositional variables (also called sentential
variables) which are the characters found in the middle of the English alphabets represented
in capital: P, Q, R, S, … to represent each atomic statements in the molecular statement.
“if… then”, “if and only if”, and “not” can be represented by these symbols ∧, ∨, →, ↔,
These variables can only have two values, true or false. The logical connectives: “and”, “or”,
and ¬ respectively.
• P ∧ Q means “P and Q,” and it is termed a conjunction.
Logical Connectives
• P ∨ Q means “P or Q,” and it is termed a disjunction.
• P → Q means “if P then Q,” and it is termed an implication or conditional.
• P ↔ Q means “P if and only if Q,” and it is termed a bi-conditional.
• ¬P means “not P,” and it is called a negation.
The truth (T) value of a statement is determined by the truth value(s) of its part(s), depending
on the connectives:
• P ∧ Q is true whenever P and Q are both true.
Truth Conditions for Connectives.
• P ∨ Q is true whenever P or Q or both are true.
• P → Q is true whenever P is false or Q is true or both true.
• P ↔ Q is true whenever P and Q are both false, or both true.
• ¬P is true whenever P is false and vice versa.
SETS
Sets are the most fundamental objects in all of mathematics.
Definition of Set: An informal definition of set is that a set is an unordered collections of
objects. These objects comprise of the set are termed elements. The number of objects in a
set can be finite or infinite.
Notations
A single set, A can be expressed with the following notations:
A = {1, 2}; A = {2, 1}; A = {1, 2, 1, 2}; A = {a: a is an integer, 1 ≤ a < 3}
The notation, A = {1, 3} is read as, “A is the set containing the elements 1 and 3.”
The curly braces “{ }” is used to enclose the elements of the set and the comma “,” is used to
separate the elements inside the braces.
The symbol “:” or “”),, implies “such that”. Therefore, the notation, {a: a is an integer,
1 ≤ a < 3} is read as “the set of all a such that a is an integer between 1 and 3 (1 inclusive
Considering the notation: 5 ∈ {1, 2, 5}
and 3 exclusive)”.
The symbol “∈” implies “is in” or “is an element of.” Therefore, the notation is read as 5
is an element of a set containing 1,2, and 5. This is a true statement. We can also write
5. This can be written as: 3 ∉ {1, 2, 5}
another true statement if we say that 3 “is not” an element of the set containing 1,2, and
⊆: A ⊆ B means that A is a subset of B every element of A is also an element of B.
Some other notations
If A is {2, 3, 4}, B is {2, 3, 4, 5}. Then A ⊆ B.
If A is {2, 3, 4}, B is {2, 3, 4}. Then A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A.
If A is {2, 3, 4, 5}, B is {2, 3, 4, 6, 7}. Then B ⊈ A.
⊂: A ⊂ B means that A is a proper subset of B every element of A is also an element
Let A = {2, 3, 4} and B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}. Then, A ⊂ B.
of B, but NOT every element of B is an element of A.
If A is {2, 3, 4}, B is {2, 3, 4}. Then, A ⊄ B (reads as A is a NOT a proper subset of B).
U: A fixed set which contains all other sets under investigation is called universal set. In
other words, all other sets under investigation are subsets of the universal set and it is
denoted by U.
Example: Considering population of humans, the universal set consist of every person in
the world.
∪: A ∪ B is the union of A and B: is the set containing all elements which are elements of
Operations on Sets
A or B or both. If A is {1, 2, 4, 5}, B is {2, 3, 4}. Then A ∪ B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
∩: A ∩ B is the intersection of A and B: the set containing all elements which are
elements of both A and B.
If A is {1, 2, 4, 5}, B is {2, 3, 4}. Then A ∩ B = {2, 4}
\: A \ B is A minus B. That is the set containing all elements of A excluding all elements of
B that appears in A.
Ac or –𝐴: The complement of A is the set of everything that is not an element of A.
Let A = {1, 2, 4, 5, 6}, B = {2, 3, 4}. Then A \ B = {1, 5, 6} and B/A = {3}.
Let the universal set, U be {1, 2, . . ., 9, 10}, A = {2, 3, 4}. Then Ac =
{1, 5, 6, …, 9, 10}.
|{1, 2, 3}| = |{a, b, c}| = |{1,{1, 2}, 5}| = |{1, 2, ∅}| = 3.
|A|: The cardinality or size of a set, A is the number of elements that exists in A.
ordered pairs (a, b) with a ∈ A and b ∈ B.
×: A × B is the Cartesian product of two non-empty sets A and B is the set of all the
Let A be a set. A × A is the set of ordered pairs (x, y) x, y ∈ A.
The expression A × A × · · · × A (n times) can also be denoted as An which is the set of
all ordered subsets (with repetitions) of A of size n.
Examples
i. {0, 1}n the set of all “strings” of 0 and 1 of length n.
ii. Let A = {1, 2}, B = {3, 4, 5}. Then A × B = {(1, 3), (1, 4), (1, 5), (2, 3), (2, 4), (2,
5)}.
Example
Prove that if A × B = B × A, then A = B.
Proof: Let’s take A × B = B × A. This implies that A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A. Therefore, A = B.
Solution
Rules of Set Theory
Commutative Law: (A ∪ B) = (B ∪ A) and (A ∩ B) = (B ∩ A).
Let A, B and C be sets.
Associative Law: (A ∪ (B ∪ C)) = ((A ∪ B) ∪ C) and (A ∩ (B ∩ C)) = ((A ∩
i.
ii.
Distributive Law: (A ∪ (B ∩ C)) = (A ∪ B) ∩ (A ∪ C) and (A ∩ (B ∪ C)) = (A
B) ∩ C).
∩ B) ∪ (A ∩ C).
iii.
iv. De Morgan’s Law: (A ∪ B)C = (Ac ∩ Bc) and (A ∩ B)C = (Ac ∪ Bc)
•∅
Some special sets we will consider in this unit:
The empty set that contains no element (also denoted as { }).
•U A universal set, is the set of all elements.
•ℕ Non-negative integers: {0, 1, 2, 3, . . . }.
•ℕ +
Positive integers: {1, 2, 3, . . . }.
•ℤ Integers: {. . . −2, −1, 0, 1, 2 . . . }.
•ℝ Real numbers.
•ℝ +
Positive reals.
• P(A) The power set of any set A is the set of all subsets of A.
Disjoint Set
Sets X and Y are called disjoint sets, if they contain no common elements, that is, no
element of X is in Y and no element of Y is also in X.
Given 𝑋 = {1,2,3} and 𝑌 = {4,5,6}, then 𝑋 and 𝑌 are disjoint sets.
Example 3.2.5.1:
If 𝐴 = {𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑} and 𝐵 = {𝑑, 𝑒, 𝑔}, then 𝐴 and 𝐵 are not disjoint sets, since 𝑑
i.
ii.
is in both sets.
Power Set
The power set of A is the set of all subsets of A, and it is represented as P(A)
Example Find P(A), if A = {1, 2, 3}.
Solution By definition of power set,
P(A) = {∅, {1}, {2}, {3}, {1, 2}, {1, 3}, {2, 3}, {1, 2, 3}}.
Note: The power set of any set is normally, 2n, where n is the cardinality of the set A.
Therefore, since the cardinality of A in Example is 3, the cardinality of the power set of A, |
Note: Although 1 ∈ A, it will be wrong to say that 1 ∈ P(A) because there are no elements
P(A)| = 23 = 8.
of P(A) that are numbers. However, we can say that {1} ∈ P(A) because {1} ⊆ A.
“and”. Remember that the statement x ∈ A ∪ B is read as x is an element of either A or B.
We can relate the symbols of union and intersect to resemble the logic symbols of “or” and
x ∈ A ∪ B ↔ x ∈ A ∨ x ∈ B. Similarly,
Therefore,
x ∈ A ∩ B ↔ x ∈ A ∧ x ∈ B. Also,
x ∉ A ↔ ¬(x ∈ A).
Example
Let A = {2, 4, 6}, B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, C = {1, 2, 3}, D = {1, 3, {4, 5}, x}, and E = {7, 8,
9}.
i. A ⊂ B. ii. B ⊂ A. iii. A ∈ C. iv. ∅ ∈ B. v. ∅ ⊂ A.
Determine each statement to be either a true, false, or meaningless statement.
vi. A < E. vii. 2 ∈ C. viii. x ⊂ D. ix. {9} ⊂ P(E).
Solution
False. 1 ∈ B but 1 ∉ A.
i. True. All the elements in A are also elements in B.
ii.
iii. False. set C contains the elements 1, 2, and 3. The set A is not equal to 1, 2, or
3.
iv. False. B contains exactly 6 elements with none been an empty set.
v. True. An empty set is a subset of every set, therefore, it is a subset of A.
vi. Meaningless. This is because a set cannot be bigger than or lesser than another
set.
vii. True. 2 is an elements of C.
viii. Meaningless. Since x is not a set, it therefore cannot be a subset of another set.
ix. True. {9} is an element of P(E).
Venn Diagrams
A Venn Diagram is a great tool used to visualize and represent operations on sets. It is used
to display sets as intersecting circles. Therefore, we can highlight a region under
consideration when we carry out an operation. The cardinality of a set can be represented by
putting numbers in the corresponding area.
Relations
Definition : A relation on a single set B is a subset of B × B. A relation on two sets B and C
is a subset of B × C. Now, let’s consider relationships among sets. For example, we can say
that X is married to Y and they both have a child, Z. In our daily lives, we deal a lot with
talks about relationships. For example, if we consider two human beings (B, C), “taller-
than”, “smarter-than” are relations between them. That is (B, C) ∈ “taller-than” if the person
B is taller than the person C. “≥” is a relation on ℝ. “≥” = {(b, c) | b, c ∈ ℝ, b ≥ c}.
Reflexive: if ∀ x ∈ S, (x, x) ∈ R. (∀ means for all) – {1, 2}=(1, 1), (2, 2)
Definition: A relation R on a set S is:
ii. Symmetric: if ∀ x, y ∈ S, whenever (x, y) ∈ R, (y, x) ∈ R. a=b and b=a if all are true.
i.
iii. Transitive: if ∀ x, y, z ∈ S, whenever (x, y) ∈ R and (y, z) ∈ R, then (x, z) ∈ R.
Example
i. “≤” is reflexive, however, “<” is not.
ii. “sibling-of” is symmetric, however, “≤” and “sister-of” are not.
iii. “sibling-of”, “≤”, and “<” are both transitive, however, “parent- of” is not
(nevertheless, “ancestor-of” is transitive). a=b, b=c, then a=c.
An Equivalence relation is a relation that is reflexive, symmetric and transitive and it is
denoted by the symbol “≡”.
For the set S, let “≡” be its equivalence relation. An equivalence class is a maximal subset E
of the set S, such that any two elements in the set E is related. There can be multiple
equivalence class corresponding to the relation ≡.
TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENTS
a. {x | x + 2 ∈ ℕ}.
1. Describe the following sets in words and determine their elements.
b. {x | x + 2 ∈ ℕ+}.
c. {x ∈ ℕ | x + 2 ∈ ℕ}.
d. {x | x ∈ ℕ ∨ −x ∈ ℕ}.
e. {x | x ∈ ℕ ∧ −x ∈ ℕ}.
2. Let A = {7, 1, 2, 3, 6}, B = {2, 3, 4}, C = {1, 6, 7} and D = {5, 8,
4, 9} be subsets of U = {n ℕ : 1 ≤ n ≤10}.
A ⋃ C ii. (A ⋂ Dc) ⋃ (A ⋂ B)c iii. ∅ ⋃ B iv. (A ⋃ B)c
a. Find the following;
i.
b. Represent the sets in 2a above by the use of a Venn Diagram.
4. Using the sets W = {2, a, {u, v, w}, ∅}, X = {∅, a}, Y = {1, 2, 4} and Z = {2, 4, 8}.
3. Using a Venn Diagram, determine if the representation A \ B is equivalent to A ∩ B¯.
Determine if the following statements are true, false or meaningless. State your reasons
for each.
i. wA ii. B A iii. D > C iv. {2, a} A
j. Find the cardinality of each set below (show cardinality check):
B = {1, {2, 3, 4}, 5, ∅}
i. A = {23, 24, . . . , 37, 38}
i.
ii. P(K L) K = {n ℕ ℕ : n ≤ 19} and L = { n ℕ : n is prime}
iii. P(C) C = {a, b, c, d}
If |A| = 5 and |B| = 8 and |A ∪ B| = 11 what is the size of A ∩ B?
k. Let A = {1, 2, 3}, B = {4, 5, 6, 7}. Find B × A.
l.
A ∪ B?
m. If |Ac ∩ B| = 10 and |A ∩ Bc | = 8 and |A ∩ B| = 5 then how many elements are there is
