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Review Problems

The document contains midterm review problems for MATH 240, covering topics such as set theory, propositional logic, functions, cardinality, relations, and number theory. Each section includes problems with solutions, demonstrating concepts like simplification of set operations, negation of logical statements, function properties, equivalence relations, and proofs using induction. The review is aimed at preparing students for their midterm exam on October 20, 2023.

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2 views3 pages

Review Problems

The document contains midterm review problems for MATH 240, covering topics such as set theory, propositional logic, functions, cardinality, relations, and number theory. Each section includes problems with solutions, demonstrating concepts like simplification of set operations, negation of logical statements, function properties, equivalence relations, and proofs using induction. The review is aimed at preparing students for their midterm exam on October 20, 2023.

Uploaded by

maimunahossain10
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Midterm Review Problems∗

MATH 240
October 20, 2023

1 Set Theory
Simplify
(((A ∪ B) ∩ C) ∪ B) ∪ C.
Solution. Start with the outermost complement:

(((A ∪ B) ∩ C) ∪ B) ∪ C = (((A ∪ B) ∩ C) ∩ B) ∪ C
= (((A ∩ C) ∪ (B ∩ C)) ∩ B) ∪ C.
Since B ∩ C ⊆ B, we have
(((A ∩ C) ∪ (B ∩ C)) ∩ B) ∪ C = (A ∩ C ∩ B) ∪ C
= C.

2 Propositional Logic
Negate the following statement:
∀x ∈ Z, ∃y ∈ Y (x 6= 0 =⇒ xy = 1).
What is the smallest subset Y ⊆ R such that the above sentence is true?
Solution. First negating,
¬(∀x ∈ Z, ∃y ∈ Y (xy = 1)) ≡ ∃x ∈ Z, ∀y ∈ Y ¬(x 6= 0 =⇒ xy = 1),
and
¬(A =⇒ B) ≡ ¬(¬A ∨ B) ≡ A ∧ ¬B.
Hence,
¬(∀x ∈ Z, ∃y ∈ Y (xy = 1)) ≡ ∃x ∈ Z, ∀y ∈ Y (x 6= 0 ∧ xy 6= 1),
The smallest such Y is the one where every x ∈ Z has an inverse, i.e.
 
1 1 1 1 1 1
Y = . . . , − , − , − , −1, 1, , , , . . . .
4 3 2 2 3 4
∗ Writeup: Simon Lapointe.

1
3 Functions
1. Does 2x + y 2 = 12 represent y as a function of x?
Solution. No. Isolating y yields
√
y = ± 12 − 2x,

which does not assign a single value of y for each x (it is two-valued).

2. For which sets Y ⊆ R is the following function injective/surjective?

f : Y → R, f (x) = x4 .

Solution. It is injective for Y = (−∞, 0] and Y = [0, ∞), and any subset of
one of the two. It is never surjective since there is no x ∈ R such that x4 = −1,
for example.

4 Cardinality revisited
Is there a surjection N → P(N)? What about the other way?
Solution. There is no surjection N → P(N). Represent subsets A of N as
binary sequences, where the nth index being 1 indicates n is in A. Assume for
a contradiction that such a surjection exists. Enumerate all sequences Ai , and
form a sequence A, where the first index is the opposite of the first index of A1 ,
the second index is the opposite of the second index of A2 , the nth index is the
opposite of the nth index of An , etc. Then, A is not equal to any sequence Ai
but represents a subset of N, a contradiction.
There are many surjections P(N) → N. For example, if A is a subset of N,
send it to the smallest natural number in it, and send the empty set to anything.

5 Relations
Prove that the relation ∼ on N × N defined by

(n, m) ∼ (n0 , m0 ) ⇐⇒ ∃k ∈ N(n + m0 + k = n0 + m + k)

is an equivalence relation. What is the class of (2, 1)?


Solution.
• Reflexive: (n, m) ∼ (n, m) since n + m = n + m;
• Symmetric: if (n, m) ∼ (n0 , m0 ), there exists k such that n + m0 + k =
n0 + m + k, so
n0 + m + k = n + m 0 + k
and (n0 , m0 ) ∼ (n, m).

2
• Transitive: if (n, m) ∼ (n0 , m0 ) and (n0 , m0 ) ∼ (n00 , m00 ), there are k, k 0
such that

n + m0 + k = n0 + m + k, n0 + m00 + k 0 = n00 + m0 + k 0 ,

so

n + m00 + (n0 + m0 + k + k 0 ) = n00 + m + (n0 + m0 + k + k 0 ).

If (n, m) ∼ (2, 1), there exists k such that n + 1 + k = m + 2 + k, so n − m = 1.


The class of (2, 1) is pairs of natural numbers (n + 1, n).

Optional exercise: How many non-equivalent equivalence relations are there


on a 3-element set? Two equivalence relations ∼1 , ∼2 on X are equivalent
if there exists a bijection f : X → X such that whenever x ∼1 x0 , we have
f (x) ∼2 f (x0 ).

6 Number theory
Prove that, for all n ≥ 7, there are k, l ∈ N such that n = 2k + 5l.
Solution. We prove the statement by strong induction. There are two base
cases: 7 = 2 · 1 + 5 · 1 and 8 = 2 · 4 + 5 · 0. Now, for the induction step, suppose
all natural numbers up to n − 1 are expressible this way. In particular, n − 2 is,
as
n − 2 = 2k + 5l =⇒ n = 2(k + 1) + 5l.
We are done.

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