Equivalence relation and

Partition
 Equivalence relation
• An equivalence relation is a binary relation
that is reflexive, symmetric and transitive.

Example of equivalence relation

Example
Example
• A partition of a set is a grouping of its
elements into non-empty subsets, in such a
way that every element is included in exactly
one subset.
• Union of all subsets is equal to original set and
intersection of any two subsets is Null set.
 Example
• The set {1, 2, 3} has these five partitions (one
partition per item): { {1}, {2}, {3}

– { {1, 2}, {3} }

– { {1, 3}, {2} }
– { {1}, {2, 3} }
– { {1, 2, 3} }
Partition Example
Connection between equivalence
relation and partition
Connection between equivalence
relation and partition
• Show that the relation “Congruence modulo
m over the set of positive integers is an
equivalence relation”
Congruence modulo
Congruence modulo