Spring 2021 MACT 2131

Discrete Mathematics
Midterm Exam

Please write down your full name and ID number, and copy and sign the following academic
integrity pledge.

“By submitting this exam, I affirm the work submitted is my own. I have
not consulted unauthorized resources or materials nor collaborated with other
individuals.”

Write your answers in clear complete English sentences using punctuation marks. Don’t forget
to capitalize the first letter of your sentences.

Question 1 (2 marks). Answer the following.

(i) Describe what is a compound proposition in propositional logic.

(ii) Define the power set of a set S.

(iii) When a universal statement ∀xP (x) is true and when it is false?

(iv) Explain why p ∧ q is not logically equivalent to p ∨ q.

Question 2 (1 mark). Let h, p, r, s, t be propositional variables. Show that the argument below
is valid by giving a formal proof stating at every step which rule of inference is used.

1. t∨p
2. t→s
3. (p ∨ h) → (t ∨ s)
4. ¬r
5. s→r
∴ s∧p

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Question 3 (1 mark). Given predicates P (x) and Q(x), show that the argument below is valid
by giving a formal proof stating at every step which rule of inference is used.

1. ∃x(P (x) → Q(x))

2. ∀x P (x)
∴ ∃x Q(x)

Question 4 (3 marks).
(I) Let A = {1, 2, 3}, and B = {a, b}, and C = {1, {a, b}, 2}. Find the following sets.


1. P P(A ∩ B)

2. P(A ∩ C)

3. B ∪ P(B)

4. B 3

5. B × C

6. B × N

7. C ∩ P(B)

(II) For each positive integer n, let the set An = {1, 2, 3, . . . , n + 1}. Find A1 , A2 , and A3 .
S∞ ∞
T
Moreover, find An and An .
n=1 n=1

Question 5 (5 marks). Determine whether each of the following statements is true or false.
Moreover, explain your answer.

1. The compound proposition (p ∧ q) ∨ (r → ¬s) is a contingency.

2. Consider sets A and B where A = Z × Q and B = N × R. Then A ⊆ B.

3. For any integer m, we have that m < 3m.

4. The statement ∀x∀y∃z(x < z ∧ z < y) is true in the domain R.

5. The statement ∀x∃y∃z(y < x ∧ x < z) is true in the domain Z.

6. (R − Q) ∩ Z = ∅.

7. For every positive integer n, we have that 2n + 2n is even.

8. Let A = {4, 7, 12}. Then A ∈ P(N).

9. For every integer n, if n is an odd, then 5n is even.

10. The interval (1, 2) of real numbers is a proper subset of the interval (1, 2].

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Question 6 (3 marks). Prove that for any integers m and n, if m is even and n is odd, then
the integer mn + 3 is odd.

Question 7 (3 marks). Consider the binary predicate

D(x, y) which states that “x is the doctor of y”.

The domain of the variables is all people. Use D(x, y), logical connectives, and quantifiers to
translate the following statements from English to predicate logic or vice versa. When you
translate to English avoid using the variables.

1. Every person has a doctor.

2. Every doctor has at least two patients.

3. A person named V has exactly one doctor.

4. ∃x∀yD(x, y).

5. ∃x∃y(x 6= y ∧ D(x, y) ∧ D(y, x)).

6. ∀x∀y∃z D(z, x) ∧ D(z, y) .

Question 8 (2 marks). Give examples of sets A, B, C such that A ⊆ B and B ⊆ C. Is it true

that A ⊆ C? Show that this always hold. In other words, prove that for any sets X, Y, Z, if
X ⊆ Y and Y ⊆ Z, then X ⊆ Z.

Best wishes!
Daoud Siniora