MAT2612/102/3/2016

Tutorial Letter 102/3/2016

Introduction to Discrete Mathematics
MAT2612
Semesters 1 and 2

Department of Mathematical Sciences

This tutorial letter contains important information regarding errata, the

exam and a previous exam paper and memorandum.
 2

Dear Student

This tutorial letter contains the following information:

1. ERRATA IN THE PRESCRIBED BOOK

2. THE EXAM
3. THE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 EXAM PAPER AND SOLUTIONS

1. ERRATA IN THE 6TH EDITION OF KBR

(The following are correct in the 5th edition.)

• p.491: Answers to Exercise 4.4

Some answers have been left out and the numbering is incorrect. Please change the numbers of
the questions as follows:
17 → 19 (i.e. change 17 to 19)
19 → 21
21 → 23
23 → 25
25 → 27
27 → 29
29 → 31
31 → 33
33 → 35
35 → 37
37 → 39

Include the following answers:

13. reflexive
15. reflexive, antisymmetric, transitive
17. irreflexive, symmetric

2. THE EXAM
The exam is two hours long and the paper counts out of 100 marks. Most questions will be similar to
those asked in the self–evaluation tasks and assignments.
You must know and be able to apply all definitions and statements of theorems. However, you need
only know the proofs of the following theorems (YOU MAY BE ASKED TO PROVE ONE OF THE
THEOREMS IN THE EXAM):
 3 MAT2612/102/3

Section 3.1: Theorems 3 and 4

Section 3.2: Theorem 1
Section 4.1: Theorem 1
Section 4.7: Theorem 8
Section 5.1: Theorem 4
Section 6.2: Theorems 1 and 2
Note that the proof of a theorem may be given before the statement of the theorem in KBR.

You may also be asked to give a short proof of a statement by applying definitions and statements of
theorems.

You need not know the “Rules for Determining the Θ – Class of a Function” given on p. 203 (6th edition
of KBR), p. 186 (5th edition of KBR).

3. THE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 EXAM PAPER AND SOLUTIONS

This is the October/November 2015 exam paper. The best way to use this in your preparation for the exam,
is the following:
• First, revise your work;
• try to do this exam without looking at the solutions or your textbook;
• and only then look at the answers.
Good luck!

MAT2612 October/November 2015

INTRODUCTION TO DISCRETE MATHEMATICS

Duration : 2 Hours 100 Marks

ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS.

THE USE OF A POCKET CALCULATOR IS NOT PERMITTED.

Since calculators are not allowed, you may leave your answers as expressions involving permutations
and combinations, where necessary.

1. Use mathematical induction to show that

p3 − p
is divisible by 3 for all p ∈ Z; p ≥ 0. [6]
 4

2. (a) There are 80 members in a gym room, 40 adults and 40 teenagers. In how many ways can you choose 20
of them if you must choose at least one adult? (4)
(b) What is wrong with the following answer to 2(a): Since we must choose at least one adult, choose him/her
first: 40 possible ways. Now choose 19 more from the remaining 79 people in C(79, 19) ways. By the
product rule there are thus
40 C(79, 19)

ways to do this. (4)

[6]

3. You and 7 of your friends are watching the cricket world cup and everyone decides they feel like sushi. You make
an alphabetical list of all 8 names and write each one’s choice from the 10 available sushis next to their name.

(a) How many possible such lists are there? (2)

(b) When the sushi restaurant receives a take-away order for 8 sushis, how many different orders are possible?
(Hint: Such an order consists only of how many of each type of sushi the caller wants.) (3)
[5]

4. What is the probability that a random string of length 8 over the alphabet A, B, C, D will contain exactly three
“C”s? [4]

5. How many ways can you choose a soccer team (11 players) from 17 girls and 13 boys if you must choose at least
three girls? [4]

6. Use the pigeonhole principle to show that if any p + 1 distinct numbers are chosen from the set

{1, 2, 3, ..., 2p}

then, at least two of those chosen will be consecutive, i.e. you will pick a pair k, k + 1 amongst the chosen p + 1
numbers. [Hint: Think of n pigeons and q pigeonholes with q < n, and then apply the pigeonhole principle.] [6]

7. Let A = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6} and define the relation R on A by aRb if and only if a and b are relatively prime, in other
words, their greatest common divisor is 1. (For example, 2R3 since 2 and 3 have no factors in common besides
1.)

(a) Sketch the digraph of R. (4)

(b) Determine MR . (3)
(c) Decide, giving reasons, whether the relation R is
(i) Reflexive (2)
(ii) Irreflexive (2)
(iii) Symmetric (2)
(iv) Antisymmetric (2)
(v) Asymmetric (2)
(vi) Transitive. (2)
 5 MAT2612/102/3

(d) Use your answers in 7(c) to decide whether R is

(i) a partial order (3)
(ii) an equivalence relation (3)
[25]

8. (a) Suppose f and g are functions whose domains are subsets of Z+ , the set of positive integers. Give the
definition of
f is O(g).

(3)
(b) Use the definition of “f is O(g)” to show that
(i) 4n + 25 is O(5n ); (4)
n n
(ii) 5 is not O(4 ). (4)
[11]

9. Consider the partially ordered set (poset) represented by the following Hasse diagram. Write down the following,

k j

g h

e
d f

b c

if they exist. If they do not exist, explain why not.

(a) all upper bounds of {b, e}; (2)

(b) all lower bounds of {e, h}; (2)
(c) all upper bounds of {g, e, h}; (2)
(d) the Least upper bound of {b, d}; (3)
(e) the Greatest lower bound of {j, k}; (3)
(f) any two incompatible elements; (2)
(g) is the poset a lattice? Explain fully. (3)

[17]
 6

10. Let f : R → Z be defined by f (x) = ⌈ x2 ⌉, (“the ceiling of x

2 ”). Is f

(a) Onto? (3)

(b) One to one? (3)

Prove your answer. [6]

11. Consider the poset represented by the following Hasse diagram.

e d

c b

(a) Explain why the poset is not a lattice. (2)

(b) The removal of which vertex will make the poset a lattice? (2)
(c) Consider the lattice formed in 11(b). Is this lattice a Boolean algebra? Explain your answer. (3)

[7]

TOTAL: [100]

MEMORANDUM

1. For p = 0 then
p3 − p = 0
is divisible by 3
Assume that the assertion is true for p = k that is

k3 − k

is divisible by 3.
For p = k + 1 :

(k + 1)3 − (k + 1) = (k + 1)(k 2 + 2k + 1) − (k + 1) = (3k 2 + 3k) + (k 3 − k)

which is divisible by 3 (since each term is divisible by 3, considering our assertion.) [6]
( )
2. (a) The number of ways we can choose with no adult: 40
( ) 20
Total numbers of possible ways: 80
( ) (40) 20
Hence, there is 8020 − 20 ways we can choose 20 of them if we must choose at least one adult. (4)
 7 MAT2612/102/3

(b) We will have an overcounting problem. For example, we choose adult 1, then adult 2 and 18 teenagers
and
we choose adult 2, then adult 1 and the same 18 teenagers.
These are counted twice. (4)
[8]

3. (a) Number of lists = 108 (2)

(b) Number of orders =p+k−1 Ck , where p is the number of types of sushi and k is the number of people.
Hence the number of orders is ( ) ( ) ( )
10 + 8 − 1 17 17
= =
8 8 9
(3)
[8]

4. Total number of strings = 48 .

()
Number of strings with exactly three “C”s = 83 35 = 8! 5
3!5! 3 = 56 · 35 .
5
56 35
48 = 64 · 45 = 8 ( 4 ) .
The probability = 56·3 7 3 5
[4]

5. The complement of “at least 3” is “at most 2”. The number of ways to choose the soccer team, if there are no
( )
restrictions, is 30
11 .
The number of ways to choose the team:
( )
-with no girls is 13
11 ; ( )
-with exactly 1 girl is 17 · 13 ;
(17) 10(13)
-with exactly 2 girls is 2 · 9 ;
( ) ( ) (17) (13)
-with at most 2 girls is 13 + 17 13 + 2 · 9 ;
(30) ((1310
11 ) ( ) (17) (13))
-with at least 3 girls is 11 − 11 + 17 13 10 + 2 · 9 . [5]

6. Consider the following p consecutive pairs:

(1, 2) , (3, 4) , (5, 6) , · · · , (2p − 1, 2p).

Each of these pairs is a pigeonhole for the two numbers inside the brackets. If we place p + 1 numbers (pigeons)
into these p pigeonholes, then, by the pigeonhole principle, at least one pigeonhole contains 2 numbers, i.e. the
numbers must be consecutive. [If there are n pigeons and q pigeonholes, and q < n, then at least one pigeonhole
contains two or more pigeons.] [6]
 8

7. (a)

5 4

2 3

(4)

(b)
 
0 1 0 1 0
 
 1 0 1 1 0 
 
MR = 
 0 1 0 1 0 

 
 1 1 1 0 1 
0 0 0 1 0

(3)

(c) (i) No, because (a, a) ̸∈ R (a and a have a common factor of a in common); or the diagonal of MR does
not consist of ones. (2)
(ii) Yes because (a, a) ̸∈ R for all a ∈ A or the diagonal of MR contains only zeros. (2)
(iii) Yes If a and b do not have a common factor besides 1, then b and a also do not have a common factor
besides 1; or MR is symmetric, i.e. MRT = MR (2)
(iv) No, because (a, b) ∈ R and (b, a) ∈ R ̸=⇒ a = b, e.g. 2R3 and 3R2, but 2 ̸= 3; or for example, m12 = 1
and m21 = 1. (2)
(v) No, because (a, b) ∈ R ̸=⇒ (b, a) ̸∈ R, e.g. 2R3 and 3R2; or for example m12 = 1 and m21 = 1. (2)
(vi) No, because, for example, (2, 3) ∈ R and (3, 4) ∈ R, but (2, 4) ̸∈ R; or
 
1 1 1 1 1
 
 1 1 1 1 1 
 
MR 2 = MR ⊙ MR = 
 1 1 1 1 1 

 
 1 1 1 1 0 
1 1 1 0 1

and as MR2 has ones that are not in MR , R is not transitive. (2)

(d) (i) No, R is a partial order if it is reflexive, antisymmetric and transitive. Hence, since R is not reflexive,
it is not a partial order. (3)
(ii) No, R is an equivalence relation if it is reflexive, symmetric and transitive. Hence, since R is not
reflexive, it is not an equivalence relation. (3)
[25]
 9 MAT2612/102/3

8. (a) Suppose f and g are functions whose domains are subsets of Z+ , the set of positive integers. Give the
definition of
f is O(g).

f is O(g) if there exist constants c and k such that

|f (n)| ≤ c|g(n)| for all n ≥ k.

(3)
(b) (i) For n ∈ Z , both functions are positive. Hence we must find constants c, k such that
+

4n + 25 ≤ c5n , for all n ≥ k.

Then,
4n + 25 = 4n + 52 ≤ 5n + 5n = 2 · 5n for all n ≥ 2.

Hence, choose c = 2 and k = 2 and we obtain that 4n + 25 is O(5n ). (4)

n n
(ii) Suppose 5 is O(4 ). Thus, there exist constants c and k such that

5n
5n ≤ c · 4n , for all n ≥ k, i.e. ≤ c for all n ≥ k, .
4n
5n n
But 4n = ( 45 ) → ∞ as n → ∞. Hence, there is no c and k for which

5n
≤ c, for all n ≥ k,
4n
and then, 5n is not O(4n ). (4)
[11]

9. Considering the partially ordered set (poset) represented by the following Hasse diagram.

k j

g h

e
d f

b c

(a) g, i, j, k (2)
(b) e (2)
 10

(c) j (2)
(d) d (3)
(e) g (3)
(f) d, f (2)
(g) No, since for example there is no upper bound, so no Least upper bound (LUB) of {k, j} (3)

[17]

10. Let f : R → Z be defined by f (x) = ⌈ x2 ⌉, (“the ceiling of x

2 ”).

(a) Yes, eg. if we take x ∈ Z then, f (2x) = x (3)

(b) No, eg. f (1) = 1 and f (2) = 1 (3)

[6]

11. Considering the poset represented by the following Hasse diagram.

e d

c b

(a) Not every pair of elements has a GLB and a LUB. For example, {d, e} has no upper bound and hence no
LUB. (2)
(b) e (2)
(c) Yes, since it is isomorphic to B2 . (3)

[7]