Course Code: ITE 048 Discrete Structure

Module #11 Student Activity Sheet

Name:_____________________________________________________________ Class number: ________

Section: ____________ Schedule: _____________________________________ Date: _______________
Lesson title: Matrices of Relation Materials:
SAS and Supplementary reading
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the session, students should be able to: References:
1. Understand relations and matrix. • Johnsonbaugh, Richard (2018).
2. Demonstrate relations into graphs and matrices. Discrete Mathematics (8th Ed.)
3. Calculate the value of matrices using a table.
• www.tutorialspoint.com/discrete_
mathematics

A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW

Introduction

On the previous lesson try to recall some of the important key notes of the lesson.

Previously, you encountered two of the many possible ways of representing a relation, namely
digraph and equivalence of relations. In this session, we will discuss the representation of
relations by matrices.

So let’s get started.

B. MAIN LESSON

Content Notes

A matrix is a convenient way to represent a relation R from X to Y. Such a representation

can be used by a computer to analyze a relation. We label the rows with the elements X (in
some arbitrary order) and we label the columns with the elements of Y (again, in some
arbitrary order). We then set the entry in row x and column y to 1 if x R y and 0 otherwise.
This matric is called the matrix of the relation R, relative to the orderings of X and Y.

A binary relation R defined on a set A may have the following properties:

• Reflexivity • Symmetry • Asymmetry

• Irreflexivity • Antisymmetry • Transitivity

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 Course Code: ITE 048 Discrete Structure
Module #11 Student Activity Sheet

Name:_____________________________________________________________ Class number: ________

Section: ____________ Schedule: _____________________________________ Date: _______________

Reflexive Relation

A binary relation R is called reflexive if and only if ∀a∈A, aRa. So, a relation R is reflexive if it
relates every element of A to itself.

Examples of reflexive relations:

1. The relation ≥ ("is greater than or equal to") on
the set of real numbers.
2. Similarity of triangles.
3. The relation R={(1,1),(1,2), (2,2),(3,3),(3,1)} on
the set.

Reflexive relations are always represented by a

matrix that has 1 on the main diagonal. The
digraph of a reflexive relation has a loop from each node to itself.

Irreflexive Relation

A binary relation R on a set A is called irreflexive if aRa does not hold for any a∈A. This
means that there is no element in R which is related to itself.

Examples of irreflexive relations:

1. The relation < ("is less than") on the set of real
numbers.
2. Relation of one person being son of another
person.
3. The relation R={(1,2),(2,1), (1,3),(2,3),(3,1)} on
the set.

The matrix of an irreflexive relation has all 0′s on its main diagonal. The directed graph for the
relation has no loops.

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 Course Code: ITE 048 Discrete Structure
Module #11 Student Activity Sheet

Name:_____________________________________________________________ Class number: ________

Section: ____________ Schedule: _____________________________________ Date: _______________

Symmetric Relation

A binary relation R on a set A is called symmetric if for all a,b∈A it holds that
if aRb then bRa. In other words, the relative order of the components in an ordered pair does
not matter - if a binary relation contains an (a,b) element, it will also include the symmetric
element (b,a).

Examples of symmetric relations:

1. The relation = ("is equal to") on the set of real
numbers.
2. The relation "is perpendicular to" on the set of
straight lines in a plane.
3. The relation R={(1,1),(1,2), (2,1),(1,3),(3,1)} on the
set
For a symmetric relation, the logical matrix M is symmetric about the main diagonal. The
transpose of the matrix MT is always equal to the original matrix M. In a digraph of a symmetric
relation, for every edge between distinct nodes, there is an edge in the opposite direction.

Antisymmetric Relation

A binary relation R on a set A is said to be antisymmetric if there is no pair of distinct

elements of A each of which is related by R to the other. So, an antisymmetric relation R can
include both ordered pairs (a,b) and (b,a) if and only if a=b.

Examples of antisymmetric relations:

1. The relation ≥ ("is greater than or equal to")

on the set of real numbers.
2. The subset relation ⊆ on a power set.
3. The
relation R={(1,1),(2,1), (2,3),(3,1),(3,3)} on the
set
In a matrix M=[aij] representing an antisymmetric relation R, all elements symmetric about the
main diagonal are not equal to each other: aij≠aji for i≠j. The digraph of an antisymmetric
relation may have loops, however connections between two distinct vertices can only go one
way.

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 Course Code: ITE 048 Discrete Structure
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Asymmetric Relation

An asymmetric binary relation is similar to antisymmetric relation. The difference is that an

asymmetric relation R never has both elements aRb and bRa even if a=b.

Every asymmetric relation is also antisymmetric. The converse is not true. If an antisymmetric
relation contains an element of kind (a,a), it cannot be asymmetric. Thus, a binary
relation R is asymmetric if and only if it is both antisymmetric and irreflexive.

Examples of asymmetric relations:

1. The relation > ("is greater than") on the set of

real numbers.
2. The family relation "is father of".
3. The relation R={(2,1),(2,3),(3,1)} on the set
The matrix for an asymmetric relation is not
symmetric with respect to the main diagonal and contains no diagonal elements. The digraph
of an asymmetric relation must have no loops and no edges between distinct vertices in both
directions.

Transitive Relation

A binary relation R on a set A is called transitive if for all a,b,c∈A it holds that
if aRb and bRc, then aRc.
This condition must hold for all triples a,b,c in the set. If there exists some triple a,b,c∈A such
that (a,b)∈R and (b,c)∈R, but (a,c)∉R, then the relation R is not transitive.

Examples of transitive relations:

1. The relation > ("is greater than") on the set of real
numbers.
2. The relation "is parallel to" on the set of straight
lines.
3. The relation R={(1,2),(1,3), (2,2),(2,3),(3,3)} on the
set
In a matrix M=[aij] of a transitive relation R, for each pair of (i,j)− and (j,k)−entries with
value 1 there exists the (i,k)−entry with value 1. The presence of 1′s on the main diagonal
does not violate transitivity.

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 Course Code: ITE 048 Discrete Structure
Module #11 Student Activity Sheet

Name:_____________________________________________________________ Class number: ________

Section: ____________ Schedule: _____________________________________ Date: _______________

Skill-building Activities Score : _______

I. Instruction: The binary relation R={(a,a),(a,b),(a,c), (b,b),(b,c),(c,c), (d,d)} is defined

on the set A={a,b,c,d}. Determine whether R is:

1. reflexive Write the solution here:

2. irreflexive
3. symmetric
4. antisymmetric
5. transitive

II. Instruction: The binary relation S={(b,d),(c,a),(c,b), (c,d),(d,a)} is defined on the

set A={a,b,c,d}. Determine whether S is:

1. reflexive Write the solution here:

2. irreflexive
3. symmetric
4. asymmetric
5. transitive

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 Course Code: ITE 048 Discrete Structure
Module #11 Student Activity Sheet

Name:_____________________________________________________________ Class number: ________

Section: ____________ Schedule: _____________________________________ Date: _______________

Check for Understanding

I. Instruction: Determine the properties of the binary relation R represented by the digraph.
Write the solution here:

II. Instruction: Determine the properties of the binary relation T represented by the
digraph.

Write the solution here:

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 Course Code: ITE 048 Discrete Structure
Module #11 Student Activity Sheet

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C. LESSON WRAP-UP

FAQs

1. If given a set that is irregular in dimension like A has 4x4 and B has 2x4, can we derive AB
using multiplication as adjacency of matrix? How?
ANSWER:

Yes. Consider the example below:

Thinking about Learning

Mark the place in the work tracker which is simply a visual to help you track how much
work you have accomplished and how much work there is left to do. This tracker will be
part of your activity sheet.

To develop habits on thinking about learning, answer the questions below about
your learningexperience.

1. How was the module able to help you learn?

2. What did you realize about the topic?

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 Course Code: ITE 048 Discrete Structure
Module #11 Student Activity Sheet

Name:_____________________________________________________________ Class number: ________

Section: ____________ Schedule: _____________________________________ Date: _______________

KEY CORRECTIONS

Skill building answer

Solution for number 1.
1. The relation R is reflexive since it contains all 4 pairs (a,a), (b,b), (c,c), and (d,d).
2. The relation R is reflexive, so it cannot be irreflexive.
3. R is not symmetric. For example, (a,b)∈R, but (b,a)∉R.
4. The relation R is antisymmetric. It contains 3 non-reflexive elements: (a,b), (a,c), and (b,c). For
each of the elements, its reverse does not belong to R.
5. R is transitive. There is only one non-reflexive overlapping pair: (a,b) and (b,c). We see
that (a,b),(b,c)∈R, and (a,c) ∈R.
Solution for number 2.
1. The relation S is not reflexive since, for example, (a,a)∉S.
2. The relation S is irreflexive since it does not contain the diagonal
elements (a,a), (b,b), (c,c), and (d,d).
3. S is not symmetric. For example, (b,d)∈S, but (d,b)∉S.
4. The relation S is asymmetric since the reverse of every ordered pair is not an element of S.
5. S is not transitive. For example, (b,d),(d,a)∈S, but (b,a)∈S.

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