UNIT-III

Relations and Their Properties

 Relations
• A relation is represented by a set of ordered
pairs
• If A = {a, b} and B = {1, 2, 3}, then a
relation R1 from A to B might be, for
example, R1 = {(a, 2), (a, 3), (b, 2)}.
• The first element in each ordered pair
comes from set A, and the second element
in each ordered pair comes from set B.
• A Relation is denoted with special symbols
or capital letters.
 Relations
• Binary relations represent relationships
between the elements of two sets.
• A binary relation R from set A to set B is
defined by: R  A  B
• If (a,b)  R, we write:
aRb (a is related to b by R)
• If (a,b)  R, we write:
aR/b (a is not related to b by R)
 Example
• Example:
A = {0,1,2}
B = {a,b}
A  B = {(0,a), (0,b), (1,a), (1,b), (2,a), (2,b)}
• Then R = {(0,a), (0,b), (1,a), (2,b)} is a relation
from A to B.
Can we write 0Ra ? yes
Can we write 2Rb ? yes
Can we write 1Rb ? no
 Example
• A relation may be represented graphically
or as a table:
R a b
0 a
0 X X
1 b
1 X
2
2 X

We can see that 0Ra but 1Rb.

/
 Functions as Relations
• A function is a relation that has the
restriction that each element of A can be
related to exactly one element of B.

Relation Function
1 a 1 a

b b
 Relations on a Set
• Relations can also be from a set to itself.
• A relation on the set A is a relation from set
A to set A, i.e., R  A  A
• Let A = {1, 2, 3, 4}
• Which ordered pairs are in the relation
R = {(a,b) | a divides b}?
• R = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (2,2), (2,4),
(3,3), (4,4)}
 Relations on a Set
• Which of these relations (on the set of integers)
contain each of the pairs (1,1), (1,2), (2,1), (1,-1),
and (2,2)?
R1 = {(a,b) | a  b}
R2 = {(a,b) | a > b}
R3 = {(a,b) | a = b, a = b}
R4 = {(a,b) | a = b}
R5 = {(a,b) | a = b + 1}
R6 = {(a,b) | a + b  3}
 Relations on a Set
• The pair (1,1) is in R1, R3, R4 and R6
• The pair (1,2) is in R1 and R6
• The pair (2,1) is in R2 , R5 and R6
• The pair (1,-1) is in R2 , R3 and R6
• The pair (2,2) is in R1 , R3 and R4
 Relations on a Set
• A relation on a set A is a subset of A  A.
• If A has n elements, how many elements are there in A 
A?
• n2
• We know that a set with m elements has 2m subsets, so
how many subsets are there of A  A?
n2
2
• How many relations are there on a set with n elements?
n2
2
 Relations on a Set
• There are 2 relations on a set with n
n2

elements.
• How many relations are there on set
S = {a, b, c}?
• There are 3 elements in set S, so S  S has
32 = 9 elements.
• Therefore, there are 29 = 512 different
relations on the set S = {a, b, c}.
 Properties of Relations
• Reflexive: A binary relation R in a set A is
reflexive if for every element a  A, (a, a)
 R.

• For Example, the relation ≤ is reflexive in

the set of real numbers since for any x, we
have x ≤ x
 Example
• Determine the properties of the following
relations on {1, 2, 3, 4}
R1 = {(1,1), (1,2), (2,1), (2,2), (3,4), (4,1), (4,4)}
R2 = {(1,1), (1,2), (2,1)}
R3 = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,4), (2,1), (2,2), (3,3), (4,1),
(4,4)}
R4 = {(2,1), (3,1), (3,2), (4,1), (4,2), (4,3)}
R5 = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (2,2), (2,3), (2,4),
(3,3), (3,4), (4,4)}
R6 = {(3,4)}
• Which of these is reflexive?
 Example
• Which of these is reflexive?
R1 = {(1,1), (1,2), (2,1), (2,2), (3,4), (4,1), (4,4)}
R2 = {(1,1), (1,2), (2,1)}
R3 = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,4), (2,1), (2,2), (3,3), (4,1), (4,4)}
R4 = {(2,1), (3,1), (3,2), (4,1), (4,2), (4,3)}
R5 = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (2,2), (2,3), (2,4), (3,3), (3,4), (4,4)}
R6 = {(3,4)}

• The relations R3 and R5 are reflexive because

they contain all pairs of the form (a,a); the
other don’t [they are all missing (3,3)].
 Properties of Relations
• Let R be a relation on set A.
• R is symmetric if:
(b, a)  R whenever (a, b)  R,
where a, b  A.

A relation is symmetric iff “a is related to b”

implies that “b is related to a”.
 Example
• Which of these is symmetric?
R1 = {(1,1), (1,2), (2,1), (2,2), (3,4), (4,1), (4,4)}
R2 = {(1,1), (1,2), (2,1)}
R3 = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,4), (2,1), (2,2), (3,3), (4,1), (4,4)}
R4 = {(2,1), (3,1), (3,2), (4,1), (4,2), (4,3)}
R5 = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (2,2), (2,3), (2,4), (3,3), (3,4), (4,4)}
R6 = {(3,4)}

• The relations R2 and R3 are symmetric

because in each case (b,a) belongs to the
relation whenever (a,b) does.
• The other relations aren’t symmetric.
 Properties of Relations
• Let R be a relation on set A.
• R is antisymmetric if whenever (a, b)  R and (b,
a)  R, then a = b, where a, b  A.
A relation is antisymmetric iff there are no pairs of
distinct elements with a related to b and b related
to a. That is, the only way to have a related to b
and b related to a is for a and b to be the same
element.
• Symmetric and antisymmetric are NOT exactly
opposites.
 Example
• Which of these is antisymmetric?
R1 = {(1,1), (1,2), (2,1), (2,2), (3,4), (4,1), (4,4)}
R2 = {(1,1), (1,2), (2,1)}
R3 = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,4), (2,1), (2,2), (3,3), (4,1), (4,4)}
R4 = {(2,1), (3,1), (3,2), (4,1), (4,2), (4,3)}
R5 = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (2,2), (2,3), (2,4), (3,3), (3,4), (4,4)}
R6 = {(3,4)}
• The relations R4, R5 are antisymmetric because
there is no pair of elements a and b with a  b
such that both (a,b) and (b,a) belong to the
relation.
• The other relations aren’t antisymmetric.
 Properties of Relations
• Let R be a relation on set A.
• R is transitive if whenever (a ,b)  R and (b,
c)  R, then (a, c)  R, where a, b, c  A.
 Example
• Which of these is transitive?
R1 = {(1,1), (1,2), (2,1), (2,2), (3,4), (4,1), (4,4)}
R2 = {(1,1), (1,2), (2,1)}
R3 = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,4), (2,1), (2,2), (3,3), (4,1), (4,4)}
R4 = { (2,1), (3,1), (3,2), (4,1), (4,2) , (4,3)}
R5 = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (2,2), (2,3), (2,4), (3,3), (3,4), (4,4)}
R6 = {(3,4)}

• The relations R4, R5 are transitive because if

(a,b) and (b,c) belong to the relation, then
(a,c) does also.
• The other relations aren’t transitive.
 Combining Relations
Relations from A to B are subsets of A  B.
For example, if A = {1, 2} and B= {a, b}, then
A  B = {(1, a), (1, b), (2, a), (2, b)}
Two relations from A to B can be combined
in any way that two sets can be combined.
Specifically, we can find the union,
intersection, exclusive-or, and difference of
the two relations.
 Combining Relations
Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B= {1, 2, 3, 4}, and suppose
we have the relations:
R1 = {(1,1), (2,2), (3,3)} , and
R2 = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4)}.
Then we can find the union, intersection, and
difference of the relations:
R1  R2 = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (2,2), (3,3)}
R1  R2 = {(1,1)}
R1 - R2 = {(2,2), (3,3)}
R2 - R1 = {(1,2), (1,3), (1,4)}
 Composition of Relations
• If R1 is a relation from A to B and R2 is a
relation from B to C, then the composition
of R1 with R2 (denoted R1  R2) is the
relation from A to C.
– If (a, b) is a member of R1 and (b, c) is a
member of R2, then (a, c) is a member of
R1  R2, where a  A, b  B, c  C.
 Example
• Let
A={a,b,c}, B={w,x,y,z}, C={A,B,C,D}
R1={(a,z),(b,w)}, R2={(w,B),(w,D),(x,A)}
• Find R2  R1
 Example
• Given the following relations, find R  S :
R = {(1,1), (1,4), (2,3), (3,1), (3,4)}
S = {(1,0),(2,0), (3,1), (3,2), (4,1)}
• Construct the ordered pairs in R S as follows:
for each ordered pair in R
for each ordered pair in S
if (r1 , r2) (s1 , s2) are the same

then (r1, s2) belongs to R  S

 Example
• Given the following relations, find R  S :
R = {(1,1), (1,4), (2,3), (3,1), (3,4)}
S = {(1,0),(2,0), (3,1), (3,2), (4,1)}
• Construct the ordered pairs in R  S :
R  S = {(1,0), (1,1), (2,1), (2,2), (3,0), (3,1)}
 The Powers of a Relation
• The powers of a relation R are recursively defined
from the definition of a composite of two
relations.
• Let R be a relation on the set A. The powers Rn,
for n = 1, 2, 3, … are defined recursively by:
R1 = R
Rn+1 = Rn  R :
So:
R2 = R  R
R3 = R2  R = (R  R)  R)
etc.
 The Powers of a Relation
• Let R = {(1,1), (2,1), (3,2), (4,3)}
• Find the powers Rn , where n = 1, 2, 3, 4, …

R1 = R = {(1,1), (2,1), (3,2), (4,3)}

R2 = R  R = {(1,1), (2,1), (3,1), (4,2)}
R3 = R2  R = {(1,1), (2,1), (3,1), (4,1)}
R4 = R3  R = {(1,1), (2,1), (3,1), (4,1)}
R5 = R4  R = {(1,1), (2,1), (3,1), (4,1)}
• Let
A={a,b,c}, B={w,x,y,z}, C={A,B,C,D}
R1={(a,z),(b,w)}, R2={(w,B),(w,D),(x,A)}
• Find R1  R2
Representing Relations
Representing Relations Using Matrices
• Let R be a relation from A to B
A = {a1, a2, … , am}
B = {b1, b2, … , bn}
• The zero-one matrix representing the
relation R has a 1 as its (i, j) entry when ai
is related to bj and a 0 in this position if ai
is not related to bj.
 Example
• Let R be a relation from A to B
A={a, b, c}
B={d, e}
R={(a, d), (b, e), (c, d)}
• Find the relation matrix for R
 Relation Matrix
Let R be a relation from A to B
A={a, b, c}
B={d, e}
R={(a, d), (b, e), (c, d)}

1 0
Note that A is represented by
the rows and B by the columns
0 1 in the matrix.
1 0 Cellij in the matrix contains a 1
iff ai is related to bj.
 Relation Matrices and Properties
• Let R be a binary relation on a set A and let
M be the zero-one matrix for R.
– R is reflexive iff Mii = 1 for all i
– R is symmetric iff M is a symmetric
matrix, i.e., M = MT
– R is antisymmetric if Mi j= 0 or Mji = 0 for
all i  j
Relation Matrices and Properties
 Example
• Suppose that the relation R on a set is
represented by the matrix MR.
1 1 0
= 1 1 1
MR  
0 1 1

• Is R reflexive, symmetric, and / or

antisymmetric?
 Example
1 1 0 Is R reflexive?
= 1 1 1
MR   Is R symmetric?
0 1 1 Is R antisymmetric?

• All the diagonal elements = 1, so R is reflexive.

• The lower left triangle of the matrix = the upper
right triangle, so R is symmetric.
• To be antisymmetric, it must be the case that no
more than one element in a symmetric position
on either side of the diagonal = 1. But M23 = M32
= 1. So R is not antisymmetric.
Representing Relations Using Digraphs
• Represent:
– each element of the set by a point
– each ordered pair using an arc with its
direction indicated by an arrow
 Representing Relations Using Digraphs
• A directed graph (or digraph) consists of a
set V of vertices (or nodes) together with a
set E of ordered pairs of elements of V
called edges (or arcs).
• The vertex a is called the initial vertex of
the edge (a, b).
• The vertex b is called the terminal vertex
of the edge (a, b).
 Example
• Let R be a relation on set A
A={a, b, c}
R={(a, b), (a, c), (b, b), (c, a), (c, b)}.
• Draw the digraph that represents R
a b

c
Representing Relations Using Digraphs

This is a digraph with:

V = {a, b, c}
E = {(a, b), (a, d), (b, b),
(b, d), (c, a), (c, b),
(d, b)}

Note that edge (b, b) is represented using an arc

from vertex b back to itself. This kind of an edge
is called a loop.
 Example
What are the ordered
pairs in the relation R
represented by the
directed graph to the left?

This digraph represents the relation

R = {(1,1), (1,3), (2,1), (2,3), (2,4), (3,1),
(3,2), (4,1)}
on the set {1, 2, 3, 4}.
 Example

What are the ordered

pairs in the relation R
represented by the
directed graph to the
left?

R = {(1,3), (1,4), (2,1), (2,2), (2,3), (3,1),

(3,3), (4,1), (4,3)}
 Example

According to the digraph

representing R:
• is (4,3) an ordered pair in R?
• is (3,4) an ordered pair in R?
• is (3,3) an ordered pair in R?

(4,3) is an ordered pair in R

(3,4) is not an ordered pair in R – no arrowhead
pointing from 3 to 4
(3,3) is an ordered pair in R – loop back to itself
 Relation Digraphs and Properties
• A relation digraph can be used to determine
whether the relation has various properties
– Reflexive - must be a loop at every vertex.
– Symmetric - for every edge between two distinct points
there must be an edge in the opposite direction.
– Antisymmetric - There are never two edges in opposite
direction between two distinct points.
– Transitive - If there is an edge from x to y and an edge
from y to z, there must be an edge from x to z.
 Example
According to the digraph representing R:
• is R reflexive?
• is R symmetric?
• is R antisymmetric?
• is R transitive?
• R is reflexive – there is a loop at every vertex
• R is not symmetric – there is an edge from a to b but not
from b to a
• R is not antisymmetric – there are edges in both directions
connecting b and c
• R is not transitive – there is an edge from a to b and an
edge from b to c, but not from a to c
 Example
According to the digraph representing S:
• is S reflexive?
• is S symmetric?
• is S antisymmetric?
• is S transitive?

• S is not reflexive – there aren’t loops at every vertex

• S is symmetric – for every edge from one distinct vertex to
another, there is a matching edge in the opposite direction
• S is not antisymmetric – there are edges in both directions
connecting a and b
• S is not transitive – there is an edge from c to a and an
edge from a to b, but not from c to b
 Homework Exercise

• Label the relations below as reflexive (or not),

symmetric (or not), antisymmetric (or not), and
transitive (or not).

A B C D
Equivalence Relations
 Equivalence Relations

• A relation on set A is called an equivalence

relation if it is:
– reflexive,
– symmetric, and
– transitive
 Equivalence Relations
• Two elements a and b that are related by an
equivalence relation are said to be
equivalent.
• We use the notation
ab
to denote that a and b are equivalent
elements with repect to a particular
equivalence relation.
 Example
• Let R be a relation on set A, where A = {1, 2, 3, 4,
5} and R = {(1,1), (2,2), (3,3), (4,4), (5,5), (1,3),
(3,1)}
• Is R an equivalence relation?
• We can solve this by drawing a relation digraph:
– Reflexive – there must be a loop at every vertex.
– Symmetric - for every edge between two distinct points
there must be an edge in the opposite direction.
– Transitive - if there is an edge from x to y and an edge
from y to z, there must be an edge from x to z.
 Example

2 3

4 5

Is R an equivalence relation? yes

 Example – Congruence modulo m
• Let R = {(a, b) | a  b (mod m)} be a relation on
the set of integers and m be a positive integer > 1.
Is R an equivalence relation?
– Reflexive – is it true that a  a (mod m)}? yes
– Symmetric – is it true that if a  b (mod m) then
b  a (mod m)? yes
– Transitive - is it true that if a  b (mod m) and b
 c (mod m) then a  c (mod m)? yes
 Example

• Suppose that R is the relation on the set of

strings of English letters such that aRb iff
l(a) = l(b), where l(x) is the length of the
string x.
• Is R an equivalence relation?
 Example
• Since l(a) = l(a), then aRa for any string a. So R
is reflexive.
• Suppose aRb, so that l(a) = l(b). Then it is also
true that l(b) = l(a), which means that bRa.
Consequently, R is symmetric.
• Suppose aRb and bRc. Then l(a) = l(b) and l(b) =
l(c). Therefore, l(a) = l(c) and so aRc. Hence, R
is transitive.
• Therefore, R is an equivalence relation.
 Equivalence Class
• Let R be a equivalence relation on set A.
• The set of all elements that are related to an
element a of A is called the equivalence
class of a.
• The equivalence class of a with respect to R
is:
[a]R = {s | (a,s)  R}
– When only one relation is under
consideration, we will just write [a].
 Equivalence Class
• If R is a equivalence relation on a set A, the
equivalence class of the element a is:
[a]R = {s | (s, a)  R}
If b  [a]R , then b is called a representative of
this equivalence class.
 Equivalence Class
• Let R be the relation on the set of integers
such that aRb iff a = b or a = -b. We can
show that this is an equivalence relation.
• The equivalence class of element a is
[a] = {a, -a}
• Examples:
[7] = {7, -7} [-5] = {5, -5}
[0] = {0}
 Equivalence Example
• Consider the equivalence relation R on set A.
What are the equivalence classes?
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
R = {(1,1), (2,2), (3,3), (4,4), (5,5), (1,3), (3,1)}
• Just look at the aRb relationships. Which
elements are related to which?
[1] = {1, 3} [2] = {2}
[3] = {3, 1} [4] = {4}
[5] = {5}
A useful theorem about classes
Let R be an equivalence relation on a set
A. These statements for a and b of A
are equivalent:
Equivalence classes are EITHER
– equal or
– disjoint
aRb
[a] = [b]
[a]  [b] = 
 Partitions
• A partition of a set A divides A into non-overlapping subsets:
• Let S be a given set and A={A1,A2,….Am} where each Ai,i-
1,2… is a subset of S
• Set A is called covering of S and setsA1,A2,… are said to cover
S
• A partition of a set A is a collection of disjoint nonempty subsets
of A that have A as their union. Then the subsets are called
blocks of the partition.
• Example 2
S = {a, b, c, d, e, f }
S1 = {a, d, e}
S2 = {b}
S3 = {c, f }
P = {S1, S2, S3}
P is a partition of set S
Partitions and Equivalence Relations

• Let R be an equivalence relation on set S

– then the equivalence classes of R form a
partition of S
• Conversely, if {Ai | i  I } is a partition of
set S,
– then there is an equivalence relation R
that has the sets Ai (i  I) as its
equivalence classes
 Example
If S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, then
A1 = {1, 3, 4}
A2 = {2, 5}
A3 = {6}
form a partition of S, because:
– these sets are disjoint
– the union of these sets is S.
 Example
If S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, then
A1 = {1, 3, 4, 5}
A2 = {2, 5}
A3 = {6}
do not form a partition of S, because:
– these sets are not disjoint (5 occurs in
two different sets)
 Example
If S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, then
A1 = {1, 3}
A2 = {2, 5}
A3 = {6}
do not form a partition of S, because:
– the union of these sets is not S (since 4 is
not a member of any of the subsets, but is
a member of S).
 Example
If S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, then
A1 = {1, 3, 4}
A2 = {2, 5}
A3 = {6, 7}
do not form a partition of S, because:
– the union of these sets is not S (since 7 is
a member of set A3 but is not a member
of S).
 Constructing an Equivalence Relation
from a Partition
Given set S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} and a
partition of S,
A1 = {1, 2, 3}
A2 = {4, 5}
A3 = {6}
then we can find the ordered pairs that
make up the equivalence relation R
produced by that partition.
 Constructing an Equivalence Relation
from a Partition
The subsets in the partition of S,
A1 = {1, 2, 3}
A2 = {4, 5}
A3 = {6}
are the equivalence classes of R. This
means that the pair (a,b)  R iff a and
b are in the same subset of the
partition.
 Constructing an Equivalence Relation
from a Partition
Let’s find the ordered pairs that are in R:
A1 = {1, 2, 3}  (1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (2,1),
(2,2), (2,3), (3,1), (3,2), (3,3)
A2 = {4, 5}  (4,4), (4,5), (5,4), (5,5)
A3 = {6}  (6,6)
So R is just the set consisting of all these
ordered pairs:
R = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (2,1), (2,2), (2,3), (3,1),
(3,2), (3,3), (4,4), (4,5), (5,4), (5,5), (6,6)}
 Compatibility Relation
• A relation R in set A is said to be a
compatibility relation if it is reflexive and
symmetric.
Example: Let A={ball, bed, dog, let, egg} and
the relation R be given by
R = {(x, y) / x, y e A ^ x R y if x and y contain
some common letter}
 Maximal Compatibility Relation
• Let X be a set and R is a compatibility
relation on X.A is a subset of X is called a
maximal compatibility block if any element
of A is compatible to every other element
of A and no element of X –A is compatible
to all the elements of A.
 Partial ordering
• A relation R on a set S is called a partial
ordering or partial order if it is:
– reflexive
– antisymmetric
– transitive
• A set S together with a partial ordering R is
called a partially ordered set, or poset, and
is denoted by (S, R).
 Example

• Let R be a relation on set A. Is R a partial

order?
A = {1, 2, 3, 4}
R = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (2,2),
(2,3), (2,4), (3,3), (3,4), (4,4)}
 Example
• Is R a partial order?
R = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (2,2), (2,3), (2,4),
(3,3), (3,4), (4,4)}
To be a partial order, R must be reflexive,
antisymmetric, and transitive.
R is reflexive because R includes (1,1), (2,2), (3,3)
and (4,4).
R is antisymmetric because for every pair (a,b) in R,
(b,a) is not in R (unless a = b).
R is transitive because for every pair (a,b) in R, if
(b,c) is in R then (a,c) is also in R.
 Example
So, given
A = {1, 2, 3, 4}
R = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (2,2),
(2,3), (2,4), (3,3), (3,4), (4,4)}
R is a partial order, and
(A, R) is a poset.
 Example
• Is the “” relation a partial ordering on the set of
integers?
– Since a  a for every integer a,  is reflexive
– If a  b and b  a, then a = b. Hence  is anti-
symmetric.
– Since a  b and b  c implies a  c,  is
transitive.
– Therefore “” is a partial ordering on the set
of integers and (Z, ) is a poset.
 Comparable / Incomparable
• In a poset the notation a ≼ b denotes (a, b) ∈ R
– The “less than or equal to” ()is just an example of
partial ordering
• The elements a and b of a poset (S, ≼) are called
comparable if either a≼b or b≼a.
• The elements a and b of a poset (S, ≼) are called
incomparable if neither a≼b nor b≼a.
• In the poset (Z+, |):
– Are 3 and 9 comparable? Yes; 3 divides 9
– Are 5 and 7 comparable? No; neither divides the other
 Total Order
• We said: “Partial ordering” because pairs of
elements may be incomparable.
• If every two elements of a poset (S, ≼) are
comparable, then S is called a totally
ordered or linearly ordered set and ≼ is
called a total order or linear order.
• A totally ordered set is also called a chain.
 Total Order
• The poset (Z, ) is totally ordered. Why?
Every two elements of Z are comparable;
that is, a  b or b  a for all integers.

• The poset (Z+, |) is not totally ordered.

Why?
• It contains elements that are incomarable;
for example 5/ 7.
 Lexicographic Order
• We say that (a1, a2) is less than (b1, b2) –
that is, (a1, a2) ≤ (b1, b2) – either if:
a1 ≤ b1 , or
a1 = b1 and a2 ≤ b2
 Lexicographic Order
• In the poset poset (Z  Z, ≼),
is (3, 5) ≤ (4, 8)? yes
is (3, 8) ≤ (4, 5)? yes
is (4, 9) ≤ (4, 11)? yes
Lexicographic Order
The ordered
pairs in red are
all less than
(3,4).
 Lexicographic Order
Consider the strings consisting of lowercase characters.
Let nA be the number of characters in string A and nB be the
number of characters in string B. Let n be the smaller of
the two values.
For i = 1 to n, compare character Ai with Bi:
• If Ai matches Bi, and nA = nB, then A = B.
• If Ai matches Bi, but nA < nB, then A < B.
• If Ai matches Bi, but nB < nA, then B < A.
• If, for some i ≤ n, character Ai comes before Bi in the
alphabet, then A < B.
 Lexicographic Order
Those are the actual rules by which words are listed
in order in the dictionary.
For example, discreet ≤ discrete, because these
strings differ in the 7th position, and e ≤ t.
Also, discreet ≤ discreetness, because these strings
agree for the first 8 characters (the length of the
shorter string), but the second string has more
letters.
Finally, discrete ≤ discretion, because these strings
differ in the 8th position, and e ≤ i.
 Hasse Diagram
• A Hasse diagram is a graphical
representation of a poset.
• Since a poset is by definition reflexive and
transitive (and antisymmetric), the
graphical representation for a poset can be
compacted.
• For example, why do we need to include
loops at every vertex? Since it’s a poset, it
must have loops there.
 Constructing a Hasse Diagram
• Start with the digraph of the partial order.
• Remove the loops at each vertex.
• Remove all edges that must be present
because of the transitivity.
• Arrange each edge so that all arrows point
up.
• Remove all arrowheads.
 Example
• Construct the Hasse diagram for
({1, 2, 3}, )

3 3
1 1 1
2 2
2 3 2 3 2 3 1 1
 Hasse Diagram Example

Steps in the
construction
of the
Hasse diagram
for
({1, 2, 3, 4}, )
 Hasse Diagram Example
Steps in the construction of the Hasse diagram for
({1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12}, |)
 Hasse Diagram Terminology
• Let (S, ≼) be a poset.
• a is maximal in (S, ≼) if there is no bS such that
a≼b. (top of the Hasse diagram)
• a is minimal in (S, ≼) if there is no bS such that
b≼a. (bottom of the Hasse diagram)
 Hasse Diagram Terminology
Which elements of the poset ({, 2, 4, 5, 10, 12, 20, 25}, | )
are maximal? Which are minimal?

The Hasse diagram

for this poset shows
that the maximal
elements are:
12, 20, 25
The minimal
elements are:
2, 5
 Hasse Diagram Terminology
• Let (S, ≼) be a poset.
• a is the greatest element of (S, ≼) if b≼a for all
bS…
– It must be unique
• a is the least element of (S, ≼) if a≼b for all bS.
– It must be unique
 Hasse Diagram Terminology
• Does the poset represented by this Hasse diagram
have a greatest element? If so, what is it? Does it
have a least element? If so, what is it?
The poset represented by
b c d
this Hasse diagram does
not have a greatest element,
because the greatest
element must be unique.
It does have a least
a element, a.
 Hasse Diagram Terminology
• Does the poset represented by this Hasse diagram
have a greatest element? If so, what is it? Does it
have a least element? If so, what is it?

d e The poset represented by

this Hasse diagram has
neither a greatest element
c nor a least element,
because they must be
unique.
a b
 Hasse Diagram Terminology
• Does the poset represented by this Hasse diagram
have a greatest element? If so, what is it? Does it
have a least element? If so, what is it?
The poset represented by
d
this Hasse diagram does
not have a least element,
c
because the least element
must be unique.
It does have a greatest
a b element, d.
 Hasse Diagram Terminology
• Does the poset represented by this Hasse diagram
have a greatest element? If so, what is it? Does it
have a least element? If so, what is it?

d The poset represented by

this Hasse diagram has a
greatest element, d.
b c
It also has a least element,
a.
a
 Hasse Diagram Terminology
• Let A be a subset of (S, ≼).
• If uS such that a≼u for all aA, then u is called an upper
bound of A.
• If lS such that l≼a for all aA, then l is called an lower
bound of A.
• If x is an upper bound of A and x≼z whenever z is an
upper bound of A, then x is called the least upper bound of
A.
– It must be unique
• If y is a lower bound of A and z≼y whenever z is a lower
bound of A, then y is called the greatest lower bound of A.
– It must be unique
 Example
h j Maximal: h, j
g f Minimal: a
d e Greatest element: None
b c Least element: a
a Upper bound of {a,b,c}: e, f, j, h
Least upper bound of {a,b,c}: e
Lower bound of {a,b,c}: a
Greatest lower bound of {a,b,c}: a
 Lattices
• A lattice is a partially ordered set in which
every pair of elements has both a least
upper bound and greatest lower bound.

f h

e e f g

c d

b b c d

a a
• The greatest lower bound of a subset {a, b}  L is
denoted by a * b
• Least upper bound by a + b
• The GLB {a, b}= a * b is called the meet or
product of a and b
• The LUB {a, b}= a + b is called the join or sum of
a and b
 Lattice example
• Are the following three posets lattices?
 Lattice example
• Are the following three posets lattices?

(a) Yes
(b) No; elements b and c have no least upper bound.
(c) Yes
Properties of lattices
 Lattices as Algebraic systems
• A lattice is an algebraic system (L, *, + ) with two
binary operations * and + on L, which satisfies
• commutative
• associative and
• absorption laws.
 Sublattice
• Let (L, *, + ) be a lattice and let S  L be a
subset of L.The algebraic system (S, *, + ) is
sublattice of (L, *, + ) iff S is closed under both the
binary operations * and +
• Lattice Homomorphism
• Product of Lattices
• Boolean Algebra
 Conclusion
In this chapter we have studied:
• Relations and their properties
• How to represent relations
• Closures of relations
• Equivalence relations
• Partial orderings