Discrete Mathematical

Structures
RaviJ
 DISCLAIMER
This presentation is prepared with
current understanding of author which
is nowhere near expertise. It is more of
an amateur’s attempt to gain intuitive
insight into otherwise dense subject
and reader is requested consider it in
same spirit.
 About this presentation…
• What it is…..
– Present a common sense view of Discrete Mathematical
Structures (now onwards DMS)
– Make continuity and progressive richness present in the
structures explicit
– Link up the DMS to conceptual thought processes
• What it is not…
– Introduction or First course (101) on DMS. Reader should
be familiar with DMS definitions and terminologies. If not,
other materials should be referred for the same
– Rigor. Neither any theorems are stated nor any proofs are
given. Emphasis is on examples, that too one or two per
concept.
 What is DMS?
• DMS are structures which vary in “steps”
rather than smoothly like variables. Integers
and graphs can be said of such “discrete”
transforms. DMS exclude mathematical
studies like Calculus and Analysis
• Some structures we discuss include: Sets,
Relations, Functions, Graphs, Posets, Lattices,
Boolean Algebra and Groups.
 Why DMS?
• Let us put it this way,
– If Analytical Geometry formalizes the idea of “Space”
– If Calculus describes the study of one parameter w.r.t another
parameter (especially w.r.t time)
– If Statistics and Probability together equip us to summarize a
set of data and predict what to expect next
– DMS will teach us to model and manipulate different concepts
and relations between them (it will be interesting to compare
relations in statistical sense and the same in DMS sense)
• No wonder that DMS becomes very relevant in Computer
Science since many data, computation and other concepts
need to be modeled and relations between them should be
manipulated
• Now let us study each structure one by one….
SETS
An Idea of inside vs outside
 Sets

• Set is basically collection of objects

• There is no concept of order in set. It is like
gunny bag where any object can be picked
• Which readily implies that duplicates are not
there (can you tell why)
• All the objects in a set generally are related by
some common property
• They all belong to the same may be
property!!
 Membership – Dawn of the structure!

• Set has many concepts and operations associated with it, but
most fundamental is membership
• It specifies whether a given element is a member of a set or
not
• Thus, in a very primary sense idea of “inside” and “outside”
and naturally “boundary” are borne!
Venn Diagram – A diagram for
visualizing sets
Universal
Set U Set A

X
a, b

Z
Y
Set B

c, d
Elements of Set U
RELATIONS
 Pair
• An element of a set associated with another

• There can be many

pairs in a set
Birds in Pairs
 Pair
• Not necessarily every element to be only one
pair, or to be in pair at all!

No Pair

Birds in Pairs

Many pairs
 Relation
• Relation is the logic by which an element of set is associated with another
element of the same set
• A relation creates many pairs in a set
• If flying-type is defined on our set of birds every birds that can fly and that
can-not fly will be paired-up within themselves as shown below

Birds in Pairs
 Relation
• Relation basically connects some or all
elements of a set • Note that all relations may
not be same
• Some are connected by
shape
• Some are connected by
color
• Some are not related with
others at all
 Equivalence Relation
• Equivalence Relation is a Relation that is
– Reflexive (an element is related to itself)
– Symmetric( if element a is related to b, b will be
related to a)
– Transitive (if element a is related b, b is related to c
then a is related to c)
• Equivalence Relation strikes the set on which it is
defined and partitions it into different clusters
• Every element of the set will be in exactly only
one (neither less nor more) cluster
 Equivalence Relation
Equivalence Relation: Of Similar Shape
divides into three clusters.
Equivalence Relation: Of Similar
Color divides into four different
clusters.

IN BOTH CASES, EVERY ELEMENT GOES INTO EXACTLY ONE CLUSTER.

THUS EQUIVALENCE RELATION PARTITIONS THE SET INTO DISJOINT CLUSTERS
 Equivalence Relation
• It is interesting to note how properties of equivalence relations
contribute in building clusters.
• Reflectivity
– Checks basic sanity of the relation. Suppose I choose “sing a song for”
as a relation on set of shapes discussed in previous slide.
– This Relation meets condition of symmetry as no shape sings song for
another shape, and hence no necessity to check in reverse direction
also.
– By similar reasoning, it can be seen that it meets condition for
transitive property also
– But, it fails to meet condition of reflectivity as “no shape will sing a
song for itself”. Thus this ensures the relation must be true at least to
some minimum level.
– It also ensures each that element is self-sufficient to form in a cluster
in case it cannot relate to other elements. Thus it ensures that there
are no residual or loose elements in the set after partition is done.
 Equivalence Relation
• Transitivity
– Transitivity property is main propagator, expander or
builder of cluster. It just widens the boundary
(cardinality of) cluster by drawing elements related to
any of its members into cluster
• Symmetry
– Symmetry ensures flat or leveled hierarchy within
cluster. All the elements within cluster are equal with
respect to relation in the sense they cannot be
sequenced in any particular order.
 Equivalence Relation
• Till now, we saw that
– Set allows to visualize “in” and “out” in an abstract
sense and gives fundamental structural concept of
“boundary”
– Relation connects up different elements within a
set
– Equivalence relation partitions and the set into
disjoint cluster and gives rise to the organizational
principle called “Classification”.