ABSTRACT ALGEBRA
BINARY OPERATIONS
Binary operation is one of the operations which are used in mathematics. A binary
operation on a set A is a rule that we have to assign to every pair of elements of A, a
unique element. Binary operations are cumulative and associative.
Law of Binary Operation
Below you could see relationship between commutative and associative binary
operation.
Commutative Law
Let * be a binary operation on the set S.
* is said to be commutative in S if a, b S, a * b = b * a
Associative Law
Let * be a binary operation on the set S.
* is said to be an associative in S if a, b S, a * (b * c) = (a * b) * c.
'+' & '.' are commutative and associative in the sets, N, I, Q, Q', R and C.
Addition and multiplication of real numbers are the examples of binary operations.
'+' is a binary operation on the set of naturals.
'.' is a binary operation on the set of naturals.
Therefore,
1. a, b N, a + b N.
2. a, b N, a.b N.
3.
Associative Binary Operation
A binary operation on any set is a rule that associate with each ordered pair of elements
in set a unique element of that set. Addition and multiplication are associative binary
operations on the set of natural numbers, integers, rational numbers and real numbers.
For example, A binary operation " * " on a set A is called associative if (a * b) * c = a * (b
* c) for all a, b, c belongs to A.
Let us consider the following example.
10 + (2 + 4) = (10 + 2) + 4
10 + (6) = (12) + 4
16 = 16 (true).
TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF BINARY OPERATIONS are the addition (+)
and multiplication () of numbers and matrices as well as composition of functions on a
single set. For instance,
On the set of real numbers R, f(a, b) = a + b is a binary operation since the sum
of two real numbers is a real number.
On the set of natural numbers N, f(a, b) = a + b is a binary operation since the
sum of two natural numbers is a natural number. This is a different binary
operation than the previous one since the sets are different.
On the set M(2,2) of 2 2 matrices with real entries, f(A, B) = A + B is a binary
operation since the sum of two such matrices is another 2 2 matrix.
On the set M(2,2) of 2 2 matrices with real entries, f(A, B) = AB is a binary
operation since the product of two such matrices is another 2 2 matrix.
For a given set C, let S be the set of all functions h : C C.
Define f : S S S by f(h1, h2)(c) = h1 h2 (c) = h1(h2(c)) for all c C, the
composition of the two functions h1 and h2 in S. Then f is a binary operation since
the composition of the two functions is another function on the set C (that is, a
member of S).
MORE EXAMPLES OF BINARY OPERATIONS:
Below you could see some problems based on binary operations.
Question 1: The binary operation * defined on Z by x * y = 1 - 2xy. Show that * is
commutative and associative.
Solution:
Given x * y = 1 - 2xy
Binary operation is cumulative, since
x * y = 1 - 2xy = 1 - 2yx = y * x
=> x * y = y * x
* is commutative.
Now, check * is associative
x * (y * z) = x * (1 - 2yz) = 1 - 2x(1 - 2yz) = 1 - 2x + 4xyz
and (x * y) * z = (1 - 2xy) * z = 1 - 2(1 - 2xy)z = 1 - 2z + 4xyz
=> x * (y * z) (x * y) * z
Thus, we can find that * is not associative on Z
Question 2: The binary operation * defined on Z by x * y = 1 + x + y. Show that * is
cumulative and associative.
Solution:
Given x * y = 1 + x + y
Binary operation is cumulative, since
x*y=1+x+y=1+y+x=y*x
=> x * y = y * x
Therefore, * is cumulative.
Now, check * is associative
x * (y * z) = x * (1 + y + z) = 1 + x + 1 + y + z = 2 + x + y + z
(x * y) * z = (1 + x + y) * z = 1 + 1 + x + y + z = 2 + x + y + z
x * (y * z) = (x * y ) * z
Thus, * is also satisfies associative property.
Reported by:
ROWENA E. GARCIA
