CO1108 Foundations of Computation
Chapter 2: Answers
1. Give examples of sets for which each of the following is true:
(a) A ∪ B = B ;
(b) X − Y = X ;
(c) S − T = T − S .
Answer
(a) If A is a subset of B (all elements of A are also elements of B ) then A ∪ B is the same
as B . This also holds when A has no elements: A = ∅;
(b) All sets X, Y such that X ∩ Y = ∅
(c) All sets S, T such that S = T
2. If A is the set {u, v, w}, what is ℘(A)?
Answer {∅, {u}, {v}, {w}, {u, v}, {v, w}, {w, u}, {u, v, w}}
3. If A is the set {∅, {x}}, what is ℘(A)?
Answer {∅, {∅}, {{x}}, {∅, {x}}}
4. For each of the following, determine whether the statement is true or false, justifying your
answer brie y in each case:
(a) if A is a set and B ⊆ A, then B ∈ ℘(A); Answer True
(b) if A is a set and B ∈ ℘(A), then B ∈ ℘(℘(A)); Answer False: B ∈ ℘(A) is equivalent
to B ⊆ A. So, the question is Is B(⊆ A) a member of ℘(℘(A))? The elements of
℘(℘(A)) are sets of subsets of A, and B is a subset of A so, there is a mismatch.
(c) if A is a set and B ⊆ ℘(A), then B ∈ ℘(℘(A)); Answer True: By de nition of
powerset, the elements of ℘(℘(A)) are the subsets of ℘(A). Since B is a subset ℘(A),
B is a member of ℘(℘(A)).
5. How many elements are there in the set ∅ ∪ {∅}? Answer One since ∅ ∪ {∅} = {∅}.
What about the set {∅} ∪ {∅, {∅}}? Answer Two since {∅} ∪ {∅, {∅}} = {∅, {∅}}.
6. Is it possible to have sets A and B such that A ∈ B and A ⊆ B ? Justify your answer.
Answer Since ∅ ⊆ B for any set B , then taking A = ∅ and setting B to be {∅, . . .} we get
that A ∈ B and A ⊆ B .
7. If A is the set {0, 1} and B is the set {x, y, z}, what is the set A × B ?
Answer A × B = { (0, x), (0, y), (0, z), (1, x), (1, y), (1, z) }.
8. Do we have A × B = B × A for all sets A and B ? Justify your answer.
Answer If A is di erent from B , then A × B ̸= B × A.
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9. If |A| = 2 and |B| = 3, what is |℘(A × B)|? Answer A × B has cardinality 6, so |℘(A × B)|
has cardinality 26 which is 64.
10. If |A| = 2 and |B| = 3, how many relations are there between A and B ?
Answer There are as many relations between A and B as there are elements in ℘(A × B),
so 64.
Explanation: The biggest relation between A and B is obtained by taking A × B . This
relation has 6 elements (which a pairs (a, b) where a ∈ A and b ∈ B ). Smaller relations
are obtained by omitting some such pairs from A × B , so equivalently by taking subsets of
A × B . The set of all such subsets (including A × B ) is ℘(A × B), and its cardinality is 64
(as in Question 9).
11. If p(x) is a polynomial of degree 3 and q(x) is a polynomial of degree 4, what are the degrees
of p(x) + q(x) and p(x)q(x)?
Answer 4 (which is max of the two degrees) and 7 (which the sum of the two degrees).
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