University of the Philippines, Manila

College of Arts and Sciences

Department of Physical Sciences and Mathematics
MATH 1: General Mathematics

ABSTRACT ALGEBRA NOTES

Definition: A Relation is any well-defined rule that associates the elements of a set X to another
set Y (X and Y not necessarily unique). We say that “X is mapped to Y ”; X → Y

One special type of relation is the Equivalence Relation:

Definition: A relation “∼” is said to be an Equivalence Relation over a set S, if it

satisifies the following conditions ∀a, b, c ∈ S
1. Reflexivity: a ∼ a
2. Symmetry: If a ∼ b then b ∼ a.
3. Transitivity: If a ∼ b And b ∼ c, Then a ∼ c.

Exercises: For each of the following, determine if the relation as defined is an equivalence on the
given set. If not, show or explain which of the conditions is/are not satisfied by giving a counterexample:
1. On set S= a set of people, where a ∼ b : “a and b have a mutual friend”
2. On set S= a set of people, where “a and b have the same favorite movie”
3. On Z, where a ∼ b : “a is divisible by b”
4. On Z, where a ∼ b : “a + b is even”
a
5. On N, where a ∼ b : “ = 2k for some integer k”
b
6. On Z, where a ∼ b : “a + b is divisible by 3”
7. On R, where a ∼ b : “a − b is negative”
8. On R, where a ∼ b : “a + b < 10”
9. On Z − {0}, where a ∼ b : “ab is a square in Z”
10. On R − {0}, where a ∼ b : “ab is a square in R”

Definition: A Binary Operation, *, on a set S, is a rule mapping S × S → S.

That is, we take two elements from the set S, giving us the unique result a ∗ b which is
also in S.

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 Note that the following characteristics are true for any Binary Operation ∗ on a set S:
• Closure: The result a ∗ b, ∀a, b ∈ S remains in the set S.
• The operation ∗ is Ordered. That is, we CANNOT assume the operation is commutative.
(i.e. a ∗ b = b ∗ a)
• The operation is Well-Defined. That is, the result of a ∗ b is unique.

Some Examples:

• Ordinary +, × over R, Q, Z, N.
• Subtraction over R, Q, Z. (explain why subtraction is not a binary operation over N)
• Division over R- {0}, and Q- {0}

Also, we have the following definitions:

1. We say ∗ is Associative if
∀a, b, c ∈ S, (a ∗ b) ∗ c = a ∗ (b ∗ c)

2. We say ∗ is Commutative if
∀a, b ∈ S, a ∗ b = b ∗ a

3. We say an element e ∈ S is an Identity Element of S over ∗ if ∀a ∈ S, we have

a∗e=a∧e∗a=a

4. We say an element a0 ∈ S is Inverse Element of a ∈ S over ∗ if

a ∗ a0 = e ∧ a0 ∗ a = e

NOTE: In order to show that an operation ∗ is NOT associative or commutative, it is enough to

show one case that does not satisfy the condition. However, in order to show that ∗ IS associative or
commutative, we must show that the results of applying the operation on both sides are in fact the same.

We define a set Zn = {0, 1, 2, · · · n − 1}

Define:
Modular Addition, a +n b = the remainder when a + b is divided by n
Modular Multiplication, a •n b = the remainder when a · b is divided by n
Note that +n and •n are Binary Operations on the set Zn .
Also, both Modular Addition and Multiplication are Associative and Commutative.

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 Exercises: For each of the following, determine if the operation ∗ (as defined) is a binary operation
on the given set. If so, determine if the operation is associative and/or commutative. If ∗ is not a binary
operation, explain why not and (when possible) give a set where ∗ is a binary operation.
1. on S= {set of odd integers}; a ∗ b = ab.
2. on S= {set of odd integers}; a ∗ b = a + b.
3. on N; a ∗ b = ab

4. on N; a ∗ b = the largest integer less than ab

5. on N; a ∗ b = the largest integer less than a + b
(
a + b if a is even
6. on Z; a ∗ b =
ab if b is odd

7. on Z; a ∗ b = 2a + 4ab + 5
8. on Z; a ∗ b = 3a + 3b − 2ab + 1
3(a + b)
9. on Q; a ∗ b =
2
2a + 4b
10. on R-{0}; a ∗ b =
3
More Exercises:
1. Construct the operation tables for Z15 over +15 and •15 . Determine the identity element, and the
inverses for each of the elements in Z15 .
2. Consider the set S = {a, b, c, d, e} and the operation ∗ on S with the following operation table:

∗ a b c d f
a c d a f b
b f c b a d
c a b c d f
d b f d c a
f d a f b c

• Is ∗ a binary operation? If so, is it commutative and/or associative?

• What is the identity element of S over ∗? What are the inverses of each element?
• Simplify: (((a ∗ f ) ∗ (d ∗ (b ∗ c))) ∗ (c ∗ (f ∗ a))) ∗ b