How many relations are there on a set with n elements? Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications 8t

Alaina Marshall

Alaina Marshall

Answered question

2022-05-29

How many relations are there on a set with n elements?
Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications 8th Edition by Kenneth Rosen states the following on Pg 600:
...a binary relation from A to B is a set R of ordered pairs, where the first element of each ordered pair comes from A and the second element comes from B.
So if A has 3 elements and B has 3 elements, the binary relation should have 3 3 = 9 elements.
Now let us consider the case where we have a binary relation from A to itself. In this case also I expect the binary relation to have 3 3 = 9 elements.
However, on Pg 602 the author states that:
there are 2 3 2 = 2 9 = 512 relations on the set (a, b, c).
I am quite confused by this and would appreciate any clarification.

Answer & Explanation

Terrance Phillips

Terrance Phillips

Beginner2022-05-30Added 10 answers

Step 1
Let A be a set with n elements. Then A × A has n 2 elements.
Step 2
What you consider is the set of all binary relations R on A 2 . These relations are exactly the elements of the power set of A 2 . The cardinality of the power set of A 2 is 2 n 2 , as requested.

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