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Relations

Hardmathematics

If A = {a, b, c}, then the number of equivalence relations on A containing (a, b) is

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About This Question

Subject
mathematics
Chapter
sets, relations and functions
Topic
relations
Difficulty
Hard
Year
2025
Tags
RelationsEquivalence RelationEquivalence ClassesCounting

Solution

Correct Answer:

2

  1. Mandatory Pairs: Any equivalence relation containing must contain:
    • Diagonal: (Reflexivity)
    • Symmetry:
  2. Case Analysis (Partitions of A): Equivalence relations correspond to partitions of the set.
    • Partition 1 (): . (Contains )
    • Partition 2 (): . (Contains all 9 pairs). (Contains )
  3. Conclusion: There are 2 such relations.

This hard difficulty mathematics question is from the chapter sets, relations and functions, covering the topic of relations. It appeared in the 2025 exam.

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