Real numberIn mathematics, a real number is a number that can be used to measure a continuous one-dimensional quantity such as a distance, duration or temperature. Here, continuous means that pairs of values can have arbitrarily small differences. Every real number can be almost uniquely represented by an infinite decimal expansion. The real numbers are fundamental in calculus (and more generally in all mathematics), in particular by their role in the classical definitions of limits, continuity and derivatives.
Equality (mathematics)In mathematics, equality is a relationship between two quantities or, more generally two mathematical expressions, asserting that the quantities have the same value, or that the expressions represent the same mathematical object. The equality between A and B is written A = B, and pronounced "A equals B". The symbol "=" is called an "equals sign". Two objects that are not equal are said to be distinct. For example: means that x and y denote the same object. The identity means that if x is any number, then the two expressions have the same value.
Symmetric relationA symmetric relation is a type of binary relation. An example is the relation "is equal to", because if a = b is true then b = a is also true. Formally, a binary relation R over a set X is symmetric if: where the notation means that . If RT represents the converse of R, then R is symmetric if and only if R = RT. Symmetry, along with reflexivity and transitivity, are the three defining properties of an equivalence relation. "is equal to" (equality) (whereas "is less than" is not symmetric) "is comparable to", for elements of a partially ordered set ".
Transitive relationIn mathematics, a relation R on a set X is transitive if, for all elements a, b, c in X, whenever R relates a to b and b to c, then R also relates a to c. Each partial order as well as each equivalence relation needs to be transitive. A homogeneous relation R on the set X is a transitive relation if, for all a, b, c ∈ X, if a R b and b R c, then a R c. Or in terms of first-order logic: where a R b is the infix notation for (a, b) ∈ R. As a non-mathematical example, the relation "is an ancestor of" is transitive.
Antisymmetric relationIn mathematics, a binary relation on a set is antisymmetric if there is no pair of distinct elements of each of which is related by to the other. More formally, is antisymmetric precisely if for all or equivalently, The definition of antisymmetry says nothing about whether actually holds or not for any . An antisymmetric relation on a set may be reflexive (that is, for all ), irreflexive (that is, for no ), or neither reflexive nor irreflexive. A relation is asymmetric if and only if it is both antisymmetric and irreflexive.
Inequality (mathematics)In mathematics, an inequality is a relation which makes a non-equal comparison between two numbers or other mathematical expressions. It is used most often to compare two numbers on the number line by their size. There are several different notations used to represent different kinds of inequalities: The notation a < b means that a is less than b. The notation a > b means that a is greater than b. In either case, a is not equal to b. These relations are known as strict inequalities, meaning that a is strictly less than or strictly greater than b.
Asymmetric relationIn mathematics, an asymmetric relation is a binary relation on a set where for all if is related to then is not related to A binary relation on is any subset of Given write if and only if which means that is shorthand for The expression is read as " is related to by " The binary relation is called if for all if is true then is false; that is, if then This can be written in the notation of first-order logic as A logically equivalent definition is: for all at least one of and is , which in first-order logic c
Homogeneous relationIn mathematics, a homogeneous relation (also called endorelation) on a set X is a binary relation between X and itself, i.e. it is a subset of the Cartesian product X × X. This is commonly phrased as "a relation on X" or "a (binary) relation over X". An example of a homogeneous relation is the relation of kinship, where the relation is between people. Common types of endorelations include orders, graphs, and equivalences. Specialized studies of order theory and graph theory have developed understanding of endorelations.
Binary relationIn mathematics, a binary relation associates elements of one set, called the domain, with elements of another set, called the codomain. A binary relation over sets X and Y is a new set of ordered pairs (x, y) consisting of elements x in X and y in Y. It is a generalization of the more widely understood idea of a unary function. It encodes the common concept of relation: an element x is related to an element y, if and only if the pair (x, y) belongs to the set of ordered pairs that defines the binary relation.
Converse relationIn mathematics, the converse relation, or transpose, of a binary relation is the relation that occurs when the order of the elements is switched in the relation. For example, the converse of the relation 'child of' is the relation 'parent of'. In formal terms, if and are sets and is a relation from to then is the relation defined so that if and only if In set-builder notation, The notation is analogous with that for an inverse function. Although many functions do not have an inverse, every relation does have a unique converse.