Equivalence Relation - Definition

Definition

A given binary relation ~ on a set A is said to be an equivalence relation if and only if it is reflexive, symmetric and transitive. Equivalently, for all a, b and c in A:

  • a ~ a. (Reflexivity)
  • if a ~ b then b ~ a. (Symmetry)
  • if a ~ b and b ~ c then a ~ c. (Transitivity)

A together with the relation ~ is called a setoid. The equivalence class of a under ~, denoted, is defined as .

Read more about this topic:  Equivalence Relation

Famous quotes containing the word definition:

    Scientific method is the way to truth, but it affords, even in
    principle, no unique definition of truth. Any so-called pragmatic
    definition of truth is doomed to failure equally.
    Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)

    ... we all know the wag’s definition of a philanthropist: a man whose charity increases directly as the square of the distance.
    George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)

    No man, not even a doctor, ever gives any other definition of what a nurse should be than this—”devoted and obedient.” This definition would do just as well for a porter. It might even do for a horse. It would not do for a policeman.
    Florence Nightingale (1820–1910)