Transitive relation

A transitive relation is a relation on a set where in every chain of more than two related elements, any two elements in the chain are also related. Along with reflexivity and symmetry, transitivity is one of the defining properties of an equivalence relation.

A relation $R$ on a set $A$ is transitive if and only if for $a, b, c \in A$: $$(aRb \land bRc) \rightarrow aRc$$

Notice that this definition is a universal statement. To prove transitivity, you must show that $aRb$ and $bRc$ being true implies that $aRc$ is also true.

Believe it or not, logical implication $(\rightarrow)$ is actually a transitive relation on a set of propositions. Its transitivity allows for a hypothetical syllogism to be a valid rule of inference.

To disprove transitivity, you only need to come up with one example of $aRc$ not being implied by $aRb$ and $bRc$ being true.

Logic & Proofs

Integer • Rational number • Inequality • Real number • Theorem • Proof • Statement • Proof by exhaustion • Universal generalization • Counterexample • Existence proof • Existential instantiation • Axiom • Logic • Truth • Proposition • Compound proposition • Logical operation • Logical equivalence • Tautology • Contradiction • Logic law • Predicate • Domain • Quantifier • Argument • Rule of inference • Logical proof • Direct proof • Proof by contrapositive • Irrational number • Proof by contradiction • Proof by cases • Summation • Disjunctive normal form

Set Theory

Set • Element • Empty set • Universal set • Subset • Power set • Cartesian product • String • Binary string • Empty string • Set operation • Set identity • Set proof

Functions

Function • Floor function • Ceiling function • Inverse function

Algorithms

Algorithm • Pseudocode • Command • Asymptotic notation • Time complexity • Atomic operation • Brute-force algorithm

Relations

Relation • Reflexive relation • Symmetric relation • Transitive relation • Relation composition • Equivalence relation • Equivalence class

Number Theory

Integer division • Linear combination • Division algorithm • Modular arithmetic • Prime factorization • Greatest common divisor • Least common multiple • Primality test • Factoring algorithm • Euclid's theorem • Prime number theorem • Euclidean algorithm

Induction

Proof by induction • Fibonacci sequence • Proof by strong induction • Well-ordering principle • Sequence • Factorial • Recursive definition

Combinatorics

Rule of product • Rule of sum • Bijection rule • Permutation • Combination • Complement rule • Experiment • Outcome • Sample space • Event • Probability • Probability distribution • Uniform distribution • Multiset • Sixfold way • Inclusion-exclusion principle • Pigeonhole principle

Graph Theory

Graph • Walk • Subgraph • Regular graph • Complete graph • Empty graph • Cycle graph • Hypercube graph • Bipartite graph • Component • Eulerian circuit • Eulerian trail • Hamiltonian cycle • Hamiltonian path • Tree • Huffman tree • Substring • Forest • Path graph • Star • Spanning tree • Weighted graph • Minimum spanning tree • Greedy algorithm • Prim's algorithm

Recursion

Recursion • Recursive algorithm • Correctness proof • Divide-and-conquer algorithm • Sorting algorithm • Merge sort