I know what the definitions of maximal and minimal elements are but I'm not sure how to apply them in this case. Any help would be great.
List all maximal and minimal elements of the partial order R = {(a,a), (b,b), (c,c), (a,c)}
0
$\begingroup$
relations
1 Answers
2
If you draw a picture of this partial order, you get this:
c | | b | a
The only element with a strictly smaller element is $c$, so $c$ is the only non-minimal element; $a$ and $b$ are minimal, because there is no element strictly smaller than either of them.
Can you tell now what the maximal elements are?
-
0@zeqof: You’re welcome. – 2012-11-07