Correct My Mistakes: Showing $A\,x\,C\,=\,B\,x\,C$ if $A\cap B=\emptyset$

  • MHB
  • Thread starter bergausstein
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In summary: In your first post you have"there can be no ordered pair $\left(x,c\right)$ which is in both AxB and BxC."This sounds like you are trying to show $A\cap B=\emptyset ~\Rightarrow ~A\times B=\emptyset$. don't you...
  • #1
bergausstein
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please correct my mistakes in this solution in 1 and help me solve 2.

1. show that if $A\cap B\,=\,\emptyset$, then $\left(A\,x\,C\right)\cap \left(B\,x\,C\right)\,=\,\emptyset$ that is if A and B have no elements in common, then there can be no ordered pair $\left(x,c\right)$ which is in both AxB and BxC.

my solution,

$A\,x\,C\,=\,\{\left(a,c\right)|a\in A\,\wedge\,c\in C\}$
$B\,x\,C\,=\,\{\left(b,c\right)|b\in B\,\wedge\,c\in C\}$

since AxC and BxC have no elements in common $A\cap B\,=\,\emptyset$

2. explain why $\left(A\cap B\right)\,x\,C\,=\,\left(A\,x\,C \right)\cap \left(B\,x\,C\right)$, that is if an ordered pair (x,c) is in AxC and in BxC, then (x,c) must be in $\left(A\cap B\right)\,x\,C$ and conversely.

thanks!
 
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  • #2
bergausstein said:
please correct my mistakes in this solution in 1 and help me solve 2.

1. show that if $A\cap B\,=\,\emptyset$, then $\left(A\,x\,C\right)\cap \left(B\,x\,C\right)\,=\,\emptyset$ that is if A and B have no elements in common, then there can be no ordered pair $\left(x,c\right)$ which is in both AxB and BxC.

my solution,

$A\,x\,C\,=\,\{\left(a,c\right)|a\in A\,\wedge\,c\in C\}$
$B\,x\,C\,=\,\{\left(b,c\right)|b\in B\,\wedge\,c\in C\}$

since AxC and BxC have no elements in common $A\cap B\,=\,\emptyset$

2. explain why $\left(A\cap B\right)\,x\,C\,=\,\left(A\,x\,C \right)\cap \left(B\,x\,C\right)$, that is if an ordered pair (x,c) is in AxC and in BxC, then (x,c) must be in $\left(A\cap B\right)\,x\,C$ and conversely.

thanks!
Hey Bergausstein. You sure have a daunting nick right there! :)

In the first one you are doing the opposite of what you are required to do. You need to show the emptiness of $(A\times B)\cap(B\times C)$ by assuming that $A\cap B=\emptyset$.. not the other way round.

For the second one let $(x,y)\in (A\cap B)\times C$. Then $x\in A\cap B$ and $y\in C$. Thus $(x,y)\in A\times C$ and $(x,y)\in B\times C$. Therefore $(x,y)\in (A\times C)\cap (B\times C)$. For the reverse containment take $(x,y)\in (A\times C)\cap (B\times C)$. Thus $(x,y)\in A\times C$ and $(x,y)\in B\times C$. This means $x\in A\cap B$ and $y\in C$ and therefore $(x,y)\in (A\cap B)\times C$ and we are done.

Tell me if you have further doubts.
 
  • #3
can you show me how will you answer 1.?
 
  • #4
paulmdrdo said:
can you show me how will you answer 1.?
caffeinemachine has already showed that if $(x,y)\in (A\times C)\cap (B\times C)$ for some $x,y$, i.e., if $(A\times C)\cap (B\times C)$ is nonempty, then $x\in A\cap B$, i.e., $A\cap B$ is nonempty.
 
  • #5
but the problem is asking to show the emptiness of $A\cap B$ not its non emptiness.
 
  • #6
bergausstein said:
1. show that if $A\cap B\,=\,\emptyset$, then $\left(A\,\times\,C\right)\cap \left(B\,\times\,C\right)\,=\,\emptyset$

paulmdrdo said:
but the problem is asking to show the emptiness of $A\cap B$ not its non emptiness.
Really? Does the problem ask you to show $A\cap B=\emptyset$? Under which assumption?

LaTeX hints: Use \times for Cartesian product. There is no need to insert thin spaces; LaTeX is designed to insert correct spaces around operators and relations. Also, there is no need to write \left and \right unless the content between the parentheses is taller than them, e.g., when parentheses surround a fraction.
 
  • #7
guys I'm still confused.

in my solution to prob. 1 I showed that,

$A\,\times\,C\,=\,\{\left(a,c\right)|a\in A\,\wedge\,c\in C\}$
$B\,\times\,C\,=\,\{\left(b,c\right)|b\in B\,\wedge\,c\in C\}$

there's no ordered pair common to both set. hence, $\left(A\,\times\,C\right)\cap \left(B\,\times C\right)\,=\,\emptyset$. how come I'm doing the other way around? please help me. can you give an example analogous to this problem. :(
 
  • #8
bergausstein said:
guys I'm still confused.

in my solution to prob. 1 I showed that,

$A\,\times\,C\,=\,\{\left(a,c\right)|a\in A\,\wedge\,c\in C\}$
$B\,\times\,C\,=\,\{\left(b,c\right)|b\in B\,\wedge\,c\in C\}$

there's no ordered pair common to both set. hence, $\left(A\,\times\,C\right)\cap \left(B\,\times C\right)\,=\,\emptyset$. how come I'm doing the other way around? please help me. can you give an example analogous to this problem. :(

In your first post you have
"since AxC and BxC have no elements in common [FONT=MathJax_Math]A[/FONT][FONT=MathJax_Main]∩[/FONT][FONT=MathJax_Math]B[/FONT][FONT=MathJax_Main]=[/FONT][FONT=MathJax_Main]∅[/FONT]"
This sounds like you are trying to show $(A\times C)\cap (B\times C)=\emptyset ~\Rightarrow ~A\cap B=\emptyset$.. don't you think?
 
  • #9
if you want example consider this

Say $A=\{1,2\}$ , $B=\{3,4\}$, $C=\{s,t\}$ you see that $A\cap B =\emptyset$

now if we take the product of A and C we have,
$A\times C = \{(1,s),\,(1,t),\,(2,s),\,(2,t)\}$
the product of B and C we have,
$B\times C = \{(3,s),\,(3,t),\,(4,s),\,(4,t)\}$

now if we take $(A\times C)\cap (B\times C)$ it is empty since they don't have elements in common.
now we can say that $(A\times C)\cap (B\times C)=\emptyset$ Because in the first place $A\cap B=\emptyset$.

hope this would help! :)
 
  • #10
now I understand it! thanks latebloomer.
 

FAQ: Correct My Mistakes: Showing $A\,x\,C\,=\,B\,x\,C$ if $A\cap B=\emptyset$

How do I show that $A\,x\,C\,=\,B\,x\,C$ if $A\cap B=\emptyset$?

To show that $A\,x\,C\,=\,B\,x\,C$ if $A\cap B=\emptyset$, you must first understand that $A\,x\,C$ represents the Cartesian product of sets A and C, which consists of all ordered pairs where the first element is from set A and the second element is from set C. Similarly, $B\,x\,C$ represents the Cartesian product of sets B and C. To prove that these two sets are equal, you can use the fact that if two sets are equal, they must contain the same elements. Therefore, you can show that any element in $A\,x\,C$ is also in $B\,x\,C$ and vice versa.

What is the significance of $A\cap B=\emptyset$ in this problem?

The notation $A\cap B$ represents the intersection of sets A and B, which consists of all elements that are common to both sets. In this problem, $A\cap B=\emptyset$ means that the sets A and B have no elements in common. This is important because it allows us to prove that $A\,x\,C$ and $B\,x\,C$ are equal by showing that they both contain the same elements.

Can you give an example to illustrate this problem?

Sure, let's say we have two sets A={1,2,3} and B={4,5} and a third set C={6,7,8}. The Cartesian product $A\,x\,C$ would be {(1,6),(1,7),(1,8),(2,6),(2,7),(2,8),(3,6),(3,7),(3,8)} and $B\,x\,C$ would be {(4,6),(4,7),(4,8),(5,6),(5,7),(5,8)}. As $A\cap B=\emptyset$, the two sets have no elements in common. Therefore, to show that $A\,x\,C$ and $B\,x\,C$ are equal, we just need to show that they both contain the same elements, which is the case in this example.

What are some other properties or theorems that can help with this problem?

There are a few properties and theorems that can be useful in proving that $A\,x\,C$ and $B\,x\,C$ are equal. For example, the distributive property of Cartesian products states that $(A\cup B)\,x\,C=(A\,x\,C)\cup(B\,x\,C)$, which can be helpful in expanding the sets and showing that they contain the same elements. Additionally, the associative property of Cartesian products states that $(A\,x\,B)\,x\,C=A\,x\,(B\,x\,C)$, which can be useful in rearranging the elements to show that they are equal.

Are there any common mistakes to avoid when solving this problem?

One common mistake to avoid is assuming that $A\,x\,C$ and $B\,x\,C$ are equal without any justification. Remember that to prove the equality of two sets, you must show that they contain the same elements. Also, be careful not to mix up the order of the elements when expanding the Cartesian products. Finally, it is important to clearly state your reasoning and provide evidence for each step in your proof.

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