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Composite relations are a fundamental concept in mathematics, especially in the context of relations and functions. Let’s delve into composite relations and then discuss properties of relations:

  1. Composite Relations:
    • Given two relations

      and , where is a relation from set to set , and is a relation from set to set , the composite relation  is defined as the set of pairs such that there exists an element in set where

      is in and is in .

    • Symbolically,


      ∣there exists 
       such that and ∈
      }


    • .

    • The composition of relations is associative, meaning 

      where the compositions are defined.

  2. Properties of Relations:
    • Reflexive Property: A relation on a set

      is reflexive if

      belongs to

      for every element 
      in 


      .

    • Symmetric Property: A relation on a set

      is symmetric if for every pair

      in

      , the pair

      is also in .

    • Transitive Property: A relation on a set

      is transitive if for any elements

      in

      , if and belong to , then also belongs to R.

    • Anti-symmetric Property: A relation on a set A
      is anti-symmetric if for any distinct elements 


      in
      if 


      belongs to
      then(b,a) does not belong to 


      .

    • Irreflexive Property: A relation 
      on a set is irreflexive if no element is related to itself, i.e.,

      for any element

      in

      .

    • Asymmetric Property: A relation on a set

      is asymmetric if for any elements
      in, if(a,b)belongs to , then (b,a)does not belong to R.

    • Total Property: A relation

      on a set is total if for every pair of distinct elements in , either or (or both) belongs to .

Understanding these properties is crucial for analyzing and manipulating relations in various mathematical contexts, including graph theory, logic, and relational databases.