GAC024 Discrete Mathematics · ⁨الرياضيات المتقطعة GAC024⁩

A repeated set member is counted once, a binary carry may exceed a fixed width, and the fewest-edge route may not have the smallest weight. Discrete mathematics makes those rules explicit.

GAC024 covers sets, counting systems, binary logic, algorithms and networks. Your centre's current brief determines assessment tasks, tools, weights and deadlines. These original practice sheets do not establish official marking rules or a university credit decision.

State the universe, representation width, allowed inputs or graph assumptions before solving. Show enough working for another reader to reproduce the result and distinguish a mathematical model from its real implementation.

• A set 集合 is a collection of distinct objects. Order and repetition do not matter.
• Union 并集 $A \cup B$ is everything in either; intersection 交集 $A \cap B$ is what is in both; the set complement 补集 is everything in the stated universe but outside the set.
• A subset 子集 has all its elements inside another set.
• A relation 关系 pairs elements of two sets. A function 函数 is a relation where each input in its stated domain has exactly one output. Different inputs may share an output; an inverse relation is a function only when outputs uniquely identify their inputs.
• A Venn diagram 韦恩图 turns a set problem into a picture, and can show the disjoint regions and their counts. Check that those regions add to the supplied universe total.

The inclusion-exclusion principle 容斥原理 subtracts the twice-counted overlap once: $|A\cup B|=|A|+|B|-|A\cap B|$.

Worked example. subtract an overlap only once

Known: 30 learners, 18 study French, 15 German, and 7 both. The overlap is included in both subject totals.

French-only is $18-7=11$ and German-only $15-7=8$. The four disjoint regions sum to 30.

Practice sheet 4.1 includes progressively harder problems and independently checked solutions.

• A positional number base 进制 b uses digits from zero to b minus one and place weights $b^i$. Decimal 十进制 uses ten, binary 二进制 two, hexadecimal 十六进制 sixteen.
• Every digit's value is its place value 位值: in binary the places are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and so on.
• Hexadecimal is shorthand for binary: one hex digit is exactly four bits, so conversion can group a stated-width binary pattern into four-bit blocks. Leading zeros preserve width while leaving the unsigned value unchanged.

For n unsigned bits, values run from zero to $2^n-1$. Distinguish an unrestricted sum from a stored fixed-width result; a wraparound rule, if explicitly given, keeps the low n bits.

Worked example. place weights determine the decimal value

Known numeral $1101_2$. Use weights from right to left: 1, 2, 4 and 8.

The same value is D in hexadecimal. Leading zeros would not change this nonnegative value but can record an intended width.

Practice sheet 4.2 includes progressively harder problems and independently checked solutions.

• Binary arithmetic 二进制运算 adds like decimal, carrying at 2 instead of at 10.
• A bit 位 is one binary digit; a byte 字节 is eight.
• Boolean algebra 布尔代数 works on true and false with AND, OR and NOT.
• A truth table 真值表 lists every Boolean input combination and output. Matching every row proves equivalence for the same finite Boolean inputs; it does not prove physical circuit timing or real-system security.
• Logic gates 逻辑门 implement stated operations, and a logic circuit 逻辑电路 connects them. Trace the abstract logic according to its connections and input conventions.

Use inclusive OR and explicit brackets. De Morgan gives $\neg(A\land B)=(\neg A)\lor(\neg B)$. Bitwise NOT inverts only the stated width, not an unspecified infinite representation.

Worked example. an OR output is inverted by NOT

Known: $Y=\neg(A\lor B)$. Inclusive OR is false only when both inputs are false; NOT reverses that result. In row order $(A,B)=(0,0),(0,1),(1,0),(1,1)$, the output column is 1, 0, 0, 0. De Morgan gives equivalent expression $(\neg A)\land(\neg B)$.

Practice sheet 4.3 includes progressively harder problems and independently checked solutions.

• An algorithm 算法 describes unambiguous steps for a task. A procedure solving the stated finite task must terminate and give the required result for its allowed inputs.
• A flowchart 流程图 draws it: a decision is a diamond, a process a rectangle.
• Pseudocode 伪代码 represents its steps without requiring a particular implementation language. State assignment, loop bounds and index conventions before tracing.
• Tracing 追踪 an algorithm — a table with one column per variable and one row per step — records its actual updates. A trace checks the chosen input; a claim for all allowed inputs also needs a correctness argument.
• Efficiency 效率 matters: a linear search can stop early but may inspect all n items. Binary search repeatedly discards half of an ordered search range; its logarithmic comparison count requires the sorted-data and bound conventions.

Worked example. repeat a remainder step until the second number is zero

Known: start with positive integers a equal to 10 and b equal to 6. While b is nonzero, compute r as a MOD b, then set a to b and b to r. Pairs after complete iterations are (6,4), (4,2), (2,0), giving output 2. Temporary r preserves the remainder before a and b change. Each nonzero remainder is smaller than the previous positive b, supporting termination.

Practice sheet 4.4 includes progressively harder problems and independently checked solutions.

• A graph 图 is a set of vertices 顶点 joined by edges 边. It models anything with connections: roads, friendships, dependencies.
• For a simple undirected graph with no loops or repeated edges, the degree 度 counts incident edges. Every edge contributes two to the total degree sum.
• A tree 树 is a connected graph with no cycles, and a finite tree with n vertices has n minus 1 edges. Some hierarchical models use trees, but actual systems can also contain cross-links or cycles.
• A shortest path 最短路径 problem asks for the cheapest route between two vertices, by total weight under the stated constraints, rather than by the number of edges alone. A minimum spanning tree instead connects every vertex without cycles and minimises total included edge weight.

Worked example. compare total route weight, not the number of edges

Known edge weights are AB = 2, BC = 3, AC = 8 and CD = 1. The path A-C-D has weight 9, while A-B-C-D has weight 6. Therefore the three-edge path is shorter by weight despite having more edges. The minimum spanning tree for this small network uses AB, BC and CD with total 6; the agreement of totals here does not make the tasks identical.

Practice sheet 4.5 includes progressively harder problems and independently checked solutions.