Then which are of the following statements is true about $\triangle$
- Commutative and associative without an identity.
- Commutative but not associative with an identity.
- Associative but not commutative without an identity.
- Associative and commutative with an identity.
- Associative and commutative with an identity.
Solution:
Commutativity:
$\text{X}\triangle\text{Y}=(\overline{\text{X}}\cap\text{Y})\cup(\text{X}\cap\overline{\text{Y}})$
$=(\overline{\text{Y}}\cap\text{X})\cup(\text{Y}\cap\overline{\text{X}})$
$=\text{Y}\triangle\text{X}$
Thus,
$\text{X}\triangle\text{Y}=\text{Y}\triangle\text{X}$
Hence, $\triangle$ is commutative on A.
Let $\phi$ be the identity element for $\triangle$ on P.
$\text{A}\triangle\phi=\big(\overline{\text{A}}\cap\phi\big)\cup\big(\text{A}\cap\overline{\phi}\big)$
$=\phi\cup\text{A}$
$=\text{A}$
and,
$\phi\triangle\text{A}=\big(\overline{\phi}\cap\text{A}\big)\cup\big(\phi\cap\overline{\text{A}}\big)$
$=\text{A}\cup\phi$
$=\text{A}$
