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3 votes
Is the symmetric difference of two different edge cuts an edge cut?
1) True
2) False

2 Answers

6 votes

Final answer:

The symmetric difference of two different edge cuts is not necessarily an edge cut.

Step-by-step explanation:

The symmetric difference of two different edge cuts is not necessarily an edge cut. The symmetric difference of two sets is defined as the elements that are in either of the sets, but not in their intersection.



For example, consider two edge cuts: A = {1, 2, 3, 4} and B = {3, 4, 5, 6}. Their intersection is {3, 4}. The symmetric difference of A and B is A ∆ B = {1, 2, 5, 6}.



Remember, an edge cut is a set of edges in a graph such that removing those edges disconnects the graph. So, it's not always guaranteed that the symmetric difference of two different edge cuts will have this property, making the statement false.

User Sfyn
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8.2k points
5 votes

Final answer:

The statement "Is the symmetric difference of two different edge cuts an edge cut?" is false.

Step-by-step explanation:

In general, the symmetric difference of two different edge cuts is not guaranteed to be an edge cut, so the answer to the question is False.

The question asks if the symmetric difference of two different edge cuts is also an edge cut. An edge cut in a graph is a set of edges whose removal disconnects the graph.

The symmetric difference of two sets is a set operation that takes two sets and returns the set of elements which are in either of the sets and not in their intersection.

To determine whether the symmetric difference of two edge cuts is an edge cut, one must consider specific examples or properties of graphs.

However, in general, the symmetric difference of two edge cuts might not disconnect the graph, and as such, it is not guaranteed to be an edge cut itself. Therefore, the answer to the question is False.

User Pradeep Bhadani
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8.1k points