Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2008 / ia / Paper 4 / 2D / a / Solution

The equivalence class of $x\in X$ is $[x]=\{y\in X:y\sim x\}$. By the reflexivity of the equivalence relation, $x\in [x]$, so every equivalence class is nonempty and their union is $X$.

Suppose $[x]\cap [z]\ne \varnothing$, and choose $w$ in this intersection. We have $w\sim x$ and $w\sim z$. Symmetry and transitivity give $x\sim z$. If $y\in [x]$, then $y\sim x\sim z$, so $y\in [z]$; interchanging $x,z$ proves the reverse inclusion. Thus two equivalence classes are either identical or disjoint. The distinct equivalence classes therefore form a set partition of $X$. This also covers $X=\varnothing$, whose family of equivalence classes is empty.