Wikidata:Types of part-whole relations

This article describes some types of part-whole relationships.

Properties

These are some properties that differentiate the types of part-whole relations:

  • Configurational: "whether or not the parts bear a particular functional or structural relationship to one another or to the object they constitute"[1]
  • Functional: "Parts are/are not in a specific spatial/temporal position with respect to each other which supports their functional role with respect to the whole"[2]
  • Homeomerous: Whether the parts are the same type as their whole[2][1]
  • Invariance[1]/Seperable[2]: Whether the parts can be separated from the whole without changing the whole

Types

Component-integral object[1][2][3][4]

Example: A pedal is part of a bike.

Subtypes:

  • Physical: A pedal is part of a bike.
  • Abstract: Algebra is part of math

Wikidata properties: part of (P361)/has part(s) (P527)

Properties

Member-bunch[1], Member/Collection[2][4], Membership[3]

Examples: If Rock and Roll Hall of Famehas partThe Beatles and The Beatleshas partJohn Lennon, that doesn't mean Rock and Roll Hall of Famehas partJohn Lennon (it's not transitive).

Wikidata properties: has part(s) (P527)/member of (P463)

Properties

Member-partnership[1]

Example: "Bonnie" and "Clyde" are part of "Bonnie and Clyde"

Wikidata properties: has part(s) (P527)/member of (P463)

Properties

  • Configurational: No[1]
  • Homeomerous: No[1]
  • Separable: No[1]

Material-object[1], Stuff/Object[2][4], Constituents[3]

Examples: A windshield is made of glass. A cappuccino is partly milk. Water is partly oxygen.

Considerations: Determining whether something follows a component-integral object or material-object relationship can subjective.

Wikidata properties: made from material (P186)

Properties

Portion-object[1], Portion/Mass[2][4]

Example: A slice of pie is part of a pie.

Wikidata properties: part of (P361)/has part(s) (P527)

Properties

Place-area[1][2][4]

Examples: San Francisco is part of California. A sand bar is part of a beach.

Wikidata properties: location (P276)

Properties

Feature-activity[2][4]

Examples: Paying is part of shopping. Dating is part of adolescence.

Wikidata properties: part of (P361)/has part(s) (P527)

Properties

  • Functional: Yes[2]
  • Homeomerous: No[2]
  • Seperable: No[2]

Not part-whole relationships

These types of relationships may be confused to be part-whole relationships but they are not.

Containment[3], Topological inclusion[1]

Example: If something is inside a room, that doesn't mean it's part of it.

Wikidata properties: contains (P4330)/container (P9813), enclosure (P3158)

Connections and branches[3]

Example: Just because the Mississippi River connects to the Gulf of Mexico and shares a body of water with it does not mean it is a part of it.

Wikidata properties: connects with (P2789), tributary (P974)

Classification inclusion[1], subclassOf[3]

Example: A book is part of the set of all books, but that doesn't mean it is part of a "book". We use instance of (P31) instead.

Wikidata property: subclass of (P279), instance of (P31)

Discussions

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Six Different Kinds of Composition https://www.conradbock.org/compkind.html
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 A Taxonomy of Part-Whole Relations https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1207/s15516709cog1104_2
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Simple part-whole relations in OWL Ontologies https://www.w3.org/2001/sw/BestPractices/OEP/SimplePartWhole/
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Part-whole relations in object-centered systems: An overview https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169023X96000134