Consider the TRS R consisting of the rewrite rule 1: a(b(a(x))) -> b(a(b(x))) There is one dependency pair: 2: A(b(a(x))) -> A(b(x)) The approximated dependency graph contains one SCC: {2}. - Consider the SCC {2}. There are no usable rules. By taking the polynomial interpretation [a](x) = [A](x) = [b](x) = x + 1, rule 2 is strictly decreasing. Hence the TRS is terminating.