GEC 104 Mathematics in the Modern World

Unit II Mathematical Language and Symbols

Lesson 2 Basic Concept of Sets

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

a. Explains basic set notation, symbols, and concepts, including “roster” and “set-builder”
notation;
b. Identify different type of sets;
c. Read and write sets using set-builder notation;
d. Solve the basic operation of sets; and
e. Recognize that a Venn diagram is a visual representation of a set.

Definition of Set
In Cantors naïve set theory, a set is described as a well-defined collection of objects. These
objects are called the elements or members of the set. Objects can be anything: numbers, people,
other sets, etc. It must be related and well defined.
 Vowels in the English alphabet V = { a, e, i, o, u }
 First seven prime numbers X = { 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17 }

Naming of Set
A set is named using a capital letter. Each object of a set is called an element or a member
of a set. The elements of a set are enclosed by braces.
B = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}

The individual objects in a set are called the elements or members of the set.
The symbol ∈ is used to indicate that an object is an element or member of the set.
F = {ruler, ballpen and notebook} ruler ∈ F cellphone ∈ F

The cardinality of a set is the number of elements contained in that set.

The cardinality of a set A is written as n(A).
A= {2, 4, 6, 8, 10} n(A) = 5
Representation of Sets
1. Roster Method or Listing method - The set can be defined by listing all its elements,
separated by commas and enclosed within braces. This is called the roster method.

Example: B = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}

X = {a, b, c, d, e}

2. Set-Builder Notation or Rule Method - The set can be defined, where possible, by describing
the elements. This is called the set-builder notation.

Example: A = {x | x is a vowel of the English alphabet}

Read as: “A is the set of all x such that x is a vowel of the English alphabet.”

C = {x : x is an integer, x > – 3}
Read as: “C is the set of elements x such that x is an integer greater than –3.”

3. Venn Diagram - It uses overlapping circles or other shapes to illustrate the logical
relationships between two or more sets of items. Often, they serve to graphically organize
things, highlighting how the items are similar and different.

Example: Given set R is the set of counting numbers less than 7.

Draw and label a Venn diagram to represent set R
and indicate all elements in the set.

Analysis: Draw a circle or oval. Label it R. Put the elements in R.

SUMMARY

Some Important Symbols

 N — Natural or Counting numbers: {1, 2, 3, . . . }
 W — Whole Numbers: {0, 1, 2, 3, . . . }
 I — Integers: {. . . , -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . . . }
 Q — Rational numbers: { p q | p, q ∈ I, q 6 = 0 }
 R < — Real Numbers: { x | x is a number that can be written as a decimal }
 Irrational numbers: { x | x is a real number and x cannot be written as a quotient of integers }.
Examples are: π, √ 2, and 4√3
 ∅ — Empty Set: { }, the set that contains nothing
 U — Universal Set: the set of all objects currently under discussion
Types of Sets
There are many types of set in the set theory:

1. Singleton Set or Unit Set – If a set contains only one element it is called to be a singleton set.
Example: S = { x | x ∈ N, 7 < x < 9 }
S = {8}

2. Finite Set – A set is called a finite set if the members of the set can be counted.
Example: (i) X = {1, 2, 3, 4}, which has 4 members.
(ii) Y = {x | x ∈ W , x ≤ 9}, which has 10 members.

3. Infinite Set – A set is called an infinite set if it has countless members.

Example: (i) The set W of whole numbers.
(ii) Y = {x | x ∈ Z, x ≤ 1}.

It is not easy to write infinite sets in the tabular form because it is not possible to make a list of an
infinite number of members. The example (i) can be written in the tabular form as W = {0, 1, 2, ...}.

4. Empty Set or Null Set – An empty set contains no elements. It is denoted by ∅ or { }. As the
number of elements in an empty set is finite, empty set is a finite set. The cardinality of empty
set or null set is zero.

Example: S = { x | x ∈ N and 7 < x < 8 } = ∅

The set { ∅ } is not empty, but is a set which contains the empty set.

5. Subset – A set X is a subset of set Y (Written as X ⊆ Y) if every element of X is an element of

set Y.
Example 1: Let, X = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 } and Y = { 1, 2 }. Here set Y is a subset of set X as all
the elements of set Y is in set X. Hence, we can write Y ⊆ X.
Example 2: Let, X = { 1, 2, 3 } and Y = { 1, 2, 3 }. Here set Y is a subset (Not a proper subset)
of set X as all the elements of set Y is in set X. Hence, we can write Y ⊆ X.

6. Proper Subset – The term “proper subset” can be defined as “subset of but not equal to”. A
Set X is a proper subset of set Y (Written as X ⊂ Y) if every element of X is an element of set
Y and $|X| < |Y|.

Example: Let, X = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 } and Y = { 1, 2 }. Here set Y ⊂ X since all elements in X

are contained in X too and X has at least one element is more than set Y.

Any set is a subset of itself. Any set is a subset of the universal set The empty set is a subset of every
set including itself.
 7. Power set – If A is a set, the power set of A is another set, denoted as P(A) and defined to be
the set of all subsets of A. In symbols, P(A) = { X : X ⊆ A }.
Example: Suppose A = {1, 2, 3}, The power set of A is the set of all subsets of A. We
learned how to find these subsets in the previous section, and they are { }, {1},
{2}, {3}, {1, 2}, {1, 3}, {2, 3} and {1, 2, 3}. Therefore the power set of A is
P(A) = {∅, {1}, {2}, {3}, {1, 2}, {1, 3}, {2, 3}, {1, 2, 3} }.

If a finite set A has n elements, then it has 2^n.

8. Equal Set – If two sets contain the same elements they are said to be equal.
Example: If A = { 1, 2, 6 } and B = { 6, 1, 2 }, they are equal as every element of set A is an
element of set B and every element of set B is an element of set A.

9. Equivalent Set – If the cardinalities of two sets are same, they are called equivalent sets.
Example: If A = { 1, 2, 6 } and B = { 16, 17, 22 }, they are equivalent as cardinality of A is
equal to the cardinality of B. i.e. |A| = |B| = 3.

10. Disjoint Sets – Two sets which have no elements in common. Two sets A and B are called
disjoint sets if they do not have even one element in common. i.e. Their intersection is empty:
A ∩ B = ∅.
Therefore, disjoint sets have the following properties:
 n(A ∩ B) = ∅
 n(A ∪ B) = n(A) + n(B)
Example: Let, A = { 1, 2, 6 } and B = { 7, 9, 14 }, there is not a single common element,
hence these sets are overlapping sets.

11. Universal Set – Any set which is a superset of all the sets under consideration is said to be
universal set and is either denoted by omega or S or U.
Let A = {1, 2, 3}
C = { 0, 1} then we can take
S = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} as universal set.

Set Operation
Finding intersections, unions, and complements of sets are examples of set operations. An
operation is a rule or procedure by which one or more objects are used to obtain another object
(usually a set or number).

A universal set for a particular problem is a set which contains all the elements of all the sets
in the problem. A universal set often denoted by a capital U. In this section we will create subsets of a
given universal set and use set operations to create new subsets of the universal set.
There are three set operations we will learn in this section.
 Complement – The complement of a set A is symbolized by A’ and it is the set of all elements
in the universal set that are not in A.
 Intersection – The intersection of sets A and B is symbolized by A ∩ B and is the set
containing all of the elements that are common to both set A and set B.
 Union – The union of set A and B symbolized by A U B and is the set containing all the
elements that are elements of set A or of set B or that are in both Sets A and B.

Example: Let U be a universal set and A and B be subsets of U defined as follows.

U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
A = {1, 2, 3}
B = {2, 3, 4}

Find A’

A’ is all of the elements in the universal set that are not in set A.
Answer: A’ = {4, 5}

Find A ∩ B (This is asking me to find all of the elements that A and B have in common.)

Answer: A ∩ B = {2, 3}

Find A U B (This is asking me to list all of the elements in A followed by all of the elements in B, then
delete any elements that are written twice.)

A U B = {1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 4}
Answer: A U B = {1, 2, 3, 4}

ACTIVITY 1
A. Directions: Identify which of the following are sets. Write S for Sets and NS for Not Sets.
1) ____________ The collection of all the days in a week beginning with the letter ‘T’.
2) ____________ The collection of all difficult questions in the chapter on sets.
3) ____________ The collection of girls in your class.
4) ____________ The collection of all rivers in India.
5) ____________ The collection of all active teachers in the school.
6) ____________ The collection of all integers more than -3.
7) ____________ The collection of all beautiful flowers in the park.
 B. Directions: State whether the following are TRUE or FALSE.
1. ____________ The set of letters in the word MASTER is finite.
2. ____________ The set of vowels in the word PLANET is an empty set.
3. ____________ {0} represents a null set.
4. ____________ Equivalent sets are always equal.
5. ____________ An empty set is a finite set.
6. ____________ 10 ∉ set of multiples of 5.
7. ____________ If two sets are equal, they are also equivalent.

C. Given: If,
A = {3, 5, 7, 9} C = {12, 14, 18, 20, 24}
B = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10} D = {21, 26, 31, 36}
Directions: State whether TRUE or FALSE.

1. ____________ 13 ∈ C 4. ____________ 31 ∈ D
2. ____________ 6 ∉ A 5. ____________ 36 ∉ D
3. ____________ 9 ∉ A 6. ____________ 20 ∉ C

ACTIVITY 2
A. Directions: Write the following sets in the roster form.
1. A = The set of all even numbers less than 12.
2. B = The set of all prime numbers greater than 1 but less than 29.
3. C = The set of integers lying between -2 and 2.
4. D = The set of letters in the word LOYAL.
5. E = The set of vowels in the word CHOICE.
6. F = The set of all factors of 36.
7. G = {x : x ∈ N, 5 < x < 12}.

B. Directions: Write each of the following in set builder form.

1. A = {5, 10, 15, 20}
2. B = {l, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18}
3. C = {P, R, I, N, C, A, L}
4. D = {0}

ACTIVITY 3
Directions: Write the cardinal number for each of the following.

1. X = The set of months in a year

2. Y = The set of letters in the word INTELLIGENT
3. Z = The set of prime numbers from 2 to 11
4. P = {x : x is an even prime number}
5. Q = {x : x is a quadrilateral having 5 sides}
ACTIVITY 4
Directions: Classify the following as finite and infinite sets.

1. ___________________________ A = {x : x ∈ N and x is even}

2. ___________________________ B = {x : x ∈ N and x is composite}
3. ___________________________ E = {The set of numbers which are multiples of 3}
4. ___________________________ G = {The set of letters in the English alphabet}
5. ___________________________ H = {The set of persons living in a house}
6. ___________________________ J = {x | x ∈ P, p is a prime number}

MASTERY TESTS
PART 1 If, A = {3, 5, 7, 9} B = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10} C = {12, 14, 18, 20, 24} D = {21, 26, 31, 36}
Complete the statement to make it true. Fill in the blanks.

1. 3 ∈ _____ 3. 8 ∈ ____ 5. 26 ____ C 7. 21 ____ D

2. 4 _____ B 4. 5 ____ A 6. 6 ____ C 8. 18 ____ B

PART 2 Identify the following as null set or singleton set.

1. ___________________________ P = {Point of intersection of two lines}
2. ___________________________ C = {x : x is an even prime number greater than 2}
3. ___________________________ Q = {x | x is an even prime number}
4. ___________________________ R = {The set of whole numbers lying between 0 and 2}
5. ___________________________ B = {0}
6. ___________________________ D = {The set of largest 1 digit number}
7. ___________________________ F = {The set of triangles having 4 sides}
8. ___________________________ H = {The set of even numbers not divisible by 2}

PART 3 Which of the following pairs of sets are equivalent or equal?

1. A = {x : x ∈ N, x ≤ 6} B = {x : x ∈ W, 1 ≤ x ≤ 6}
2. P = {The set of letters in the word ‘plane’} Q = {The set of letters in the word ‘plain’}
3. X = {The set of colors in the rainbow) Y = {The set of days in a week}
4. M = {4, 8, 12, 16} N = {8, 12, 4, 16}
5. A = {x | x ∈ N, x ≤ 5} B = {x | x ∈ I, 5 < x ≤ 10}

Equal Sets: ___________________ Equivalent Sets: ___________________

PART 4 Solve the following. Write the final answer only on the space provided.
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} S = {2, 4, 6} T = {1, 2, 4} V = {4, 5, 6}
1. ___________________________ S U (T ∩ V)
2. ___________________________ (S U T)’
3. ___________________________ S ∩ (V ∩ T’)
4. ___________________________ (S’ U V’) ∩ T
5. ___________________________ T U V’ U S’