Set Theory
Set Theory
Set Theory
Set Notation
We write sets using braces and denote them with capital letters. The most natural
way to describe sets is by listing all its members.
For example,
Well-defined means, it must be absolutely clear that which object belongs to the
set and which does not.
Set Equality
Two sets A and B are said to be equal if and only if both the sets have same and
exact number of elements. Here, if and only if means that both parts of the
statement ("A = B" and "both sets have the exact same elements") are
interchangeable. For example,
{2,4,6,8} = {4,8,6,2} and {2,4,6,8} = {2,4,2,6,8,2,6,4,4}.
Another example comes from the set of even naturals, which can be described as E
= {2,4,6,8,…} = {2x | x ∊ N}.
Null Set
A very important set is the empty set, or the null set, which has no elements. We
denote the empty set by ∅, or {}. Note that we could also write, for example, ∅= {x
| x ∊N and x < 0} or ∅
= {x | x ∊Q and x ∉Q}.
Intersection of Sets
For example:
A = {1,2,3,4,5}
B = {2,4,6,8,10}
Union of Sets
The union of sets A and B, written as A∪B, is the set of elements that appear
in either A OR B.
For example:
A = {1,2,3,4,5}
B = {2,4,6,8,10}
Difference of Sets
The difference of sets A and B, written as A-B, is the set of elements belonging to
set A and NOT to set B.
For example:
A = {1,2,3,4,5}
B = {2,3,5}
For example:
A = {1,2}
B = {4,5,6}
The Cartesian product of A and B (i.e. A x B) is {(1,4), (1,5), (1,6), (2,4), (2,5),
(2,6)}
Solved Questions:
Question 1: If ∪ = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13}, then which of the following are subsets
of U.
B = {2, 4}
A = {0}
C = {1, 9, 5, 13}
D = {5, 11, 1}
E = {13, 7, 9, 11, 5, 3, 1}
F = {2, 3, 4, 5}
Answer: Here, we can see that C, D and E have the terms which are there in ∪.
Therefore, C, D and E are the subsets of ∪.
Question 2: Let A and B be two finite sets such that n(A) = 20, n(B) = 28 and n(A
∪ B) = 36, find n(A ∩ B).
= 20 + 28 - 36
= 48 - 36
= 12
Question 3: In a group of 60 people, 27 like cold drinks and 42 like hot drinks and
each person likes at least one of the two drinks. How many like both coffee and
tea?
Solution: Let A = Set of people who like cold drinks B = Set of people who like
hot drinks Given,
= 27 + 42 - 60
= 69 - 60 = 9
=9
Given,
n(A) = 36
n(B) = 12
n(C) = 18
n(A ∪ B ∪C) = 45
n(A ∩ B ∩ C) = 4
We know that number of elements belonging to exactly two of the three sets A, B,
C
= 36 + 12 + 18 + 4 - 45 - 12
= 70 - 67
=3
Question 5: In a group of 100 persons, 72 people can speak English and 43 can
speak French. How many can speak English only? How many can speak French
only and how many can speak both English and French?
Solution: Let A be the set of people who speak English.
Given,
n(A) = 72
n(B) = 43
n(A ∪ B) = 100
= 72 + 43 - 100
= 115 - 100
= 15
= 72 - 15
= 57
= 43 - 15
= 28