UNIT BASIC CONCEPTS OF

1 SETS

Unit outcomes: After completing this unit you should be able to:
• understand the concept of set.
• describe the relation between two sets.
• perform two operations (intersection and union) on sets.

Introduction
The idea of a set is familiar in everyday life. Do you have a set of books,
a set of tools, or a set of pens? Each of these sets is regarded as a unit.
Sets, however need not consists of physical objects; they may well
consist of abstract ideas. For instance, the ‘Ten commandments’ is a set
of moral laws. The constitution is the basic set of laws of Ethiopia.
You will study sets in this unit not only because much of elementary
mathematics can be based on this concept, but also because many
mathematical ideas can be stated most simply.

1.1 Introduction to sets

The idea of collection of objects is familiar in everyday life. In our daily life
we talk of a collection of things such as a class of students, a herd of cattle, a
flock of sheep, a swarm of bees, etc. Can you think of more names for
collections of things? In mathematics, a collection of things is called a set.

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Definition 1.1: A set is a collection of well defined objects.

Group work 1.1

You can talk of the set of students in your class. How many students
are there in your class? Which one is greater? The number of male
students or the number of female students? Can you give other
examples of sets?

Definition 1.2: Each object of a set is called an element of the set or

member of the set.

Can you list some of the elements of the set of students in your class? What
are the elements in the set of all vowels in English alphabet?

Note: A set can contain any variety of objects. For example, we may have
a set that consists of the following things: a book, a pen, an orange
and a bottle.

Group work 1.2

Study the picture
1. Write different sets you see on the picture. You may use
classifications such as children, birds, hens and cats etc.
2. How many elements are there in each set?

Figure 1.1

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Let us take a set whose elements are 1, 2, 3, 4

and 5. To describe this set, you may use the How would you use
notation which means" the set of the braces notation
to describe the set of
natural numbers less than 6". The symbol students in your
is used to group the members of a set. Usually class? How about the
set of countries you
we use a capital letter to designate a set. For have visited? Choose
the more example of
example, A = denote the above set. a set that affects you
personally, and state
The notation is one way of describing how you would
describe it with the
a set which is called tabulation or complete listing braces notation.
method. In this method, all of the members of
the set are listed. We read A = as "A
is the set whose members are 1,2,3,4, and 5 " or
"A is the set of natural numbers less than 6".
The way we describe a set should tell us what items belong to the set and
what items are not members of the set.

Activity 1.1
Use braces to write the members of each of the following sets,
or state that the set has no members.
a) The months of the year.
b) The whole numbers less than 99.
c) Students in grade 6 that are 3 years of age.

Example 1

Let set M be the set of multiples of 2 between 1 and 9. Here

M = {2, 4, 6, 8}. You can see that 2, 4, 6 and 8 are members of
the set M.

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Example 2

The circled numbers form a set of even counting

numbers up to 100. We can call it set E. Can you
list the elements of set E?

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 30

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70

71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

E = { 2, 4, 6, 8, ---, 96, 98, 100 }

Figure 1.2

The even numbers in set E are members or elements of set E. Braces are
written before the first member and after the last member. Set E has many
members, and so only the first three or four members are written and the last
three or four members. In between, dots show the missing members.
4∈ E means 4 is a member of set E.
3 ∉ E means 3 is not a member of set E.

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You may represent the set of odd numbers up to 99 as D = {1, 3 , 5, 7, ---, 95,
97 , 99}. This is a second way of representing a set which is called partial
listing method. Observe that 5 ∈ D but 8 ∉ D.
You may also represent factors (divisors) of 12 as F= {1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6, 12} and
multiples of 3 less than 100 as M= {3, 6 , 9, 12, ---, 93, 96, 99} . Can you list
elements of the set of factors of 20? Multiples of 7 less than 100?

Activity 1.2

Identify whether each of the following statements is true or false.

a) 3 ∈{1, 2, 3, 4}. c) {3}∈ {3}.
b) 3 ∉{1, 2, {3}, 4}. d) 3∈{33, 44, 55}.

Notice that a set with no element is called empty or null set and is
denoted by { } or φ
Example 3

The set of students in your class who are 100 years old may
represent an empty set. Can you give other examples of empty
sets?

Activity 1.3

Which of the following sets are empty?

1. The set of months whose names have less than four letters.
2. The set of multiples of 3 which are less than 7.
3. The set of months whose names begin with letter ‘y’.

Another way to specify a set consists in giving a rule or condition that enables
us to decide whether or not any given objects belong to the set.
For example, P, the set of all females who are living in Addis Ababa can be
described as
P= which is read as "P is the set of x such
that x is a female living in Addis Ababa".
This method of describing a set is called the set builder notation.
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Example 4

The set of whole numbers can be described as

W=

Exercise1 A

1. Identify whether each of the following statements is true or false.

a) 1 ∈ { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.
b) 0 ∈ { 2, 4, 6, 8, 10}.
c) 3 ∉ { 2, 10 , 18, 26}.
1 1 1 1 1 
d) ∉  , , , .
2  4 6 8 10 
e) 2 is an element of the set of factors of 20.
f) 72 is an element of the set of multiples of 6.
2. List the elements of the following sets.
a) The set of factors of 24.
b) The set of whole numbers between 3 and 11.
c) The set of whole numbers less than 12.
d) The set of multiples of 8 which are greater than 20 but less than 40.
3. Name the following sets.
a) S = {0, 4, 8, 12, 16}.
b) R = {a, e, i, o, u}.
c) Q = .
4. Which of the following sets are empty?
a) The set of factors of 6 which are greater than 10.
b) The set of common factors of 16 and 24.
c) The set of all human beings who are 3 meters tall.
d) The set of consonants in the English alphabet.
e) The set of countries in East Africa whose name start with the letter V.
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f) The set of teachers in your school who are ten years old.
g) The set of cats that can fly.

1.2 Relations Among Sets

Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {1, 2, 3, 4}. Observe that every element of A is also
an element of the set B. In such a case we say that Set A is a subset of set B.

Definition 1.3: A set A is a subset of set B if every element of set A

is also an element of set B.

It is symbolically denoted by A ⊆ B which is read as “set A is subset

of set B”.
If set A is not a subset of set B, we denote this by A  B.

Example 5

Let P = {a, b}, Q = {a, b, c }, then P ⊆ Q but Q  P. It is also

true that P ⊆ P , and Q ⊆ Q.

Activity 1.4

1. Is every set a subset of itself?

2. Is empty set a subset of every set?

Out of the set {2, 3, 4} we can form a set with no element, 1 element,
2 elements or 3 elements as follows
A = { }, B = { 2}, C = {3} , D = {4} , E = {2, 3} , F = {2, 4}, G = {3, 4}
H = {2, 3, 4}. These sets are subsets of the original set {2, 3, 4}.
 Consider two sets M = {2, 3} and P = { 2, 3, 4}. Observe that M ⊆ P and
there exists one element in P which is not an element of M (i.e 4 ∈ P
but 4∉M). In such a case we call set M is a proper subset of set P. It is
denoted by MP which is read as ‘ M is a proper subset of P’.
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Definition 1.4: Set A is a proper subset of set B if every element of

set A is an element of the set B but there exists at
least one element in B which is not an element of the
set A.

Example 6

Given set p = {a, b, c}, the sets φ, {a}, {b}, {c}, {a, b}, {a, c}
and {b, c} are proper subsets of set P.

Note
1. Empty set is a proper subset of every other set.
2. A set is not a proper subset of itself.

Definition 1.5: If two sets, A and B, have equal number of elements,

then the two sets are called equivalent sets. We
denote equivalent sets as A↔ B.

Example 7

Let A = {1, 2, 3}, B = {a, b, c}. Then A and B are equivalent sets
(A ↔ B) because both sets have three elements. Can you give
other examples of equivalent sets?

Definition 1.6: If two sets have identical elements, then they are
called equal sets.

Example 8

Let A = {1, 2, 3, 6} and

B = The set of divisors of 6. Then A = B, i.e
A and B are equal sets. Can you give your own examples of equal
sets?

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Exercise 1. B

1. Identify whether each of the following statements is true or false?

a) { c , d, e} ⊆ { c, d, e}.
b) { c, d, e} ⊂ { c, d, e}.
c) The set of divisors of 6 is a subset of the set of divisors of 12.
d) The set of multiples of 2 is a proper subset of the set of multiples of 4.
e) If A = {6, 8, 9} and B= {a, b, c}, then A ↔ B.
f) The set of whole number less than 10 and the set of multiples of 2 which
are less than 10 are equal sets.
2. Find all the pairs of equal sets from those below.
A = {0, 2, 4, 6, 8}
B = { 1, 3, 5, 7}
C = The set of even numbers less than 9.
D = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
E = {2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11}
F = {21, 23, 25, 27}
G = {11, 9, 7, 5, 3}
H = The set of odd numbers less than 10.
I = {2, 4, 6}
J = The set of odd numbers between 20 and 28.
3. Name any sets that are equivalent in question 2.
4. Which of the following are empty sets?
a) The set of all human beings born with wings.
b) The set of all even numbers which are greater than 2 and less than 4.
c) The set of all odd numbers between 4 and 8.
d) The set of all the distances which are greater than a meter and also less
than a centimeter.
5. Let A = {a, c, e}.
a) Form all subsets of A. How many are they?
b) Form all proper subsets of A. How many are they?

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1.3 Operations on Sets

You will study about intersection of sets, union of sets and a simple visual
way of describing relationships between sets.

1.3.1 The Intersection of Sets

Activity 1.5

1. List the elements which belong to both sets

P = {2, 4, 6, 8} and Q = {4, 8 , 12}?
2. Let A be the set of all multiples of 7 between 3 and 20 and B
be the set of divisors of 8, Then list the elements which are
common to both sets A and B.

Look at the following example carefully.

Example 9

Let A = {1, 2, 3, 7, 9} and B = {7, 9, 11, 13}

The set of elements which belong to both sets A and B is called
the intersection of set A and set B. It is denoted by A  B. We

may write A  B = {7, 9}.

Definition 1.7: The set of elements that is common to the sets A and
B is called the intersection of A and B and is denoted
by A  B.

Example 10

Let R = {a, b, c, d} and T = {a, d, e}, then R  T = {a, d}.

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Exercise 1.C

1. Find A  B, if
a) A = { 2, 4, 6, 8} and B = { 4, 8, 12, 16}.
b) A = The set of divisors of 10.
B = The set of divisors of 12.
c) A = The set of multiples of 3 which are less than 20.
B = The set of multiples of 6 which are less than 20.
d) A = The set of even numbers which are less than 8.
B = The set of odd numbers which are less than 8.
2. In which of the above cases (question 1) is that A  B = φ?
3. If A = B, then what can you say about A  B?

1.3.2 The Union of Sets

Activity 1.6
List the elements which belong to either set
A = {1, 2, 3, 4} or B = {3, 4, 5}?

Definition 1.8: The set of elements which belong to either set P or set
Q or both P and Q is called the union of set P and set
Q. It is denoted by PUQ.

Group work 1.3

Form all subsets of set P where
P = A  B, and
A = {2, 4}, B = {4, 6}

Example 11

Let P = {1, 3, 5}, and Q = {2, 3, 4, 6}. The union of these

sets is written as P  Q = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}.

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Exercise 1.D

1. Find P  Q if

a) P = {2, 3, 4, 5} and Q = {3, 4, 5, 6,7}.

b) P = The set of odd numbers between 10 and 20.
Q = The set of even numbers between 11 and 19.
c) P = {a, b, c, 2, 3, 5} and Q = { d, e, 1, 4}.
d) P = {Ayal, Alemu, Bekele, Chala} and Q = {Derartu, Habtamu,
Hagos, Mohammed}.
e) P = { 22, 32, 42, 52} and Q = { 4, 9, 13, 16, 25}.
2. If A =φ , then what can you say about A  B?

3. If A = B, then what can you say about A  B for any set B?

4. If A = {3, 4, 5}, B = { 1, 3, 6, 7} and C = { 8, 10 , 12} . Then find

a) A  B d) A  B

b) A  C e) A  C

c) B  C f) B  C

1.3.3 Venn Diagram

The English Mathematician John Venn

(1834 - 1923) invented a simple visual
way of describing relationships between
sets. His diagrams, now called Venn
diagrams use circles to represent sets.
Venn diagrams are learned best through
examples.

Figure 1.3

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Example 12

Consider the set of cows and the set of mammals. Because

every member of the set of cows is also a member of the set
of mammals, we say that the set of cows is a subset of the set
of mammals. As shown in Figure 1.4, we represent this
relationship in a Venn diagram by drawing the circle for cows
inside the circle for mammals.

Non-mammals
mammals
Mammals that
cows are not cows

Figure 1.4

The circles are enclosed by a rectangle, so this diagram has three regions:
• The inside of the cows circle represents all cows.
• The region outside the cows circle but inside the mammals circle
represents mammals that are not cows (such as bears, whales and people).
• The region outside the mammals circle represents non-mammals; from
the context, we can interpret this region to represent animals (or living
things) that are not mammals, such as birds, fish and insects.

Notice that (i) The diagram illustrates only the relationship

between the sets; the sizes of circles do not matter.
(ii) The set of cows is a subset of the set of mammals.

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Activity 1.7
A B
We may represent sets
A = {1, 3, 5, 6} and 5 1 2
B = {1, 2, 3, 4} using Venn – 6 3
diagram shown (Figure 1.5). list 4
elements that belong to both
Figure 1.5
Fig. 1.6
sets A and B or the set A  B.

Definition 1.9: Two sets are said to be disjoint if their intersection is

empty set. That is, A  B = φ implies sets A and B are disjoint.

Example 13

Consider the set of dogs and the set of cats. A domestic

animal can be either a dog or a cat, but not both. We draw
the Venn diagram with separated circles that do not touch ,
and we say that the set of dogs and the set of cats are
disjoint sets (Figure 1.6). Again, we enclose the circles in a
rectangle. This time, the context suggests that the region
outside both circles represents domestic animals that are
neither dogs nor cats, such as cows, sheep and goats.

Other domestic
animals

Dogs Cats

Figure 1.6

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The set of dogs is disjoint from the set of cats.

For our last general case, consider the set of nurses and the set of women.

Example 14

As shown in figure 1.7, these sets are overlapping

because it is possible for a person to be both a woman
and a nurse. Because the two sets have intersection, this
diagram has four regions.
• The overlapping region men who are women who are
nurses not nurses
represents people who
are both women and
nurses. (i.e. female
nurses women
nurses)
• The non-overlapping
region of the nurses circle
represents nurses who are
not women-that is, male
nurses. Female nurses
Figure 1.7

• The non-overlapping region of the women circle

represents women who are not nurses.
• The region outside both circles to represent people
who are neither nurses nor women-that is, men who
are not nurses.

Note: The sizes of the regions are not important; for example, the
small size of the overlapping region does not imply that
female nurses are less common than male nurses. Speaking
more generally, we use overlapping circles whenever two sets
might have members in common.

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Example 15

Let A = The set of even whole A

numbers less than 11. The Venn 2 6 10
diagram for A looks like this. 0 4 8
Notice that zero (0) is included in
the set of even numbers. B
1 3
B = the set of odd whole numbers 5 7 9
less than 10. The Venn diagram
for B looks like this. Figure 1.8

What would the Venn diagram for the empty set look like?
How many members are there in A? How many members
are there in B?
Are there any members that are common to both sets?
Solution: You may represent the two sets by a Venn
diagram as shown in figure 1.9. The two sets are
disjoint as there are no members in common.

A B

2 6 10 1 3
0 4 8 5 7 9

Figure 1.9

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Group work 1.4

P Q
Which of the following describes
the shaded region in the Venn-
diagram (Figure 1.10)
a) P  Q  R c) P  Q  R R

b) P  Q d) Q  R
Figure 1.10

Example 16

Use a Venn diagram to show common factors of 24 and 30.

Solution: First make a list of the factors of 24 and 30
Factors of 24: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 or
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24}
Factors of 30: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 15, 30 or
B = {1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 15, 30}
Then, use a Venn diagram to summarize the information.
Draw a rectangle and then draw two overlapping circles
inside the rectangle.

Label one circle A to represent factors of 24 and the other

circle B to represent factors of 30. Write the elements
common to both sets where the circle over lap.

Factors of Factors of
24 4 10 30
1 5
(A) 8 2 (B)
12 3 15
6
24 30

Figure 1.11 A  B = {1, 2, 3, 6}

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Exercise 1.E

1. Based on the Venn diagram

(Figure 1.12) answer each of
the following. P Q
a) List elements of set P. 5 7
2 4 1
b) List elements of set Q. 8 9 3 6 10
c) List elements of P  Q.
Figure 1.12
d) List elements of P  Q.

e) Is P ⊆ Q? is Q ⊆ P?

2. From the given Venn diagram below what

can you say about
AA
a) A ? 6 9
4 8 B
b) B?
c) A  B? 7

d) A  B?
Figure 1.13
e) Is it true that A ⊆ B?

3. Use the Venn diagram to represent the following sets:

G = {triangle, rectangle, circle, trapezium, kite}
L = {square, parallelogram, kite, rectangle, trapezium, pentagon}
4. In a certain school the members of math club are Ujulu, Almaz,
Mamo and Rukia and the members of Minimidia club are Mohammed,
Ujulu, Urgessa and Mamo. Use Venn diagram to represent the
situation.
5. Use Venn diagram to represent the following sets:
M = The set of even numbers less than 11
N = The set of whole numbers less than 11
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6. Use the Venn diagram to answer each

of the following: A B
a) How many elements are there in 3 5 6
set A? 0 7
9
b) How many elements are there in 8 1 10 12
2 18
set B?
c) How many elements are there in 4
the set AB? Figure 1.14

d) How many elements are there out

side the union of the two sets A
and B?
7. Let G = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12} and H = {1, 3, 4, 6, 9}.
a) Draw a Venn diagram that shows the relationship between the two
sets.
b) Shade the region common to both sets and find their common
elements.

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UNIT SUMMARY

Important facts you should know:

 A set is a collection of well defined object.
 Each object in a set is called element of the set.
 A set with no element is called empty or null set. It is
denoted by {} or φ.
 If all elements of set A belong to set B, then set A is
called a subset of set B. This is denoted by A ⊆ B.
 If all elements of set A belong to set B and number of
elements of set B is greater than number of elements set
A, then set A is called a Proper subset of set B. This is
denoted by A ⊂ B.
 If two sets, A and B, have equal number of elements,
then the two sets are said to be equivalent sets. This is
denoted by A↔B.
 If two sets, A and B, have identical elements, then they
are called equal sets. This is denoted by A = B.
 The set of elements which belong to both set A and set B
is called the intersection of set A and set B.
This is denoted by A  B.
Two sets are said to be disjoint if their intersection is empty
set.
 The set of elements which belong to either set A or set B
or both sets A and B is called the Union of set A and set
B. This is denoted by A  B.
 Venn-diagram is a pictorial representation of a set. This
name is given after an English mathematician John
Venn.
 Venn-diagram is a pictorial representation of sets and
their relationship.

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Review Exercise
1. Identify whether each of the following statements is true or
false.
a. 2 ∈ {1, 2,3,4}
b. 0 ∈ {1,5,8,10}
c. {3} ∈ {3,6,9,13}
d. {1,3,5,7} ⊆ {5,7,9,11}
e. φ ⊆ A for any set A
f. 4 ∉ A if A = {0,2,24,26}
g. The set of multiples of 16 is a subset of the set of multiples
of 8.
h. The set of divisors of 20 is a proper subset of the set of
divisors of 40.
2. Determine all
a. Subsets of set A, A = {0, 4, 6}
b. Proper subsets of set A, A = {0, 4, 6}
3. Based on the Venn diagram given below, answer each of the
following
a. List elements of set A A 1 B
b. List elements of set B 4 6
2
5 7
c. List elements of A  B 3
d. List elements of A  B Figure 1.15

4. Let A = The set of multiples of 7.

B = The set of divisors of 30.
a. Are they disjoint sets?
b. Find a set which is a subset of set A.
c. Find a set which is a proper subset of set B.

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5. Let P = The set of odd whole numbers.

Q = The set of even whole numbers.
a. Are they disjoint sets?
b. What is the intersection of set P and set Q?
c. What is the union of set P and set Q?
6. Consider the Venn-diagram given below. List elements of set
a. A f. B  C j. A  (B  C)

b. B g. A  B k. A  (B  C)

c. C h. B  C l. A  (B  C)

d. A  B i. A  C m. A  (B  C)

e. A  C
A 2 B
3 8
1
4 9
5 7
6 C

Figure 1.16

7. Shade the region which A B

represents A  (B  C) in the
Venn-diagram below. C

Figure 1.17

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8. Find the total number of subsets of the set P, where

P = {x| x is a letter in the word ‘STAR’}.
9. Let A = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9},
B = {1, 2, 4, 7, 8}, and
C = {2, 4, 6, 8} . Show that
(a) A  (B  C) = (A  B)  C

(b) A  (B  C) = (A  B) C

(c) A  (B  C) = (A  B)  (A  C)

10. Refer to the accompanying B

A
figure and find the points v• s
t
that belong to each of the • x• r •y •
W• •
U•
given sets. C
Z•
C

Figure 1.18

a. A  B e. A  (B  C)
b. A  B f. A  B  C
c. A  (B  C) g. The points that do not
d. B  C belong to A  B  C

Grade 6 Student Text 23