GNED 03: CHAPTER II MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLS: SETS
D. Four Basic Concepts
1. Sets
• concept of set is one of the most basic in mathematics
• a well-defined collection of distinct objects
• objects that make up a set (also known as the set’s elements or members) can
be numbers, people, letters of the alphabet, other sets
• conventionally named with capital letters
• braces, {}, are usually used to specify that the objects written between them
belong to a set
• element of a set is usually denoted by a lower-case letter
• the symbol ϵ denotes membership while ϵ denotes non-membership to a set.
Thus, x ϵ A, read as x is an element of A, means that x can be found on set A
while x ϵ A, read as x is not an element of A, means that x does not belong to set
A.
There are two ways to describe a set, namely:
• Roster/Tabular Method – the elements in the given set are listed or
enumerated, separated by a comma, inside a pair of braces
• Rule/Descriptive Method – the common characteristic of the elements is
defined. This method uses set builder notation where x is used to represent any
element of the given set.
ROSTER/ TABULAR METHOD RULE/ DESCRIPTIVE METHOD
A = {a, e, i, o, u} A= {all vowels
in English alphabet}
B = {3,5,7,9,11,13,15} B= {all odd positive integers less than or
equal to 15}
Mathematics in the Modern World Revised Edition 2024 (Legaspi et al)
C = {1,8,27,64} C= {all positive cube numbers less than
100}
The following are kinds of sets:
• Empty/Null/Void set – has no element and is denoted by ɸ or by a pair of braces
with no element inside
Ex. A = { }, B = ɸ
• Finite set - has countable number of elements
Ex. A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
A = {all integers from 1 to 10}
• Infinite set – has uncountable number of elements
Ex. B = {all natural numbers}
B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, …}
• Universal set – the totality of all the elements of the sets under consideration,
denoted by U
U = set of all books in the library, set of all first-year students in CVSU.
Two or more sets may be related to each other as described by the following:
• Equal sets have the same elements.
A = {a, b, c, d} B = {a, b, c, d}
• Equivalent sets have the same number (cardinality) of elements.
A = {a, b, c, d} B = {e, f, g, h}
It can be noted that equal sets are equivalent sets, however, not all equivalent
sets are equal sets.
• Joint Sets have at least one common element.
A = {a, b, c, d} B = {d, e, g, h}
B = {d, e, g, h} C = {g, h, i, j}
Mathematics in the Modern World Revised Edition 2024 (Legaspi et al)
• Disjoint sets have no common element.
A = {a, b, c, d} B = {e, f, g, h}
B = {d, e, g, h} C = {j, k, l, m}
• A subset is a set every element of which can be found on a bigger set.
• The symbol ⊂ means “a subset of” while ⊂ means “not a subset of”.
• If the first set equals the second set, then it is an improper subset. The symbol ⊂ is
used to mean an improper subset.
• A null set is always a subset of any given set and is considered an improper subset
of the given set. Other than the set itself and the null set, all are considered proper
subsets. The set containing all the subsets of the given set with n number of
elements is called the power set with 2n number of elements.
There are four operations performed on sets. Suppose, we named the two sets as Set A and
Set B, then:
• Union of Sets A and B [denoted by A ∪ B] is a set whose elements are found in A or
B or in both.
In symbol: A ∪ B= {x/x ϵ A or x ϵ B}
A = {1, 2, 3, 5}
B = {2, 4, 6}
A ∪ B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}
• Intersection of sets A and B [denoted by A ∩ B] is a set whose elements are
common to both sets.
In symbol: A ∩ B = {x/x ϵ A and x ϵ B}
Given sets A, B, C:
Mathematics in the Modern World Revised Edition 2024 (Legaspi et al)
A = {1, 3, 5} B = {2, 4, 6} C= {1, 2, 3}
A ∩ B = { } or ɸ A ∩ C = {1,3} B ∩ C = {2}
NOTE: A and C are joint sets while A and B are disjoint sets
• Difference of sets A and B [denoted by A – B] is a set whose elements are found in
set A but not in set B.
In symbol: A – B = {x/x ϵ A and x ϵ B
A = {1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9} B = {2, 4, 5, 6, 9}
A – B = {1, 3, 8} B – A= {2, 4}
• Complement of Set A [denoted by A’] is a set whose elements are found in the
universal set but not in set A.
In symbol: A’ = {x/x ϵ U and x ϵ A}
U = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14} A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} B = {3, 6, 9, 12, 15}
A’ = {8, 10, 12, 14} B’= {2, 4, 8, 10, 14}
The pictorial representation of relationship and operations of sets is the so-called Venn-
Euler Diagrams or simply Venn Diagrams. The universal set is usually represented by a
rectangle while circles within the rectangle usually represent its subsets. The shaded
region in the given diagrams illustrates the sets relation or operation.
Mathematics in the Modern World Revised Edition 2024 (Legaspi et al)
ACTIVITY: Copy and answer the following in a yellow sheet of paper. Take a picture of
your output, and make it as pdf named as your Surname, Given name Middle initial.
Upload to respective google classrooms.
I. Identify the type of set (finite, infinite, or empty) as described by the
following:
1. A = {colors of rainbow} ________________
2. B = {snow in a tropical region during summer} ________________
3. C = {multiples of 9} ________________
4. D = {Fibonacci numbers less than 144} ________________
5. E = {x/x > 5} ________________
6. F = {0} ________________
7. G = {stars in the galaxy} ________________
8. H = {Greek letters} ________________
9. I = {trees in forest} ________________
10. J = {trees in a completely cleared forest} ________________
II. Given: U = {integers from 1 and 24}
A = {integers between 1 and 10}
B = {even numbers less than 25}
C = {odd numbers less than 10}
FIND:
1. A ∪ C
2. B ∩ C
3. A ∩ (B ∪ C) (Note: perform the operation inside the parenthesis first)
4. A – C
5. B – A
Mathematics in the Modern World Revised Edition 2024 (Legaspi et al)
6. C – B
7. B – C
8. A’
9. B’
10. C’
(Note: Answers should be written properly in set form)
III. Twenty faculty members were asked regarding their preferred fieldtrip
destination. Result show that 12 chose Palawan, three selected Batanes,
and the rest preferred both Palawan and Batanes. How many of them would
like to go to:
1. Palawan and Batanes _________________
2. Exactly one place _________________
3. Batanes only _________________
4. Neither Palawan nor Batanes _________________
5. Either Palawan or Batanes _________________
IV. Let A = {integers from 1 to 13}
B = {a, b, c, d, e}
C = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
D = {vowels in the English alphabet}
Determine whether the pairs of sets are joint, disjoint, equal, or equivalent.
1. Sets A and B _____________
2. Sets C and B _____________
3. Sets C and D _____________
4. Sets B and D _____________
5. Sets A and C _____________
Mathematics in the Modern World Revised Edition 2024 (Legaspi et al)
