SETS

John Karlo S. Mendoza

BS Mechanical Engineering
University of the Philippines Diliman
 What is a Set?
Set
- a well-defined collection of objects
- has the property that we can tell whether
any given subject is or is not in the set
- first constructed by George Cantor

Notation: capital letters (A, B, ... , Z)

 What is an Element?

An object is an element (elt.) of a set if the

object belongs to the set.

Notation: small letters (a, b, ... , z)

 What is an Element?
If a is an element of A, we denote it by a  A,
and if not by a  A.

Example: Let O be the collection of odd integers

Then,
2O
5O
 Ways to Describe a Set
1. Roster method/enumeration method
- write down all the elements separated by
commas and enclosed in braces

Example
A = {1,3,5,7,9}
 Ways to Describe a Set
2. Rule Method/Set Builder Notation
- enclosed in braces a descriptive phrase
and agreeing that those objects and only
those with the described property are
elements of the set

Example
A = {x|x is an odd integer between 0 and 10}
*Note: In the notation, x is a dummy variable.
 Remark

NOT all sets can be described by both methods.

Example
A = {guava, PolSci, Engg, chalk}
B = {x|x is a star in the universe}
 Definitions
Finite Set – number of elements countable
Infinite Set – number of elements uncountable
Empty Set/Null Set – set containing no element
Notation: , { }
*Note: {} is not the null set.
Universal Set – set consisting of all elements in
a particular discussion
 Relations Between Sets
1. Equality
A = B if A and B have exactly the same
elements.

Example
A = {1,3,5,7,9}
B = {x|x is a positive odd integer less than 10}
A=B
 Relations Between Sets

2. Equivalence
Two sets A and B are in one-to-one (1-1)
correspondence if to each element of A
therecorresponds exactly one element of B,
and vice versa. The sets A and B are
equivalent if the set A and B are in a 1-1
correspondence.
 Relations Between Sets
Example
A = {1,2,3}
B = {a,b,c}
C = {c,d}
 A  B but A has no 1-1 correspondence to C
 Relations Between Sets

The cardinality of a finite set A is the number

of elements of A, denoted by n(A) or |A|.

Remark
Two finite sets are equivalent if they have
the same cardinality.
 Relations Between Sets

3. Disjoint
A and B are disjoint if they have no common
element.
 Relations Between Sets
Example
E = {2,4,6,8,10}
F = {1,3,5,7,9}
G = {x|x is an integer greater than 9}
 E & F and F & G are disjoint
 E & G are not disjoint since 10  E and 10 
G
 Relations Between Sets
4. Subset
A is a subset of B (A  B) if every element
of A is an element of B.
[A  B if  (for every) a  A then a  B]

Example
H = {1,7}
F = {1,3,5,7,9}
HF
 Theorems
1.  A, A  A
(Reflexive Property of Set Inclusion)
2.  A,   A
3.  A, B, C, if A  B, B  C, then A  C
[Transitive Property of Set Inclusion]
4. If A  B and B  A, then A = B

Proper subset of A () is a subset of A which is

neither  or A
 Operations on Sets
1. Union
The union of a set A and B is the set of
elements that belong to A or to B or both.
[A  B = {x|x  A  (or) x  B}]

Example
A = {3,6,9,12,15}
B = {1,2,4,6,9,10}
 A  B = {1,2,3,4,6,9,10,12,15}
 Operations on Sets
2. Intersection
The intersection of A and B is the set of
elements that belong to both A and B.
[A  B = {x|x  A  (and) x  B}]

Example
A = {3,6,9,12,15}
B = {1,2,4,6,9,10}
 A  B = {6,9}
 Operations on Sets
3. Difference
The difference of B from A is the set of
elements of A that do not belong to B.
[A – B = A\B = {x|x  A  x  B}]

Example
A = {3,6,9,12,15}
B = {1,2,4,6,9,10}
 A - B = {3,12,15}
 B - A = {1,2,4,10}
 Operations on Sets
4. Complement
The complement of A in U is the set of
elements in U that is not in A.
[A’ = AC = {x|x  U  x  A}]

Example
U = {x|x is a letter in the English alphabet}
A = {x|x is a vowel}
 AC = {x|x is a consonant}
 Exercise
Let
U = {0,1,2,3,...,7,8,9}
A = {1,3,5,9}
B = {2,3,5,7,9}
C = {x|x is a digit in the number 11201}

Find. 1) A  B 4) A’ 7) B - A
2) A  B 5) B’
3) (A  B)  C 6) A - B
 Answers
1) A  B = {1,2,3,5,7,9}
2) A  B = {3,5,9}
3) (A  B)  C = {1,2}
4) A’ = {0,2,4,6,7,8}
5) B’ = {0,1,4,6,8}
6) A - B = {1}
7) B - A = {2,7}
 Remarks

1.  A, B, A  B = B  A, A  B = B  A
2.  A, A  A = A, A  A = A, A\A = 
3. Distribution Laws
(A  B)  C = (A  C)  (B  C)
(A  B)  C = (A  C)  (B  C)
 Remarks

4. De Morgan’s Laws
(A  B)’ = A’  B’
(A  B)’ = A’  B’
5.  A, A   = A, A   = 
6. If A and B are disjoint, A  B = 
 Venn Diagrams
These are used to visualize sets, their relations
and operations.

U
A

x y
 Venn Diagrams
U
A

x y

U = rectangle
x  U, y  U = points
A = circle/closed region
 Venn Diagrams
AU
x  A, x  U
y  U, y  A

U
A

x y
 Venn Diagrams
Equality (A = B)

A=B
 Venn Diagrams
Subset (A  B)

U
B

A
 Venn Diagrams
Disjoint

U
A B
 Venn Diagrams
Union (A  B)

U
A B
(A  B)
 Venn Diagrams
Intersection (A  B)

U
A B

(A  B)
 Venn Diagrams
Complement (AC)

AU
C

A
 Venn Diagrams
First De Morgan’s Law ((A  B)’ = A’  B’)

(A  B)C
U
A B
(A  B)

(A  B)’
 Venn Diagrams
First De Morgan’s Law ((A  B)’ = A’  B’)

B’ (A’  A’
B’)
U
A B

(A’  B’)
 Venn Diagrams
(A  B)C
First De Morgan’s Law
((A  B)’ = A’  B’)
(A  B)

(A’  B’)
A B
(A  B)’

(A’  B’)
 Set Product

An ordered pair (a,b) is a set of two elements

in which we distinguish between a first and a
second element.

{a,b} = {b,a} but (a,b)  (b,a)

 Set Product

The set product or Cartesian product of A and

B, denoted A  B, is the set of all possible
ordered pair (a,b) such that a is an element of
A and b is an element of B.

A  B = {(a,b)|a  A and b  B}
 Set Product
Example
If A = {0,1}
B = {1,2,3}
Then
A  B = {(0,1),(0,2),(0,3),(1,1),(1,2),(1,3)}
B  A = {(1,0),(1,1),(2,0),(2,1),(3,0),(3,1)}
 Remarks

1. A  B  B  A
2.  A, A   =  =   A
 Cardinality

Recall
n(A) = number of elements of A
 Cardinality
n(A  B) = n(A) + n(B) – n(A  B)

n(U)
n(A) n(B)

n(A  B)
n(A  B)
 Cardinality
n(A’) = n(U) – n(A)

n(A
n(U)C
)
n(A)
 Cardinality
If A and B are disjoint, then
n(A  B) = n(A) + n(B)
n(A  B) = 0

n(U)
n(A) n(B)
 Cardinality

n(A  B) = n(A)  n(B)

 Exercise
A survey of 70 freshmen showed that 44 took
Math 17, 30 took Eng 1, and 23 took both
Math 17 and Eng 1. How many took
(a) Math 17 or Eng 1?
(b) neither Math 17 nor Eng 1?
(c) Math 17 but not Eng 1?
(d) Eng 1 but not Math 17?
 Solution
Let
U = freshmen surveyed
A = freshmen who took Math 17
B = freshmen who took Eng 1
We know that
n(U) = 70 n(B) = 30
n(A) = 44 n(A  B) = 23
 Solution
(a) Math 17 or Eng 1?
n(A  B) = n(A) + n(B) – n(A  B)
= 44 + 30 – 23 = 51 students

(b) neither Math 17 nor Eng 1?

n(A  B)’ = n(U) – n(A  B)
= 70 – 51 = 19 students
 Solution

(c) Math 17 but not Eng 1?

n(A) – n(A  B) = 44 – 23 = 21 students

(d) Eng 1 but not Math 17?

n(B) – n(A  B) = 30 – 23 = 7 students