SET described as a collection of well-defined distinct objects.

named after the capital letters of the English alphabet.

elements members or items in a set.

The greek character is used to denote an element of . Its negation is

If pharmacy is an element of {pharmacy, medical technology, biochemistry}.
Then pharmacy {pharmacy, medical technology, biochemistry}.

Note: If a set has no elements, it is said to be an empty set (denoted by }

Example: { x | x = 1}
2

Infinite sets a set which has an unlimited number of elements. Finite sets a set which has a last element
Example: {the stars in the universe} we can count the number of elements in the set.
Example: {the planets in our solar system}
Ways of specifying a set:
1. list or roster method members of a set are listed and enclosed within braces.
Example: A = {1,2,3,4,5}
B = {Mr. Nieto, Mr. Baes, Mr. Nuval, Mrs. Buenaventura}
C = {.-15, -10, -5, 0, 5, 10, 15, .}
Note: The symbol is called ellipsis and it denotes the
elements which are understood to be specified.

2. description or rule method the description is enclosed within braces.

Example: A = {x | 1 x 5}
B = {Math 101a teachers of UST Faculty of Pharmacy for SY 2007 - 2008}
C = {x | x is a multiple of 5}

Cardinality of a set (n(A))

refers to the number of elements in a given set.

Example: If A = {a,b,c,d,e}, then Set A has a cardinality of 5 since there are five elements in A.
It may also be represented as n(A) = 5.
If B = {2,4,6}, then Set B has a cardinality of 3 or n(B) = 3.
If C = , then Set C has a cardinality of 0 or n(C) = 0.
If D = {1,3,5,7,9}, then Set C has a cardinality of or n(C) = .

RELATIONSHIPS OF TWO SETS

A = B (equal)
- each element of Set A is an element of Set B and vice versa.

Example: If A = {x,y,z} B = {y,z,x}, then A = B.

- negation:
A B (equivalent)
- if every element of set A corresponds to an element of set B.
Example: If A = {1,2,3..} B = {2,4,6..}, then A B
A B (proper subset)
- if set B has one or more elements not belonging to A.
Example: If A = {2,3} or A = {2} B = {1,2,3,4}, then A B.
- negation:
A B (subset)
- if each element of set A is an element of set B.
Example: If A = {1,2,3,4} and B = {1,2,3,4}, then A B.

Note that in order to A B to be satisfied, sets A and B must have the same elements.

Disjoint sets are sets which have no common element.

Written by: Mr. Xandro Alexi A. Nieto, M.Math Ed.

UST Faculty of Pharmacy
 Exercises:
Place the appropriate symbol from the following list in the space provided:
, , , , , ,
1. 6 ___ {2,4,6}
answer: since 6 is an element of the given set {2,4,6}.
Use if the given set is {6} since enclosing the element in braces denotes a set, not an
element.
To clarify, here are counterexamples:
3 {1,3,5}
{3} {1,3,5}
2. ___ {2,3,4}
answer: since is an empty set.

3. 4 ___ {1,2,3}
answer: since 4 is an element, not found in {1,2,3}.
Use if the given is {4} since enclosing the element in braces denotes a set, not an element.
To clarify, here are counterexamples:
a {1 , b , 5, c}
{a} {1, b , 5 , c}

4. {2} ___ {4,7,1}

answer: since {2} is a set not found in {4,7,1}
5. {0,3,6} ___ {5, 8, 11}
answers: since {0,3,6} is a set not found in {5,8,11}.
since {0,3,6} is a set having different elements compared to {0,3,6}.
since both sets have three elements.

Always remember that:

a) Element(s) do/does not have braces. Thus, or should be used.

b) Any element(s) enclosed in braces is considered a set. Thus, or should be used.
c) Empty set is automatically considered a set, and should NOT be enclosed in braces.

Thus, or should be used.

Reinforcement Questions:
1. If two sets are equal, are they also equivalent?
Yes! Equal sets always have same number of elements. Thus, they are equivalent.

2. If two sets are equivalent, must they also be equal?

No! Two sets having same number of elements may not have exactly the same elements.

3. Is a proper subset of {2}?

Yes! An empty set is ALWAYS a proper subset of ANY given set.
Note that any set has an empty space between two elements.

All equal sets are equivalent. But not all equivalent sets are equal.

Written by: Mr. Xandro Alexi A. Nieto, M.Math Ed.

UST Faculty of Pharmacy
 OPERATIONS ON SETS

(universal set) = set of all or of the total elements

C
A or A (A complement) = set of all elements which belongs to a given universal set but do not belong to a given subset A.

C
Examples If = {1,3,5,7,9}, and A = {1,5} , then A = {3 , 7, 9}.

If = {all the English alphabets from A to Z}, and E = {all the vowels in the English alphabet}
C
then E = {all the consonants in the English alphabet}

If = {all the freshmen students of the Faculty of Pharmacy from SY 2006 2007}
and M = {all the male freshmen students of the Faculty of Pharmacy from SY 2006 2007}
C
then M = {all the female freshmen students of the Faculty of Pharmacy from SY 2006 2007}

A B (A union B) = set of all elements of A or B or both.

To find A B, simply combine all the elements of A and B. Write the same elements once.

Examples : If A = {1,3,6,9} and B = {2,4,11}, then A B = {1,2,3,4,6,9,11}.

If R = {a,b,h,k} and S = {b,d,h,m,p} then R S = {a,b,d,h,k,m,p}.

Note that elements b and h were written once.

A B (A intersection B) = set of all elements that belongs to A and B.

To find A B, simply find the common elements in sets A and B.

Examples
If Q = {q,w,e,r,t,y} and S = {q,u,i,t} then Q S = {q,t}

If P = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10} and R = {2,4,6,8,10,12,14}, then P R = {2,4,6,8,10}

If X = {10, 20, x, y} and Y = {0, 5, a, b} then X Y =

Note that: A = . Thus, any non-empty set and an empty set are always disjoint.

A B (A minus B) = set of all elements of A which is not an element of B.

=AB= A B
C

= can also be written as A\B

To find A B, simply find the common elements in sets A and B and remove it in A.
Likewise, to find B A, find the common elements in sets A and B and remove it from B.

Examples:
If A = {0,1,2,3,4} and B = {2,3,6,8},
Then A B = {2,3}.
So, A B = {0,1,4} and B A = {6,8}

If F = {do, re, mi, fa, so} and G = {do, mi, so, ti},
then F G = {re, fa} and G F = {ti}

If V = {even numbers from 1 to 10} and D = {odd numbers from 5 to 15},

then V D = V

Note that: A = A.

Written by: Mr. Xandro Alexi A. Nieto, M.Math Ed.

UST Faculty of Pharmacy
 Exercises: = {a,b,c,d,e,f,g}
and A = {a,b,c}
B = {b,d,e,}
C
1. What is A ? answer: {d,e,f,g}
C
2. What is B ? answer: {a,c,f,g}
3. What is A B? answer: {a,b,c,d,e}
4. What is (A B) ?
C
answer: {f,g}
5. What is A B? answer: {b}
6. What is (A B) ?
C
answer: {a,c,d,e,f,g}

Suppose D = {e,f,g},
7. What is B D? answer: {b,d}
8. What is D B? answer: {f,g}
C
9. What is A \ D? answer: {d}
10. Are A and D disjoint sets? answer: Yes.
11. How about B and D? answer: No.
12. What is B D? answer: {e}
13. What is B D ?
C
answer: {a,b,c,d,e}
14. What is (A B) D? answer: {b,e,f,g}
15. What is (A D) B?
C
answer: {b,d,e}

Reinforcement Questions:
1. Are and {4,1} disjoint sets?
Yes, because A =.
2. List the subsets of {1,2,3} that do not have 1 as an element.
,{2},{3}, and {2,3}

Cartesian Products (A x B)
=> refers to all the possible combination of elements of the given sets.

Examples If A = {1,2,3}, B = {a,b,c}, C = {x,y}, and D = {5},

- then A x B = {(1,a),(1,b),(1,c),(2,a),(2,b),(2,c),(3,a),(3,b),(3,c)}.
We can say, therefore, that the cardinality of AxB or n(AxB) is 9.

- then B x C = {(a,x),(a,y),(b,x),(b,y),(c,x),(c,y)}.
We can say, therefore, that the cardinality of BxC or n(BxC) is 6

- then D x A = {(5,1), (5,2), (5,3)}.

We can say, therefore, that the cardinality of DxA or n(DxA) is 3.

In general, n(AxB) is equal to the product of n(A) and n(B)

n(AxB) = n(A) n(B)

Written by: Mr. Xandro Alexi A. Nieto, M.Math Ed.

UST Faculty of Pharmacy