Topic X Set

1
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of the topic, you should be able to:
1. Describe the concept of sets and subsets; and
2. Apply the operations on sets such as intersection, union, difference
and products.

X INTRODUCTION
Understanding of set is very important in understanding modern mathematics.
Prior to the introduction of the set theory, the main concerns of mathematics were
numbers and geometry. The concept of set was first introduced by Cantor in the
19th century.

There are a few types of set theory. The set theory, which will be the subject of
this topic, is called naïve set theory. Other set theories are ZF-set theory and
axiomatic set theory.

1.1 CONCEPT OF SET

Definition 1.1a: A set is any well-defined collection of objects, called elements or
members of the set.

For example,
(a) the collection of all students taking this course.
(b) the collection of all lecturers at the university.
(c) the collection of real numbers between zero and one.
2 X TOPIC 1 SET

1.1.1 Listing the Elements of Sets

There are several ways to describe sets. One way of describing a set that has a finite
number of elements is by listing the elements of the set between brace (also known as
curly bracket).

Notation
A= {elements of set A}

Where A is the name of the set. It could be any other variable name. Other
Example, C,D,E

Example 1.1a
The equation
A = {1, 2, 3, 4}
describes a set A made up of the four elements 1, 2, 3, and 4.

A set is determined by its elements and not by any particular order in which
the elements might be listed. Another way in writing the equation above is as follows:

A = {1, 3, 4, 2}

The elements comprised in a set are assumed to be distinct, and although for
some reason we may duplicate it out in a list, only one occurrence of each element
is in the set. For this reason, we may also describe the set A defined above as:

A = {1, 2, 2, 3, 4}

Table 1.1: Representation of Elements in a Set

Type of elements Representation Description

in a set
Order A = {1, 2, 3, 4} A set is determined by its elements and order in
which the elements might be listed.
Unorder A = {1, 3, 4, 2} A set is determined by its elements and not
by any particular order in which the elements
might be listed.
Distinct (unequal) A = {1, 2, 2, 3, 4} The elements making up a set are assumed to
be distinct, and although for some reason
we may duplicates it out in a list, only one
occurrence of each element is in the set.
 TOPIC 1 SET W 3

SELF-CHECK 1.1
Can you figure out how to read the set notation?

Example 1.1b

The set V of all vowels in the English alphabet can be written as

V = {a, e, i, o, u}

1.1.2 Specifying Properties of Sets

Sometimes it is inconvenient or impossible to describe a set by listing all of its
elements. Another useful way to define a set is by specifying a property
that the elements of the set have in common. If a set is a large finite set or an
infinite set, we can describe it by listing a property necessary for membership.

Example 1.1c

The equation
B = {x | x is a positive, even integer}

describes the set B made up of all positive, even integers; that is, B consists
of the integer 2, 4, 6, 8, and so on.

The vertical bar "|" is read "such that". Equation B above can be read as "B equals
the set of all x such that x is a positive, even integer".

1.1.3 Set Membership

Given a description of a set X such as

(A = {1, 2, 3, 4}) or (B = {x| x is a positive, even integer})

with element x, we can determine whether or not x belongs to X.

If x is a member in set X, we write it as x X. Otherwise, we write it as x X.

If X is a finite set, we let |X| to denote the number of elements in X.

4 X TOPIC 1 SET

Table 1.2: Symbols Representation

Symbols Description
 Is a member/element
 Is not a member/element

Example 1.1d

Let A = {1, 3, 5, 7}. Then 1  A, 3  A, but 2  A.

|A| = 4.

Example 1.1e

A is a set consisting of the first 5 positive integers: A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

So 2  A but 6  A

Example 1.1f

Let  = {1, 2, 3, } be a set of positive integers,

(a) A = {1, 4, 9,., 64, 81}
= {x² | x   and x² < 100}
(b) B = {1, 4, 9, 16}
= {y² | y   and y² d 16}
(c) C = {2, 4, 6, 8, }
= {2k | k   }
A and B are called finite set while C is called infinite set.

1.1.4 Empty Set

There is a special set that has no elements. This set is called the empty set or null
set, and is denoted by ‡. The empty set can also be denoted by { } (that is, we
represent the empty set with a pair of braces that encloses all the elements in this
set).

Often, a set of elements with certain properties turns out to be the null set. For
example, the set of all positive integers that are greater than their squares is the
null set.
 TOPIC 1 SET W 5

Figure 1.1: Representation of an empty set

1.1.5 Set of Numbers

The following sets are normally used when dealing with numbers.

Table 1.3: Set of Numbers

Set of Numbers Notation Description

Positive Integers '+ '+= {x | x is a positive integer}
Example: 1,2,3
Natural Numbers   = {x | x is a positive integer}
Example: 1,2,3
Integers ' ' = {x | x is an integer}
Example: -3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3,
Real Numbers   = {x | x is a real number}

ACTIVITY 1.1
1. Let A = {1, 2, 4, a, b, c}. Identify each of the following as true or false:
(a) 2A
(b) 3A
(c) cA
(d) ±A
(e) {}A
(f) AA
6 X TOPIC 1 SET

2. Let A = {x | x is a real number and x < 6}. Identify each of the

following as true or false.
(a) 3A
(b) 6A
(c) 5A
(d) 8A
(e) -8  A
(f) 3.4  A

3. Describe the following set by listing their elements.

(a) The set of all positive integers that are less than ten
(b) {x | x  Z and x2 < 12}

4. Write the following set in the form {x | p (x)}, where p (x) is a

property that describes the elements of the set.
(a) {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}
(b) {a, e, i, o, u}
(c) {1, 8, 27, 64, 125}
(d) {-2, -1, 0, 1, 2}

This website provides detail information about the set theory. This will be
helpful for those who are still confused with sets and it is worth reading it.
Enjoy!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naive_set_theory

1.2 SET EQUALITY

A set is completely known when its members are all known. Thus, we say two
sets A and B are equal if they have the same elements and we write A = B.

Example 1.2a

If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {x | x is a positive integer and x2 < 12}, then A = B.

 TOPIC 1 SET W 7

Example 1.2b
If A = {BASIC, PASCAL, ADA} and B = {ADA, BASIC, PASCAL}, then A = B.

Example 1.2c
If A = {x | x2 + x -6 = 0},
B = {2, 3}

A = B since x2 + x  6 = 0 can be factorised into (x  2) (x + 3) = 0, giving x = 2 and

x =  3.

ACTIVITY 1.2

1. Let A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}. Which of the following sets are equal to A?

(a) {4, 1, 2, 3, 5}
(b) {2, 3, 4}
(c) {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}
(d) {x | x is an integer and x2 d 25}
(e) {x | x is a positive integer and x d 5}
(f) {x | x is a positive rational number and x d 5}

2. Which of the following sets are empty sets?

(a) {x | x is a real number and x2  1 = 0}
(b) {x | x is a real number and x2 + 1 = 0}
(c) {x | x is a real number and x2 = 9}
(d) {x | x is a real number and x = 2x + 1}
(e) {x | x is a real number and x = x + 1}

3. Determine whether each of the following pairs of sets is equal?

(a) {1, 3, 3, 3, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5}, {5, 3, 1}
(b) {{1}}, {1, {1}}
(c) ‡, {‡}

1.3 VENN DIAGRAM

Venn diagram provides pictorial views of a set. The idea of Venn diagram was
first proposed by a mathematician by the name of John Venn.
8 X TOPIC 1 SET

In Venn diagrams, the universal set E will normally be denoted by a

rectangle, while sets within E will be denoted by circles as shown below:

Figure 1.2

Subsets of the universal set are drawn as circles. The inside of a circle represents
the numbers of the set. See the following figure:

Figure 1.3

To represent three sets, we use three overlapping circles as shown below:

Figure 1.4

1.4 SUBSET
Definition 1.4a: If every element of A is also an element of B, that is if
whenever x  A then x  B, we say that A is a subset of B or A is contained in
B, and we write A Ž B.
 TOPIC 1 SET W 9

The Venn diagram below represents the subset for set A and B.

Figure 1.5: Subset for set A and B

Example 1.4a

If C = {1, 3} and A = {1, 2, 3, 4}

Then C is a subset of A, or C Ž A

We can present it in as Venn Diagram as shown below.

Figure 1.6: C subset of A

Example 1.4b

Let
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6},
B = {2, 4, 5}, and
C = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.

B Ž A, B Ž C and C Ž A
10 X TOPIC 1 SET

Example 1.4c

Let
A = {1,2,3,4,5,6}
B = {3,7}

B is not a subset of A, so we write B ŽA.

BŽA BŽC CŽA

Figure 1.7: Venn diagram representation

Any set X is a subset of itself, since any element in X is in X, so X Ž X.

The empty set is a subset of any set. So for any set X, ‡ Ž X.

Definition 1.4b: If X is a subset of any set Y and X is not equal to Y, we say

that X is a proper subset of Y and we write X  Y.

We can define set equality by using the concept of subset, as follows:

Definition 1.4c: Two set, A and B, is equal and can be written as A = B if

A Ž B and B Ž A.
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ACTIVITY 1.3
1. Let A = {1, 2, 5, 8, 11}. Identify each of the following statements as
true or false.
(a) {5, 1} Ž A
(b) {8, 1}  A
(c) {1, 8, 2, 11, 5} ΠA
(d) ‡Ž A
(e) {1, 6} ΠA
(f) {2} Ž A
(g) {3}  A
(h) A Ž {11, 2, 5, 1, 8, 4}

2. In each part, find the set of the smallest cardinality that contains the
given sets as subsets
(a) {a, b, c}, {a, d, e, f}, {b, c, e, g}
(b) {1, 2}, {1, 3}, ‡
(c) {1, a}, {b, 2}

3. Suppose that A = {2, 4, 6}, B = {2, 6}, C = {4, 6} and D = {4, 6, 8}.
Determine whether
(a) AŽ B
(b) BŽC
(c) CŽ D

4. Use a Venn diagram to illustrate the relationship A Ž B and B Ž C.

5. Suppose that A, B and C are sets, such that A Ž B and B Ž C. Show

that A Ž C.

1.5 POWER SET

Definition 1.5a: If A is a set, then the set of all subsets of A is called the
power set of A and is denoted by  (A).
12 X TOPIC 1 SET

Example 1.5a
If A = {a, b, c}, the members of  (A) are
 (A) = { ‡, {a}, {b}, {c}, {a, b}, {a, c}, {b, c}, {a, b, c} }

All but {a, b, c} are proper subset of A. You may also write  (A) as  ({a,b,c})
The number of elements in a power set is given by the following theorem.

Theorem 1.5a: If | X | = n, then |  (X) | = 2n

Example 1.5b

For set A in Example 1.5a,

| A | = 3, then |  (A) | = 23 = 8

Example 1.5c

The number of  (‡) = 1 since |‡| = 0 and

|  (‡) | = 20 = 1

ACTIVITY 1.4
1. Find the power set of each of the following sets.
(a) {a}
(b) {a, b}
(c) {‡, {‡}}

2. Can you conclude that A = B if A and B are two sets with the same
power set?

3. How many elements does each of the following sets have?

(a) ({a, b, {a, b}})

(b) ({‡, {a, {a}, {{a}}})

(c)  ( (‡))
 TOPIC 1 SET W 13

4. Determine whether each of the following sets is the power set of a

set.
(a) ‡
(b) {‡, {a}}
(c) {‡, {a}, {‡, a}}
(d) {‡, {a}, {b}, {a, b}}

1.6 SET OPERATION

In this section, we will discuss several operations that will combine
given sets to produce new sets.

1.6.1 Union

Definition 1.6a: If A and B are sets, their union can be defined as a set
consisting of all elements that belong to A or B and is denoted by A ‰ B. Thus
A ‰ B = {x | x  A or x  B}.

The union of two sets can be illustrated by using a Venn diagram as follows.

A B

Figure 1.8: Union of set A and set B

Example 1.6a
Let A = {a, b, c, d, e} and B = {b, d, r, s}.

A ‰ B consists of all the elements that belong to either A or B, so

A ‰ B = {a, b, c, d, e} ‰ {b, d, r, s} = {a, b, c, d, e, r, s}.

14 X TOPIC 1 SET

A B

a r
c b
s
e d

Figure 1.9: A ‰ B

1.6.2 Intersection

Definition 1.6b: If A and B are sets, their intersection can be defined as a

set consisting of all elements that belong to both A and B. The intersection of A
and B is denoted by A ˆ B. Thus A ˆ B = {x | x  A and x  B}.

The intersection of the two sets A and B can be illustrated as follows.

A B

Figure 1.10: Intersection of set A and set B

Example 1.6b

Let
A = {a, b, c, d, e, f}
B = {b, e, f, r, s}
C = {a, t, u, v}.

A ˆ B = {b, e, f} since elements b, e, and f belong to both A and B.

 TOPIC 1 SET W 15

A B

a b
r
c e
s
d f

Figure 1.11: A ˆ B

Similarly, A ˆ C = {a}.

A C

b
c t
d a u
e v
f

Figure 1.12: A ˆ C

B ˆ C = {}, since there are no elements that belong to both, B and C.

B C

b c a t
d

e f u v

Figure 1.13: B ˆ C
16 X TOPIC 1 SET

1.6.3 Disjoint Sets

Definition 1.6c: Two sets that have no common elements are called disjoint sets.

We can illustrate the disjoint of two sets with a Venn diagram as follows:

A B

Figure 1.14: Disjoint of set A and set B

1.6.4 Set Difference

Definition 1.6d: If A and B are sets, their difference can be defined as a set
consisting of all elements in A that are not in B. The difference between A and
B is denoted by A  B. Thus A  B = {x | x  A and x  B}.

A  B = {x| x  A and x  B}.

Figure 1.15: B  A
 TOPIC 1 SET W 17

1.6.5 Set Complementary

Definition 1.6e: Let E be a universal set and let A be a subset of E. The set of E  A
consists of all elements of E that are not elements of A is called the complement of
A and is denoted by A .

Figure 1.16

Example 1.6c

Let E = {1,2,3,4,5,6} and A = {1,2}.

Therefore,

A =EA
= {1,2,3,4,5,6}  {1,2}
= {3,4,5,6}.

Figure 1.17
18 X TOPIC 1 SET

1.6.6 Characteristics of Set

Theorem 1.6a: Let E be a universal set and let A, B, and C be subsets of E. The
following properties hold.

Table 1.4: Theorem of Sets

Laws
(a) Associative Laws (A ‰ B) ‰ C = A ‰ (B ‰ C)
(A ˆ B) ˆ C = A ˆ (B ˆ C)
(b) Commutative Laws A ‰B=B ‰A
A ˆB=B ˆA
(c) Distributive Laws A ˆ (B ‰ C) = (A ˆ B) ‰ (A ˆ C)
A ‰ (B ˆ C) = (A ‰ B) ˆ (A ‰ C)
(d) Identity Laws A ‰‡=A
A ˆ A=A
(e) Complement Laws $‰$ (
$ˆ$ ‡
(f) Idempotent Laws A ‰A=A
A ˆ A=A
(g) Bound Laws A ‰E=E
A ˆ‡= ‡
(h) Absorption Laws A ‰ (A ˆ B) = A
A ˆ (A ‰ B) = A
(i) De Morgan's Laws For Sets
 $ ‰ % $ˆ%

 $ ˆ % $‰%
 TOPIC 1 SET W 19

ACTIVITY 1.5
In each statement below, write „ttrue‰ if the statement is true;
otherwise, give a counter example. The set X, Y, and Z are subsets of a
universal set E.
(a) X ˆ (Y  Z) = (X ˆY)  (X ˆZ) for all sets X, Y, and Z.
(b) (X  Y) ˆ (Y  X) = ‡for all sets X and Y
(c) X  (Y ‰Z) = (X  Y) ‰Z for all sets X, Y, and Z.

(d) X – Y Y – X for all sets X and Y.

(e) X ˆ Y Ž X for all sets X and Y.
(f) (X ˆY) ‰ (Y  X) = X for all sets X and Y.

Definition 1.7a: The generalised union of an arbitrary family S of sets to be

those elements x belonging to at least one set X in S. Formally,

‰S = {x | x  X for some X  S}

1.7 GENERALISED UNION AND

INTERSECTION
If S = {A1, A2,  An}, we can write ‰S = ‰Ai, i = 1,2,...n

Definition 1.7b: The generalised intersection of an arbitrary family S of

sets to be those elements x belonging to all set X in S. Formally,
ˆS = {x | x  X for all X  S}

If S = {A1, A 2, , A n}, we can write ˆS = ˆA i, i = 1,2,...n

Example 1.7a
Suppose A1 = {1,2}, A2 = {3,4} and A3 = {5,6} then
S = {A1, A2, A3}
= { {1,2} , {3,4} , {5,6} }
20 X TOPIC 1 SET

Therefore,
‰S = ‰Ai = {1,2,3,4,5,6 }
 ˆS = ˆAi = { }

ACTIVITY 1.7
Let Ai be a set of integers from 1 to n for i = 1, 2, 3, , n. Find

n
(a) * Ai
i=1

n
(b)  Ai
i=1

1.8 PARTITION
A partition of a set X divides n into non-overlapping subsets. More formally,

Definition 1.8a: Let S be a collection of non-empty subsets of set X. S is

said to be a partition of X, if every element of X belongs to exactly one
member of S.

Example 1.8a

Since each element of

X = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
is in exactly one member of

S = {{1, 4, 5}, {2, 6}, {3}, {7, 8}}

S is a partition of X

Notice that if S is a partition of X, S is a pairwise disjoint, and ˆS = X.

 TOPIC 1 SET W 21

ACTIVITY 1.7

Determine whether the set D below is a partition of set Y

Y = {x | x is integer and 1 d x d 5}
(a) D = {{1}, {2, 3}, {4}, {5}}
(b) D = {{1, 4}, {2}, {3,5}}
(c) D = {{1}, {4}, {2}, {3,5}}
(d) D = {{1}, {4}, {2}, {3}, {5}}
(e) D = {{1, 3}, {2}, {4,5}}
(f) D = {{7, 4}, {2, 6}, {3,5}}

1.9 CARTESIAN PRODUCT

Definition 1.9a: If A and B are sets, we let A x B denote the set of all ordered
pairs (a, b) where a  A and b  B. We call A x B the Cartesian product of A
and B.

An ordered pair (a, b), is considered distinct from the ordered pair (b, a),
unless, of course a = b. To put it another way, (a, b) = (c, d) if and only if a = c
and b = d.

Example 1.9a

If X = {1, 2, 3} and Y = {a, b}, then

X x Y = {(1, a), (1, b), (2, a), (2, b), (3, a), (3, b)}
Y x X = {(a, 1), (b, 1), (a, 2), (b, 2), (a, 3), (b, 3)}
X x X = {(1, 1), (1, 2), (1, 3), (2, 1), (2, 2), (2, 3), (3, 1), (3, 2), (3, 3)}
Y x Y = {(a, a), (a, b), (b, a), (b, b)}

The example above shows that, in general, X x Y z Y x X.

22 X TOPIC 1 SET

Definition 1.9b: The Cartesian product of sets X1, X2,  Xn is defined to be the
set of all n-tuples (x1, x2,. xn) where xi  Xi for i = 1,  n; it is denoted X1 x
X2 x x Xn.

Example 1.9b

If X = {1, 2} Y = {a, b} Z = {D, E}. Then

X x Y x Z = {(1, a, D), (1, a, E), (1, b, D), (1, b, E), (2, a, D), (2, a, E), (2, b, D), (2, b, E)}

Theorem 1.9a: | X x Y | = | X | . | Y | and | X x Y x Z | = | X | . | Y | . | Z |. In

general, we have |X1 x X2 x . X Xn | = | X1 | . | X1 | . | X2 | ……. | Xn |

ACTIVITY 1.8
1. Find x or y so that the following statements are true.
(a) (x, 3) = (4, 3)
(b) (a, 3y) = (a, 9)
(c) (3x + 1, 2) = (7, 2)
(d) (C++, PASCAL) = (x, y)

2. In each of the statements below, write „true„ if the statement is

true; otherwise, give a counter example. The set X, Y, and Z are
subsets of a universal set E. Assume that the universe for
Cartesian products is E x E.

(a) XxY X x Y for all sets X and Y.

(b) X x (Y ‰ Z) = (X x Y) ‰ (X x Z) for all sets X, Y, and Z.
(c) X x (Y  Z) = (X x Y)  (X x Z) for all sets X, Y, and Z.
(d) X  (Y x Z) = (X  Y) x (X  Z ) for all sets X, Y, and Z.
(e) X ˆ (Y x Z) = (X ˆ Y) x (X ˆ Z) for all sets X, Y, and Z.