-------------------------------------------------- SETS --------------------------------------------------

A set is a well-defined collection of distinct objects. The objects contained in a set are called elements
(ϵ) or members.

Ways of Writing Sets

1. Descriptive Method
The set is described in complete words in a sentence.
Example: “A is a set of months beginning with letter ‘J’.

2. Roster Method
The set is represented by writing its elements inside braces.
Example: A = {January, June, July}

3. Set-Builder Notation
The set is described using the unique property shared by all of the elements of the set.
Example: A = {x|x is a month beginning with the letter J}

Standard Symbol for Several Sets

R Real Numbers {x|x is represented by a point on a number line}
W Whole Numbers {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, …}
N Natural Numbers {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, …}
Z Integers {…, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, …}
𝑝
Q Rational Numbers {𝑞 |p and q are integers, with q ≠ 0} or all terminating or repeating decimals
Irrational Numbers {x|x is a real number that is not rational} or all nonterminating and nonrepeating decimals
is a number that can be expressed in the form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers and i is
C Complex Numbers
the imaginary unit, satisfying the equation i2 = −1

Subsets
A subset is a set contained in another set. The set B is said to be a subset of A if every element of B is an
element of A (B ⸦ A).
Example: The set B of even counting numbers is included in the set A of counting numbers.

Universal Set
A universal set is the set of all elements under consideration, denoted by capital U.
Example: Given that U = {5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12}, list the elements of the following sets:
a) A = {x|x is a factor of 60}
b) B = {x|x is a prime number}
Cardinal Number
The cardinal number[symbol: n(A)] of a set is the number of its elements.
 Power of Set
The power of Set S is the set of all its subsets.
Unit Set
It is also known as singleton. It is a set with only one element

Null Set or Empty Set

A set containing no elements is called the null set (symbol: Ø) or empty set (symbol: { })
Prepared by: Ms. Noreen G. Patayan Page 1 of 2
Finite Set
A set which contains a definite number of elements is called a finite set.

Infinite Set
The set whose elements cannot be listed, i.e.; it is a set containing never-ending elements.

Definition 1-1. Two sets A and B are said to be equal if they have precisely the same elements. In this case, we
write A = B. otherwise we write A ≠ B.

Definition 1-2. A one-to-one correspondence exists between two sets A and B, if it is possible to associate the
elements of A with the elements of B in such a way that each element of each set is associated with exactly one
element of the other.

Definition 1-3. Two sets A and B are said to be equivalent (or the same size) if there is a one-to-one
correspondence between their elements.
Note that if A is equivalent to B and B is equivalent to C, then A is equivalent to C. This is called the
transitive property of equivalence.

Definition 1.4. Two sets A and B are said to be disjoint if they have no elements in common. For disjoint sets A
and B, if x ϵ A, then x ∉ B and if x ϵ B, then x ∉ A.

Definition 1.5. If A is a subset of the universal set U, then the complement of A is defined to be the set of
elements of which are not in A (symbol: A’; read as: ‘A prime’ or ‘the complement of A’)
Example:
1. What is the complement of a universal set?
2. What is the complement of an empty set?
3. Let U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}, A = {1, 2, 3, 4} and B = {2, 4, 6, 8}.
a. Find A'
b. Find B'

Bibliography: Vance, Elbridge P. Modern Algebra and Trigonometry (Third Edition). 1973. Mandaluyong City.
Addison-Wesley Publishing Co,. Inc.
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