SETS

Properties| Types | Venn Diagram |

Power Sers | Cartesian Sets
Definitions:
Set: A collection of objects.
Elements: The objects that belong to the set.

SETS
Set Designations (3 types):
Word Descriptions:
The set of even counting numbers less than ten.
Listing method:
{2, 4, 6, 8}
Set Builder Notation:
{x | x is an even counting number less than 10}
  Empty Set: A set that contains
no elements. It is also known
as the Null Set.

SETS
List all the elements of the following sets.
The set of counting numbers between six and
thirteen.
{7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12}
{5, 6, 7,…., 13}
{5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13}
{x | x is a counting number between 6 and 7}
 Empty set Null set {}
Sets are denoted by Capital letters
Sets use “curly” brackets

SETS
A = {1, 3, 2, 5}
n(A) = | A | = 4
The number of
3 A 7A
elements in Set A is
4

3 is an element of A 7 is not an
element of A
Symbols:
∈: Used to replace the words “is an element

SETS
of.”
∉: Used to replace the words “is not an
element of.”
True or False:
3 ∈ {1, 2, 5, 9, 13} False
0 ∈ {0, 1, 2, 3} True
-5 ∉ {5, 10, 15, 20, 25} True
CARDINALITY
Cardinal Number or Cardinality:
The number of distinct elements in a set.

SETS
n(A): n of A; represents the cardinal
number of a set.
K = {2, 4, 8, 16} n(K) = 4
∅ n(∅) = 0
R = {1, 2, 3, 2, 4, 5} n(R) = 5
P = {∅} n(P) = 1
FINITE AND INFINITE SETS
Finite set: The number of elements in a set are countable.

SETS
Infinite set: The number of elements in a set are not
countable

{2, 4, 8, 16} Countable = Finite set

{1, 2, 3, …} Not countable = Infinite set

 SPECIFYING SETS
Roster Method
The roster method consist of enclosing in braces { } a list of
the elements in set

SETS
A={1,2,3,4.5,.67,8,9,10}
B={resistor, capacitor, inductor, thyristor}
Descriptive or Set Builder Method
The descriptive method consists of stating in braces the rule or condition on
the basis of which it can be determined whether or not a given object is an
x|x element of the set.
Q={x|x is a rational number}
R={x|x is a student in computer science at SLSU}
“such that” S={x|x ∈ R,0≤x≤4}
SPECIFYING SETS
Examples
1. Let R be the universal set representing all

SETS
real numbers. Let A be the set of numbers
which satisfy the equation 𝑥 2 − 5𝑥 + 6 = 0.

2. Let R be the set of all real numbers; and let A

be the set of numbers which satisfy the
equation 𝑥 2 + 4 = 0.
 SET EQUALITY
Set A is equal to set B if the following conditions are met:

SETS
1. Every element of A is an element of B.
2. Every element of B is an element of A.
Are the following sets equal?
{–4, 3, 2, 5} and {–4, 0, 3, 2, 5} Not equal
{3} = {x | x is a counting number between 2 and 5}
Not equal
{11, 12, 13,…} = {x | x is a natural number greater than 10}
Equal
SETS AND VENN DIAGRAMS
Universal set: the set that contains every object of interest
in the universe.

SETS
Complement of a Set: A set of objects of the universal set
that are not an element of a set inside the universal set.
Notation: A

Venn Diagram: A rectangle represents A

the universal set and circles represent
sets of interest within the
A
universal set
U
SUBSET
Subset of a Set: Set A is a Subset of B if every
element of A is an element of B. Notation: AB

SETS
This symbol means "is a subset of"

AB This is read "A is a subset of B".

A = {1, 2, 3} B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
SUBSET

Subset or not?

SETS
{3, 4, 5, 6}  {3, 4, 5, 6, 8}
{1, 2, 6}  {2, 4, 6, 8}
{5, 6, 7, 8}  {5, 6, 7, 8}
Note: Every set is a subset of itself. BB
 SETS
Set Equality: Given A and B are sets, then A = B if AB
and BA.
{1, 2, 6} = {1, 2, 6}
{5, 6, 7, 8}  {5, 6, 7, 8, 9}
Proper Subset of a Set: Set A is a proper subset of
Set B if AB and A  B. Notation AB
What makes the following statements true?

SETS
, , or both
{3, 4, 5, 6} both {3, 4, 5, 6, 8}
{1, 2, 6} both {1, 2, 4, 6, 8}

{5, 6, 7, 8}  {5, 6, 7, 8}
The empty set () is a subset and a proper subset of
every set except itself.
Number of Subsets
The number of subsets of a set with n elements is:
2 n

SETS
Number of Proper Subsets
The number of proper subsets of a set with n
elements is: 2n – 1
List the subsets and proper subsets
{1, 2}
Subsets: {1} {2} {1,2}  22 = 4

Proper subsets: {1} {2}  22 – 1= 3

List the subsets and proper subsets
{a, b, c}
Subsets: {a} {b} {c}

SETS
{a, b} {a, c} {b, c} 23 = 8
{a, b, c} 
Proper subsets:
{a} {b} {c}
{a, b} {a, c} {b, c} 23 – 1 = 7

Number of Possible Subsets Total Number of
Elements in Set Possible Subsets

1. {A} {A}  2

2. {A, B} {A , B} {A} {B}  4

SETS
3. {A , B , C} {A , B , C} {A , B} {A , C} {B 8
, C} {A} {B} {C} 

4. {A , B , C, D} {A , B , C , D} {A , B , C} {A , B
, D} {A , C , D} ?
16
{B , C , D} {A , B} {A , C} {A ,
D} {A , B} …… {D} 

The number of possible subsets of a set of size n is ? 2 n

 SETS
OPERATIONS ON SETS
Complement of Sets:
AB=
Universal Set There are no

SETS
elements in both A
AA BA and B.
When this is the
case they are called
disjoint sets.

This means the complement of A,

A and means the set of all elements
in the universal set that are not in
A.
Intersection of Sets: The intersection of sets A and B is the set of
elements common to both A and B.

A  B = {x | x  A and x  B}

SETS
{1, 2, 5, 9, 13}  {2, 4, 6, 9}
{2, 9}
{a, c, d, g}  {l, m, n, o}

{4, 6, 7, 19, 23}  {7, 8, 19, 20, 23, 24}
{7, 19, 23}
Shading Venn Diagrams:
AB

SETS
A B

A B A B

U U
Union of Sets: The union of sets A and B is the set of all elements
belonging to each set.

A  B = {x | x  A or x  B}

SETS
{1, 2, 5, 9, 13}  {2, 4, 6, 9}
{1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 13}
{a, c, d, g}  {l, m, n, o}
{a, c, d, g, l, m, n, o}
{4, 6, 7, 19, 23}  {7, 8, 19, 20, 23, 24}
{4, 6, 7, 8, 19, 20, 23, 24}
Shading Venn Diagrams:
AB

SETS
A B

A B A B

U U
Shading Venn Diagrams:
A  B

SETS
A B

A

A B A B

U U

A  B in yellow
Examples
Find each set.
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9}

SETS
A = {1, 2, 3, 4} B = {2, 4, 6} C = {1, 3, 6, 9}
AB {1, 2, 3, 4, 6}

A  B A = {5, 6, 9} {6}

B  C B = {1, 3, 5, 9)} C = {2, 4, 5}

{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9}
B  B 
Find each set.
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9}

SETS
A = {1, 2, 3, 4} B = {2, 4, 6} C = {1, 3, 6, 9}
A = {5, 6, 9} B = {1, 3, 5, 9)} C = {2, 4, 5}
(A  C)  B
A  C {2, 4, 5, 6, 9}

{2, 4, 5, 6, 9}  B {5, 9}
Difference of Sets: The difference of sets A and B is the set
of all elements belonging set A and not to set B.

A – B = {x | x  A and x  B}

SETS
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} B = {2, 3, 6} C = {3, 5, 7}
A = {7} B = {1, 4, 5, 7} C = {1, 2, 4, 6}
Find each set.
A–B {1, 4, 5} B–A 
Note: A – B  B – A
(A – B)  C {1, 2, 4, 5, 6, }
Ordered Pairs: in the ordered pair (a, b), a is the first
component and b is the second component. In general,

SETS
(a, b)  (b, a)
Determine whether each statement is true or false.
(3, 4) = (5 – 2, 1 + 3) True

(4, 7) = (7, 4) False

Cartesian Product of Sets: Given sets A and B,
the Cartesian product represents the set of all
ordered pairs from the elements of both sets.

SETS
A  B = {(a, b) | a  A and b  B}
Find each set. A = {1, 5, 9} B = {6,7}
AB
{ (1, 6), (1, 7), (5, 6), (5, 7), (9, 6), (9, 7) }
BA
{ (6, 1), (6, 5), (6, 9), (7, 1), (7, 5), (7, 9) }
Locating Elements in a Venn Diagram
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
A = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6} B = {4, 6, 8}

SETS
Start with A  B 7
1

Fill in each subset of U. A B

2 4
3 8
Fill in remaining elements 6
of U. 5

U 9 10
Shade a Venn diagram for the given statement.
(A  B)  C

SETS
Work with the parentheses. (A  B)

A B

C
U
Shade a Venn diagram for the given statement.
(A  B)  C
Work with the parentheses. (A  B)

SETS
Work with the remaining part of A B
the statement.
(A  B)  C

C
U
Shade a Venn diagram for the given statement.
(A  B)  C
Work with the parentheses. (A  B)

SETS
Work with the remaining part of A B
the statement.
(A  B)  C

C
U
Surveys and Venn Diagrams
Financial Aid Survey of a Small College (100 sophomores).
49 received Government grants
55 received Private scholarships

SETS
43 received College aid G P
23 received Gov. grants & Pri. scholar. 16 15 12
18 received Gov. grants & College aid
8
28 received Pri. scholar. & College aid 10 20
8 received funds from all three
5
(PC) – (GPC)
43 – (10 + 8 +20) = 5 C
28 – 8 = 20
(GC) – (GPC) U 14
55 – (15 + 8 + 20) = 12
18 – 8 = 10
(GP) – (GPC)
49 – (15 + 8 + 10) = 16 100 – (16+15 + 8 + 10+12+20+5) = 14
23 – 8 = 15
 Cardinal Number Formula for a Region
For any two sets A and B,
n  A B   n( A)  n( B)  n( A B).

SETS
Find n(A) if n(AB) = 78, n(AB) = 21, and n(B) = 36.
n(AB) = n(A) + n(B ) – n(AB)
78 = n(A) + 36 – 21
78 = n(A) + 15
63 = n(A)
LAWS OF SET OPERATIONS