SETS

• A set is a well-defined collection of objects. The

term well-defined means that given a set and an
object, one can clearly determine whether that
object belongs to the set or not.
• A set is usually denoted by a capital letter.
 Illustrative Examples:

Set Not set

• Group of letters in the English
alphabet • Group of tall students

Explanation: We can clearly Explanation: Different people have

determine the letters that belong to different interpretations of the word
the group. We know that m, a, t, h “tall”, so it is not clear who actually
belong to this group while 1, π, ∑ belong to the group
EXERCISES:
Write S if the given group or collection is a set and NS if it is not
__________ 1. Collection of students in your class whose surname
starts with letter A
__________ 2. Group of intelligent teachers of Mathinik National
High School
__________ 3. Collection of distinct letters of the word “LOVABLE”
__________ 4. Group of cities in Ilocos Region
__________ 5. Collection of even numbers between 1 and 9
 ELEMENTS OF A SET

• If an object belongs to a set, that object is

called a member or an element of that set.
• The symbol € (read as element) is used to
indicate non-membership in a set.
• An element of a set is usually denoted by a
small letter.
 Illustrative Examples:

1.S € {s, o, m, e}
2. S € {m, a, n, y}
EXERCISES:
Given that A = (3, 6, 9, 12, 15} and B = {set of all even
numbers between 2 and 11}, determine whether each of the
following statements is TRUE or FALSE.
1. 3€A __________
2. 9€B __________
3. 8€B __________
4. 10€A__________
5. 2€B __________
B. Give two (2) elements in each of the following
sets.
1. The set of all National Heroes of the Philippines
________________________________________
2. The set of all consonants in the English
Alphabet
________________________________________
 ROSTER AND RULE METHODS
• The Roster Method involves listing the elements of the set
separated by commas (,) and enclosing them in braces.
• In Ruler Method, instead of listing the elements of a set, a rule
indicating a property or characteristic common to all elements of
the set and clearly indicating that only those which have the
described property are elements of the set. The elements of the
set may be represented by a small letter. It follows a format {x/x is
state the rule}. The vertical bar (/) is read “such that” and the
small letter “x” represents the elements of the set.
Illustrative Examples:
Consider the set M, where M is the set of all even numbers from 2
to 8.
Roster Method: M = {2, 4, 6, 8}
M = {4, 2, 8, 6} Note: Order of the
elements does not matter.
Rule Method: M = {x/x is an even number from 2 to 8}
M = {x/x is an even number between 1 and 9}
M = {x/x is an even number less than 9 but greater than 1}
*EXERCISES:
Use the Roster Method to describe the following.
A = set of all provinces in Region I
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

D = set of all NBA Teams where LeBron James played.

_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
UNIVERSAL SET
The universal set is the set containing all elements of all sets under
consideration. It is symbolized by the letter “U”

Illustrative Examples:
The set of all cities in Ilocos Region could be a universal set from
which the set {Laoag City, Vigan City, San Fernando City, Dagupan
City} could be taken.
If we only consider the sets A = {a, b, c}, B = {d, e, f} and C = {a, e, g}.
The universal set for these 3 sets would be U = {a, b, c, d, e, f, g}
*EXERCISES:
List all the elements of the universal set for the following sets.
1. A = {a, b, c}
B = {e, f}
U = _________________________
2. E = {red, blue}
G = {red, green}
U = _________________________
3. H = {2, 4, 6}
J = { 1, 2, 3}
K = {4, 5, 6}
U = _________________________
*B. Identify a possible universal set from which the
following sets could be chosen.
1. {basketball, volleyball, softball}
____________________________________________
2. {Math, Science, English}
____________________________________________
3. {Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey}
____________________________________________
NULL OR EMPTY SET
The null set (also called empty set) is the set with no elements. The symbol φ is
used to indicate a null set. A pair of braces {} without anything in it may also
mean a null set
Illustrative Examples:
*EXERCISES:
Tell whether each of the following is a null or not. Write YES if it is a null set and
NO if it is not.
1. Set of humans with 10 legs _______________
2. Set of Ilocano athletes who played in the Olympics _______________
3. Set of newly born babies who can walk _______________
FINITE AND INFINITE SETS
•A set is Finite if the number of elements of the set can be
determined. Otherwise it is infinite.
Illustrative Examples:
Finite Set Infinite Set
Set of 1-digit even numbers Set of all even numbers

{ 5, 10, 15, 20,…, 100} {5, 10, 15, 20,…}

*EXERCISES:
Write FINITE if the given set is finite and INFINITE if it
is not.
__________ 1. {a, b, c, d, e}
__________ 2. {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,…}
__________ 3. {2, 4, 6, …}
__________ 4. {…, -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, …}
__________ 5. The set of all stars in the universe
CARDINALITY OF SET

•The number of elements of a finite is called its cardinality. Suppose A is a finite

set, then the cardinality of A is denoted by n(A), read as “n of A.”
Illustrative Examples:

Set Cardinality of the Set

A = {dog, cat, goat} n(A) = 3

B = {3, 6, 9, 12} n(B) = 4

*EXERCISES:
Find the cardinality of the following sets.
A = {2, 3, 4, 5} n(A) = __________
B = set of all vowels in the word “THRIFTY.” n(B) = __________
C = set of all letters in the English alphabet. n(C) = __________
Guess Who…
Who quoted this: “With great power comes great responsibility?” To find out, determine the
cardinality of the following sets, and then arrange them from the least cardinality to the
greatest.
__________ D = {a, b, c, d}
__________ A = set of all months of the year
__________ I = set of primary colors
__________ E = {x/x is an even counting number less than or equal to 10}
__________ M = set of all distinct letters in the word “SUPERHERO”
EQUAL AND EQUIVALENT SETS / JOINT AND DISJOINT SETS
Equal Sets are sets with exactly the same elements. The symbol “=”
is used to indicate equality of sets.
Equivalent sets are sets with exactly the same number of elements.
Illustrative Examples:
A = C since they exactly have the same elements.
A ~ C since they have the same number of elements.
A ~ B since they have the same number of elements but A ≠ B
since their elements are not exactly the same.
Sets are called disjoint sets if they do not have common elements.
Otherwise, they are called not disjoint sets or simply joint sets. The
null set is disjoint from any other set, including itself.
*EXERCISES:
A. Draw ( .v.) on the space provided before each item if the given set is equal to A. If it is not,
draw (.^.)
A = the set of all even numbers between 3 and 11.
__________ 1. {4, 6, 8, 10}
__________ 2. {10, 8, 2, 6, 4}
__________ 3. {x/x is an even number less than 11}
B. Write E if the given pairs of sets are equivalent and NE if not.
__________ 1. {1, 2, 3} and {a, b, c}
__________ 2. {red, white, blue} and {x/x is a blood type}
__________ 3. Set of letters in the English alphabet and set of letters in the Filipino alphabet
C. Tell whether the given pairs of sets are JOINT or DISJOINT sets.
__________ 1. {1, 2, 3} and {1, a, 2, b}
__________ 2. Set of all married teachers and set of all unmarried teachers
__________ 3. Set of all Ilocanos and set of all Filipinos
SUBSETS AND POWERSETS
Set A is a subset of set B (ACB). In other words, A is not equal to B.
However, if A is equal to B, then A is an improper subset of B.
The symbol C is used to mean not a subset.
The set containing all the subsets of a given set is called the
powerset of that set. The set of all subsets of set A or the powerset
of A is denoted by P(A). The notation P(A) is read as P of A.
The cardinality of the powerset of a set A is determined by 2n,
where n is the cardinality of A.
*EXERCISES:
A. Draw ( .v .) on the space provided before each item if the given set is a subset
of A. If it is not, draw (.^.)
Given: A = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14. . ., 100}
__________ 1. {2, 4, 6}
__________ 2. {10, 20, 30, . . .}
__________ 3. Set of all multiples of 4 between 1 and 100
B. List all the subsets of the given set
1. Φ ______________________________________
2. A = {dog} ______________________________________
3. B = {1, c} ______________________________________
UNION AND INTERSECTION OF SETS

•The union of sets A and B, denoted by A B (read as A union

B), is the set of all elements found in A or in B. It is the
combination of all the elements of A and B.
•The intersection of sets A and B, denoted by
A B (read as A intersection B), is the set of
all elements found in A and B. In other words,
it is the set of all common elements of A and
B.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES:
Let A= {1, 3, 5} B= {2 , 3, 4} C= {2, 4}
1. AUB= (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
2. A B = (3)
3. AUC = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
4. A C = (0)
5. BUC = (2, 3, 4)