Republic of the Philippines

Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences

University of Northern Philippines

MATHEMATICS IN THE
MODERN WORLD

WORKSHEET 6
MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE AND SYMBOLS
The Language of Sets

Name of Teacher: HELEN R. SIEMBRE, MAME

School: University of Northern Philippines-Department of Mathematics and Natural Sci
Quarter 1: Week 8
Learning Competencies
SELF LEARNING KIT #6
The learner will be able to:
Lesson 2.1: The Language of Sets
 • Set w ∉ V → since w is not a vowel. It is actually a consonant.
• Relations and operations on sets The cardinality of a set A refers to the number of elements of A. It is denoted
• The Venn diagram by n(A). Given set V above, n(V) = 5.

The Language of Sets

Methods in Writing a Set
It is natural for us to classify items into sets or groups and consider how those
sets overlap with each other. We can use the concepts about sets to The following methods can be used to write a set:
understand relationships between and among objects. a. Roster Method – this is done by listing the elements of the set, enclosed in curly
brackets.

Example: Z = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
Set
b. Rule Method – this is done by describing the elements
Some sets occur very often in mathematics, and so we use
For example, let V the set of the vowels in the English Alphabet. Write Example: Z = {the set of the first positive integers}
symbolically to describe u and w with respect to the given set V.
The set-builder notation in the form A = {x|�� ���� …} read as “A is the set of
u ∈ V → since the elements of V are a, e, i, o, and u.
Source: All integers, positive, negative, and zero = {…, -2, -1, 0, 1,
Example: Z = {x|x is one of first positive integers}
google.com
special symbols for them. Some such symbols follow: N = 2, …} R = The real numbers. or Z = {x|x �� N, x ≤ 5}, (note that N is the set of natural
The natural numbers or positive integers = {1, 2, 3, …} Z = all x such that x is…} can be used to write a set by numbers)
describing each element of the set.

The following are common types of sets:

A set is a well-defined collection of distinct objects. A set is well-defined if an 1. Universal set refers to all sets under investigation that are assumed to be
object can be classified clearly whether or not it belongs to a set. For example, the contained in some large fixed set, which we denote by U.
set of even integers less than 10 is well-defined since it is clear that the set contains
particular members of the set referring to 2, 4, 6, and 8. 2. Empty set is a set that contains no elements. An empty set can be name
using { } or ∅. An empty set is also called a null set.
We use capital letters of the English alphabet to name sets. The members of a
set are called elements. We use the symbol " ∈ " to denote that an element belongs 3. Finite set is a set consisting of elements in which the number of element is
to or member of a set while " ∉ " if an element does not belong to a set. countable. Consider the sets:
Try this!
A = { 5, 7, 9, 11} and B = { 4 , 8 , 16, 32, 64, 128}
Let C is the set of provinces in Region I - Philippines. Write C using roster Obviously, A, B contain a finite number of elements, i.e. 4 elements in A and 6
method and rule method. in B. Thus they are finite sets.
4. Infinite set is a set consisting of elements in which the number of element is not
countable or indefinite Consider the sets:
Types of Sets N = {1, 2, 3, 4, …}
 X = {x|1 < x < 10}
A. Relationships between and among sets
In N, there are infinite numbers in the set. Note that X is also an infinite set since
the numbers between 1 and 10 have no definite number of elements. Unless you The relationships between two or more sets can be described as follows: 1.
specify that x is an integer, then it becomes a finite set.
Equal sets. Two or more sets are equal if they have the same elements. Example:
5. A subset is a set taken from another set. Let A be a given set whose elements
are the integers from 1 to 10. From A, we form a set B = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}. Hence, B Let A = {a, c, t} and B = {c, a, t}
is considered to be a subset of A. In symbol, we write B ⊆ A. Since the A and B have exactly the same elements regardless of the order
A subset is classified into two: of the elements, A and B are equal sets. We write A = B.

a. Proper subset is a subset that is not identical to the original set - it contains 2. Equivalent sets. Two or more sets are equivalent if they have the same
fewer elements. We use the symbol “⊂”. number of elements.

b. Improper subset is a subset whose elements are indentical to the original set Example: Let C = {4, 7, 10} and D = {x, y, z}
and the empty set. Both C and D have 3 elemements, that is, n(C) = n(D) = 3. Therefore, C and
D are equivalent sets. We write C ~ D.

To determine the number of subsets of set A, denoted by s(A), use the formula: 3. Joint sets. Two or more sets are joint sets if they have at least one common
s(A) = 2��, where n is the number of elements of A. element.
Example: Let E = {the letters of the word “math”} and F = {the letters of the word
“music”}. Examine the common elements found in both E and F. We see that they
have a common element, m. Therefore, E and F are joint sets.
Example: Let C = {red, blue, yellow}. List the proper and improper subsets of C.
Note that C has n = 3 elements. Using the formula, 23 = 8. Hence it has 8 4. Disjoint sets. Two or more sets are disjoint sets if they do not have at least one
subsets: 6 proper subsets and 2 improper subsets. common element.

Proper subsets: Example: Let G ={1, 2, 3, 4, 5} and H = {6, 7, 8, 9, 10}. Since we do not see any
element common to G and H, then G and H are disjoint sets.
{red}, {blue}, {yellow}, {red, blue}, {red, yellow}, {blue, yellow}
B. Operations on Sets
Improper subsets:
Let us consider two sets A and B to illustrate the four operations namely:
{red, blue, yellow}, { }
union, intersection, difference, and complement.

1. The union of two sets denoted by A ⋃ B contains all the elements contained in
Try this! either set (or both sets). More formally, x ∊ A ⋃ B if x ∈ A or x ∈ B (or both).

Given R = {a, b, c, d}. List all the subsets of R. 2. The intersection of two sets denoted by A ⋂ B contains only the elements that are
in both sets. More formally, x ∈ A ⋂ B if x ∈ A and x ∈ B.

3. The difference of two sets denoted by A – B contains the elements found in A but
not in B. Conversely, B – A contains the elements found in B not in A. More
Relations and operations on sets formally, x ∈ (A – B) if x ∈ A and x ∉ B. Moreover, x ∈ (B – A) if x ∈ B and x ∉
 A. sets are represented by circles lying within the rectangle.

The following diagram illustrates the real number system using a Venn
4. The complement of a set A contains everything that is not in the set A. The
Diagram.
complement is notated A’, or Ac, or sometimes ~A.
Example:

Let U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}

A = {2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10}

B = {2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10}

Perform the following operations:

a. A ⋃ B

b. A ⋂ B

c. A – B
d. B – A

e. A c Fig. 1. The Real Number System

https://images.app.goo.gl/AhaEpgB17iqQBtBr5
f. Bc

Answers:

a. A ⋃ B = {2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10} Let us present given sets using a Venn Diagram.

b. A ⋂ B = {2, 3, 7, 10}

c. A – B = {6, 8} Example 1. Show a Venn Diagam for

d. B – A = {5, 9} U = { 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9}, A = { 1, 2, 3}, and B = {5, 7, 9}

e. A c = {1, 4, 5, 9}

f. Bc = {1, 5, 6, 8}

The Venn Diagram

A Venn diagram is a pictoral representation of sets using enclosed areas in the

plane. The universal set U is represented by the points in a rectangle, and the other
 Example 2: Show a Venn Diagram for
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}, E = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}, and F = {4, 5, 7}
U = {3, 5, 7, 9, 11}, C = {3, 5, 7}, and D = {7, 9, 11}

C and D are Joint Sets

Example 3: Show A Venn Diagram for F is a subset of E (F ⊂ E)

A and B are Disjoint Sets

Example 4: neither.
A survey asks 200 people on what beverage they drink in the morning. The Venn Diagram for the problem is illustrated below:
Suppose 30 report tea only, 80 report coffee only, 40 report both.
1. How many people drink tea in the morning?
2. How many people drink neither tea or coffee?
Solution.
This problem can be answered by creating a Venn diagram. Draw two
overlapping circles since based on the problem, there are people who drink both coffee
and tea.
1. We can find the people who drink tea by adding those who drink only tea to those
who drink both. Hence, there are 30 + 40 = 70 people.
REFERENCES:
2. Those who drink neither are those not contained in the any of the three other
groupings, so we can count those by subtracting from the cardinality of the Book
universal set, 200. Hence, there are 200 – 80 – 30 – 40 = 50 people who drink Rodriguez, M. et al. (018). Mathematics in the Modern World, Nieme Publishing
House Co. LTD, Quezon City
Online
The Nature of Mathematics-Duke Mathematics Department
https://services.math.duke.edu>node5

(www.thoughtco.com>why-mathematics-a-useful-language. Retrieved on September

11, 2020
Powerpoint Presentation
Riboroso, R. (2019). The Mathematical Language and Symbols. Retrieved on
September 14, 2020
Taban, J. (2020). Mathematical Language and Symbols. Retrieved on September
19, 2020