NOTE

M A T H E M A T I C S

INTRODUCTION TO SETS
SET THEORY

What you already know What you will learn

• Introduction to sets
Number Theory
• Representation of sets • Types of sets

What is a set?

Set is a well-defined
collection of distinct
objects or elements.

Set of books Set of jars on a Set of stationery

in a library kitchen counter items

SETS NOT A SET

Vowels in Difficult topics

English in Mathematics
alphabet

Good cricket
Set of colors
players in the
in a rainbow
Indian team

Coin
denominations Adorable pets
in use

The criterion for determining a good cricketer may vary from person to person.
Thus, it is not a well-defined collection.

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Generally, If you see an adjective like good,

A well-defined collection of objects.
difficult, most renowned, in a sentence,
then it does not describe a set.

Not subjective or uniquely defined

Quick Query
Does the following sentence specify a set?
C = Set of whole numbers close to 50.

• If ‘a’ is an element of set A, then we write a ∈ A and say ‘a’ belongs to A.

• If ‘a’ does not belong to A, then we write a ∉ A.

Notation of Set of Different Numbers

The set of The set of The set of The set of The set of
Natural Whole Integers: Rational all Real
Numbers: Numbers: Numbers: Numbers:
N W Z Q R

Features of a Set

(a) In a set, the order in which elements are written makes no difference.

These are the same set

(b) In a set, the repetition of elements has no effect.
Set containing the first three alphabet once, is the same as the set containing the same
alphabets twice. Mathematically in tabular form, which is discussed in detail below, {a, b, c} is
same as {a, b, c, a, b, c}

These are the same set

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Representation of a Set

There are two common ways of representing a set.

Roster or Tabular notation

All the elements of a set are listed. The elements are separated by commas and are enclosed
within braces { }.
Set of all natural numbers less than 10 can be written as {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}
Set of integers with absolute value at most 2 can be written as {0, ±1, ±2}
Set of all even natural numbers can be written as {2, 4, 6, 8,…}
Set of all letters in the word ‘PROPORTION’ can be written as {P, R, O, T, I, N}

Set-Builder Notation

In the set-builder form, all the elements of a set possess a single common property that is not
possessed by any element outside the set.
Mathematically:
{ x | some property that x satisfies }
X = The set of all even natural numbers.
X = {x : x = 2n, n ∈ N}

Y = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
{x : x = 2n, n ∈ N and n is even}
Y = {x: x ∈ N and x ≤ 8}
The set Z = The set of reciprocals of
n is a and n
of all n natural numbers
natural is even
number Z = {x : x = 1 , n∈N}
n

• In a set, the order in which elements are written makes no difference.

• In a set, the repetition of elements has no effect.

Types of Sets

Empty Set

{}
A set is said to be a null set, void set, or empty set if it contains no elements.

The empty set

contains no elements ϕ We use this symbol to
denote the empty set

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A set A consisting of at least one element is Singleton Set

called a non-empty or non-void set,
denoted by A ≠ ϕ. A set consisting of a single element is called
Mathematically: a singleton set.
A set A is empty only when x ∈ A is not true Mathematically:
for any element x. A is a singleton set only when there exists a
Examples single element x such that x ∈ A.
Set of even prime numbers less than 2. Examples
Set of natural numbers strictly lying between Set of all natural numbers whose square is
5 & 6. equal to 9 i.e., 3.
Set of reals whose square is equal to -2. Set of all positive integral roots of the
equation x2 - 2x - 15 = 0.
⇒ (x + 3)(x - 5) = 0
Finite set ⇒ x=-3 or x=5 i.e., only one positive
integral root.
A set is called a finite set if it contains C = {x ∈ R : x - 5 = 0}
either no elements or a finite number ⇒x = 5 ⇒ C = {5} i.e., only one element.
of elements.
Set of all natural numbers less than 6 Infinite set
= {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
Simply put, a set is finite if the number The set which is not finite is called an
of elements it contains is either zero or infinite set.
equal to a fixed natural number. Set of all integers strictly greater than -10.
i.e., {-9,-8,-7,…} which is infinite.

It is not possible to write all the elements of an infinite set within braces { } (in roster
form), so we represent some infinite set in the roster form by writing a few elements
which clearly indicate the structure of the set followed by three dots.

Concept Check

Let F be the set of fractions in the simplest form between 0 and 1 that can be written with a
single-digit denominator. Is F a finite set?

Cardinality of a Set

Let A be a finite set, then the measure of ‘number of elements of A’ is called the cardinality of A
or order of A or Cardinal Number of A.
We denote the cardinality of a given set A by n(A), |A|, O(A)
Set of all the colors of the rainbow.
{Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red}
The cardinality of this set is 7.

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A = {x ∈ R: 0 < x < 1} There are infinite real numbers lying between 0 and 1. ∴ n(A) = ∞
A = {x ∈ x ∈ Z and x2 - 5x + 6 = 0} ⇒ A = {2, 3} ∴ n(A) = 2

Summary

Key Takeaways

(a) Set is the unordered, well-defined collection of distinct elements.

(b) Order and repetition of elements is immaterial.
(c) There are two ways to represent sets: Tabular form and Set-builder notation.
For example, a set of natural numbers less than 9, can be represented as
Y = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8},
Y = {x: x ∈ N and x ≤ 8} in tabular and set-builder form respectively.

Key Terms

(a) Empty Set: Set containing no elements. It is denoted as ϕ(phi) or { }.

(b) Singleton Set: Set containing only one element. Example: {5}
(c) Finite Set: Set containing finite number of elements. Example: {4, 7, 9}
(d) Infinite Sets: The set which is not finite. Example: { x: x ∈ N}
(e) Cardinality: The size of the set, expressed as the number of elements of the set.
It is denoted as the cardinality of a given set A by n(A), |A|, O(A)

Mind Map

Distinct elements
Empty sets

Singleton sets Features

Types Unordered
Finite sets

Infinite sets

SETS

Tabular
Cardinality Representation
Set-builder

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Self-Assessment

(1) Let C be the set of positive integers which only contain the digits 3 or 4. List the elements of C.

(2) Let A be the set of all real numbers between 4 and 5, including 4 but not 5. Describe A in the
set builder notation, using the variable x.

(3) Let B = {2m + 5n | m, n ∈ N}. Is 10 ∈ B? Is 13 ∈ B? Explain.

(4) When the set S is finite, write down |S|.

(i) S = {π}
(ii) S = {decimal places of π}
(iii) S = {whole numbers less than 100,000,000}

Answers

Quick Query
No, close is a vague word here, creating ambiguity. It is not well-defined, hence doesn’t
specify a set.

Concept Check
Yes F is a finite set. F is a set of

1 , 1 , 1, 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5,
2 3 5 6 7 8 9 3 5 7 9 4 5 7 8 5 7 9 6 7 8 9

6, 7 , 7 , 8
7 8 9 9

Self-Assessment
(1) C = {3, 4, 33, 34, 43, 44, 333, 334,...}
(2) We could write A = {x | x ∈ R, 4 ≤ x < 5}
(3) For different values of m and n, we can see B = {7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 ...}. From this list,
we can say that 10 ∉ B, as no natural numbers m and n, satisfies 2m + 5n = 10. However,
13 ∈ B, as for m = 4 and n = 1, 2m + 5n = 13
(4) (i) As S = {π} contains 1 element, |S| = 1
(ii) The number π itself is rounded up to 3.14 but it can go on forever. Hence, the set
containing the decimal places is not finite.
(iii) The set will contain whole numbers from 0 to 99,999,999. Hence |S| is 100,000,000.

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