Student’s Name: __________________________________________

Grade & Section: __________________________________________

Lesson 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO SETS

CONTENT STANDARDS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

The learner demonstrates understanding of key The learner is able to formulate challenging
concepts of sets and the real number system. situations involving sets and real numbers and solve
these in a variety of strategies.

LEARNING COMPETENCIES

 Illustrates well-defined sets, subsets, universal sets, null set, cardinality of sets, union and intersection
of sets and different of two sets.

Curriculum Information:

Education Type: K - 12
Grade Level: Seven
Learning Area: Mathematics
Sources: Phoenix Math for the 21st Century Learners

Week 1 – Day 1

MOTIVATION
Direction: Below are some objects. Group them as you see fit and label each group.

Answer the following questions:

1. How many groups are there?
2. Does each object belong to a group?
3. Is there an object belongs to more than one group? If there is. Which one?

FIRM UP

 A set is a collection or group of well-defined and well-distinguished objects that follow a certain
common rule. This rule helps in identifying whether a particular object belongs to that group or not.

Example 1.1
Sort the following objects into the following sets; fruits, flowers, and fish.
Student’s Name: _________________________________________________
2

Solution:
Set of fruits = {banana, apple, grape, mango}
Set of flowers = {rose, gumamela, jasmine, orchid}
Set of fish = {shark, carp}

Another Examples:
a. A set of literature books
b. A set of students who scored more than 80% mark

 Each member or object is called an element of sets. Represented by the symbol ∈ which is read as “is
an element of” or “is a member of”.
Suppose X = {a, e, I, o, u}, then we say, a∈ X , e ∈ X , i∈ X .

 If an element, say p, does not belong to set A, then we write p ∉ A ,where ∉ is the sign which means
“is not an element of” or “is not a member of.”
 Symbolically, we use capital letters A, B, C, D, etc. to represent a set and small letters such as x,y,z to
represent each member of the set.
 The number of elements contained in a set is the cardinal number of that set.
For example, if S = {30,45,50,55,100}, then the cardinal number of S is 5. This is written as n(S)=5.

NOTE:
If a is one of the objects of the set A, we say that a is an element of A. The statement that a is an element
of A is denoted by a ∈ A . If it is not true that a is an element of A, we write a ∉ A .

FOLLOW-UP PRACTICE

Direction: In problems 1-5, write the sets in tabular form.

1. A = the set of whole numbers less than 4.

2. B = the set of prime numbers less than 19.
3. C = the set of the first three days of the week.
4. D = {x ǀ x is an even number less than 15}
5. E = the set of the last three months of the year.

Week 1 – Day 2

REPRESENTATION of a SET

a. Description Method describe the elements and description of elements enclosed in braces.
Example: the set of all the days of a week is written as {all days of the week}.

b. Roster Method or Tabular Form all members of the set are listed and separated by commas.
Example: set C of all the counting numbers can be represented in roster form as,
C = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,…}
c. Rule Method or Set-builder Notation elements are not listed but they are represented by specifying a
property or a general rule which is applicable to all the elements. Always take the form {x ǀ x has a
certain property}
Example: let X = {0,2, 4, 6, 8, 10,12,…} we write the set X as X = {x ǀ x is an even number}

SCIENCE 7 | Doing Scientific Investigation

Student’s Name: _________________________________________________
2

FOLLOW-UP PRACTICE

Direction: In Problems 1-6 , write each set-builder notation.

1. F = months of a year whose names begin with a vowel

2. G = the set of all consonants in the word mathematics
3. H = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12}
4. J = {January, March, May, July, August, October, December}
5. K = {1900, 1901, 1902, … , 1998, 1999}
6. L = {Malabon, Navotas, Pateros}

Week 1 – Day 3

SUBSET

A set A is a subset of a set B (denoted by A ⊆ B ¿ if and only if every element of A is an element of B; that is,
if x ∈ A , then x ∈ B . In particular, every set is a subset of itself. If it is not true that A is a subset of B, we
write A ⊈ B . Thus, A ⊈ B if there is an element of A that is not in B.

Example 1.2 Let A = {a, b} and B = {a, b, c}. Because every element of A is an element of B, we have
A ⊆ B . Now c ∈ B and c ∉ A .
Therefore, there exists an element B that is not in A. It now follows that A is a proper subset
of B.

EQUAL SETS

Two sets are to be equal if they contain exactly the same elements.

Example 1.3 If A = {p, q, r} and B = {q, r, p}, then A=B.

EQUIVALENT SETS

Two sets are said to be equivalent if the number of elements in both sets is equal. But the elements may
differ.

Example 1.4 A = {1, 2, 3, 4’ 5} and B = {a, e, i, o, u} then A is equivalent to B.

NOTES
Equal sets are equivalent but Equivalent sets are not necessarily
equal.

FOLLOW-UP PRACTICE

SCIENCE 7 | Doing Scientific Investigation

Student’s Name: _________________________________________________
2

Direction: State, whether each pair of sets, given below, has equal sets or equivalent sets.

1. A = {3, 5, 7}, B = {5, 3, 7}

4. J = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}, K = {a, b, d, e, m}
2. C = {8, 6’ 10, 12}, D = {3, 2, 4, 6}
5. L = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}, X = {x ǀ x even number
3. F = {7, 7, 2, 1, 2}, G = {1, 2, 7} less than 12}

Week 1 – Day 4

TYPES of SETS

 Finite Set a set having fixed number of elements.

 Infinite Set a set without a fixed number of elements.
 Singleton Set also known as a unit set, with exactly one element.
 Empty Set contains no element. Also called as null set.
NOTE: Denoted by {} or ∅ . Read as “slashed o” or “o with stroke”.
 Universal Set containing all of the elements of interest in a particular situation. Denoted by U .

FOLLOW-UP PRACTICE
Direction: Classify the following sets as finite, infinite, empty, or singleton set.

1. P = the set of students in your school

2. Q = the set of people in Metro Manila

3. K = the set of vowels in the word RHYTHM

4. L = the set of ASEAN countries that are members of United Nations

Make Meaning

A. Describe each of the following sets using the roster method.

1. The set of all the single-digit odd counting numbers

2. The set of all the single-digit even numbers
3. The set of all square numbers less than 50

B. Which of the following pairs of set are equal?

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

5. G = the set of vowels in the sentence “Mathematics is fun”.

H = the set of vowels in the word understanding

C. Which of the following pairs of sets are equivalent?

6. C = {April, August}, D = {Saturday, Sunday}

SCIENCE 7 | Doing Scientific Investigation

Student’s Name: _________________________________________________
2

7. S = the set ASEAN countries, T = the sets of cities in Metro Manila

D. Suppose A = {square numbers less than 10}, B = {composite numbers less than 20},
and C = {factors of 36}.

 List the elements of:

1. A 2. B 3. C

SCIENCE 7 | Doing Scientific Investigation