Basic Set Concepts and Notations

1. Define and give an example of a set.

2. Identify the elements of a set.
3. Use different notations such as the descriptive form, roster method or tabular form, and the set-
builder notation to describe sets.
4. Determine whether the given set is well-defined or not.
5. Determine the cardinality of a set.
6. Determine if a set is finite, infinite, or empty.
7. Identify the following if they are equal or equivalent sets.

A set is a well-defined collection of distinct objects, things or symbols grouped together with a common
characteristic or property. The individual objects in a set are called the members or elements of the
set.

Important points to remember!

1. A set is denoted by a capital letter of the English
Alphabet. Example : Set A, Set B, Set N etc.

2. The elements of a set are denoted by small letters. All elements are enclosed by a { } curly
brackets / braces and separated by a comma (,).The curly braces are used to indicate that the
elements written them are belong to the set.
Example: The set of primary color. We have , A = {red, yellow, blue}.

3. In set notation, elements in a set should not be repeated, each element of the set must be
listed exactly once.
Example : Set B is a set of letters in the word GOOD , then set B = { g, o, d}

4. The order of elements in a set does not matter.

5. If there are either infinitely many elements or a large finite number of elements, then three
consecutive dots called ellipsis are used to indicate that the pattern of the listed elements continues, it
can be used only if enough information has been given so that one can figure out the entire pattern.

Example : a.) The set of all Natural

numbers .
A = {1, 2, 3 ... }
b.) The set of all prime numbers less than or equal to 60.

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 B = { 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, . . . , 59 }

Set Notations:
Set can be represented in any one of the following three ways or forms.

1. Descriptive form
2. Roster form or Tabular form
3. Set-builder form or Rule form

1. Descriptive Form
 One way to specify a set is to give a verbal description of its elements. This is
known as the descriptive form of specification.
Example:
a) The set of counting numbers less than 5.
b) The set of prime numbers less than 10.
c) The set of all vowels in English alphabet.

2. Roster Method or Tabular Form

 The set can be defined by listing all its elements, separated by commas and
enclosed within braces { }.
Example:
a) Let A is the set of counting numbers less than 5.
a. In roster form we write, A = { 1, 2, 3, 4 }

b) Let B is the set of prime numbers less than 10.

a. In roster form we write, A = {2, 3, 5, 7,}

c) Let C is the set of all vowels in English alphabet.

a. In roster form we write, A = { a, e, i, o, u }

3. Set-Builder Notation or Rule Form

 Set-builder notation is a notation for describing a set by indicating the properties
that its members must satisfy.
Reading Notation:

“|“ or : such that

x| x or x:x The set of all x such that x

For example:
a) A = { x : x is a counting numbers less than 5 }
a. We read it as “A is the set of all x such that x is a counting number less than 5.

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 b) B = { x : x is a prime numbers less than 10 }
a. We read it as “B is the set of all x such that x is a prime number less than 10."

c) C = { x : x is a prime numbers less than 10 }

a. We read it as “C is the set of all x such that x are all vowels in English alphabet.”

Representation of set in Different Forms

Roster Method Set Builder

No. Descriptive Form
/ Tabular Notation /
Form Rule Form
The set of counting numbers
1. A = { 1, 2, 3, 4 } A = { x : x is a counting numbers less
less than 5.
than 5 }
The set of prime numbers less
2. A = {2, 3, 5, 7,} B = { x : x is a prime numbers less than
than 10.
10 }
The set of all vowels in
3. A = { a, e, i, o, C = { x : x is a prime numbers less than
English alphabet.
u} 10 }

Activity 4. Check your progress!

Write each set using the roster method.

1. The set of counting numbers divisible by 3 and less than 19.

Ans.
2. The set of days of the week that starts with S.
Ans.
3. The set of months of the year that has 31 days.
Ans.
4. The set consonants in the word “ALBGEBRA”.
Ans.
5. The set of factors of 12.
Ans.

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Activity 5. Fill in the blanks using the Descriptive Form, Tabular Form and Rule Form.

Roster Method Set Builder

No. Descriptive Form / Tabular Notation /
Form Rule Form

1 A = { 1, 2, 3, … }
(1) (2)

2 The set of Months of the year

beginning with M. (3) (4)

3 The set of secondary colors.

(5) C = { x : x is a secondary
color }

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ELEMENTS OF SET AND WELL – DEFINED SETS

Try this! Are you a member of the Set?

Raise your hand if you are a member of this set.

1. Set of students who were born in June.
2. Set of students who love pizza.
3. Set of students who like to play basketball

The students who raise their hand in each item would comprise the members of that
set.

Suppose the set of students who were born in June is named set A. Jenny is born in June . So “Jenny €
A” means Jenny is an element of Set A. Jed is born in February. So, “Jed  A” means Jed is not an
element of set A.

Each object in a set is called an element or a member of the set. The symbol ∈ is used to indicate that
something
is an element of a set and ∉ is used to indicate that an object is not an element

of a set. Reading Notation:

 is an element of, a member of , belongs to

 is not an element of, is not member of , not belongs to

Example :
a. Set C is the set of colors of the rainbow.
C = { red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet }

 red ∈ C ( read as “red is an element of Set C”)

black  C (read as “ black is not an element of Set C”)

b. Set D is the set of positive integers

D = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 . . . }

 1 ∈ D ( read as “1 is an element of Set D”)

0 D ( read as “ 0 is not an element of Set D”

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Activity 6. Fill in each blank with  or 
A = {1, 2 , 3, 4, 5} B = { 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 } C = { a, e, i, o, u }

1. 2 B 4. 5 A
2. 0 C 5. v C
3. a C

Activity 7. Check your progress!

Fill in each blank with  or 
Set A = { even numbers between 0 and 10}
Set B = { letters of the alphabet between c and j}
1. 2 A 6. e B

2. 5 A 7. c B

3. b B 8. 0 A

4. g B 9. -5 A

5. 12 A 10. j B

WELL-DEFINED AND NOT WELL-DEFINED SET

In a set builder notation, some situations exist that make it difficult to determine whether an
object belongs to the set. For instance, if we are interested in “pretty girls in the Philippines” it might be
difficult to determine if a particular girl belongs to the set. A girl who is pretty for someone may not be
pretty for another. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Since beauty is subjective, the set of
pretty girls in the Philippines is not well defined.

However, if we are interested in “ Math teachers in your school” or distinct letters in the word
“ HONESTY “ we know exactly if an object is an element of the set. These sets are well defined.

A set is well-defined if it is possible to determine if an object is a member of that set.

Example :
a. Set C is the set of colors of the rainbow.
C = { red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet }
 Set C is well defined because the exact elements of the given set are identified and you
can definitely tell what are the colors of the rainbow.

b. The set of positive

integers D = { 1, 2, 3,
4,5 . . . }

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  Set C is well defined because you can tell if a given number is a positive integer or not.

c.The set of Months in a year that starts

with J E = {January, June, July}
 Set E is well-defined because we can tell the exact elements of the given set.

A set is not well-defined if it is not possible to determine if an object is a member of that set.
a. Set E is the set of beautiful girls in the city.
Set E is not well defined because the selection of beautiful girls in the city was not specified.
Girls who are beautiful for someone may not be beautiful to another.

b. The set of funniest movies watched by grade 7 students.

Set X is not well defined, because a movie may be funny to one person but not so to another
one.

c. The set of good books to read.

Set Y is not well defined, because some books are good from the other reader and some are
not.
Try this!
State whether the collection is a well-defined set or not
1. A = { the set of all subject in Grade 7}
2. B = { the set of a popular actor}
3. C = { the set of favorite subject in your class}
4. D = { the set of months of the year}
5. E = { the set of nice people in your school}

Activity 8. Determine whether the following set is a well-defined set or not.

1. The set even numbers less than 100.

2. The set of fruit bearing trees.
3. The set of excellent singers in the Philippines.
4. The set of huge buildings in the city.
5. The set of vowels in the alphabet.
6. The set of popular actor.
7. The set of student in your class.
8. The set of graduates of your school in 2020.
9. The days of the week starting with the letter T.
10. The set of great artist in the world.

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NUMBER OF ELEMENTS IN A SET

Try this !

How many days are here in a week?

How many of these are school days

There are 7 days in a week. If A represents the days of the week, we denote the number of
elements in A as n(A) = 7. Loosely speaking, the answer to the question “how many” is a cardinal
number. A set and the cardinal number for a set are different. For example if B = {school days} then the
set is { Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday} and the cardinal number is 5, written n(B) = 5.
We say that the cardinality of set B is 5.
The cardinal number or cardinality of the given set is the total number of elements in a set . It
can be represented as n(A), which read as” n of A “.

Example : Determine the cardinality of the given

sets. 1. A = { 4, 8, 12, 16, 20}

Solution: n(A) = 5, the number of elements in set A is 5

2. B = {odd numbers between 10 and 25}

Solution: B = { 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23}, therefore n(B) = 7

3. C = {days of the week that begin with letter R}

Solution : n( C ) = 0 because there is no day in a week that starts with the letter R. Notice
that some sets have no elements, For instance , n( C ) = 0

A set with no elements is called an empty or null set . It is denoted by the symbol { } or the Danish letter .

Activity 9 : Determine the cardinality of each set.

1. X = { 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 } = n(X) =

2. L = { 2, 4, 6, 8 } = n(L)

3. M = { 0 } = n(M) =

4. H = { Saturday, Sunday} = n(H) =

5. O = { September, October, November, = n(O) =

December}
6. A = { Consonants in the English Alphabet} = n(A) =

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 7. B = { The set of even prime number greater than 2} = n(B) =

8. C = { The set of month of the year that has 32 days} = n(C ) =

9. D = { The set month of the year that has 28 or 29 = n(D) =

days}
10. E = { The set of Odd numbers which are divisible = n(E) =
by 2}

FINITE AND INFINITE SET

Sets may be described as finite or infinite.

A set is a finite set if it is empty or if it can be placed into a one-to-one correspondence with
a set of the form { 1, 2, 3, … N } where N is a counting number. On other words, the number of
elements in a finite set is a whole number. If a set is not finite, it is said to be infinite. A set is called an
infinite set if it is not possible to list all the elements of the set.

Example : Decide whether the set is a finite or an infinite set .

1. The set of counting numbers greater than 10 .

Ans. Infinite. The elements are uncountable or not possible to list
down. A = { 11, 12, 13, 14 . . . }

2. The set of whole numbers less than 5.

Ans. Finite. The elements are possible to list
down. B = { 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 }

3. The set points in a line

Ans. Infinite. A line consists of an infinite number of points.

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Activity 10.

Determine if the given set id finite, infinite or an empty set.

1. The set of all people in the world.
2. The set of all stars in the universe.
3. The set of even numbers less than 100.
4. The set of all natural numbers.
5. The set even prime number.
6. The set of all squares.
7. The set of students in your class.
8. The set of all multiples of 3.
9. The set of days of the week that begins with letter X.
10. The set of all countries in the world

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Lesson 1.2 Set Relationships

 Use Venn diagrams to represent universal sets, complements, and subsets.

 Determine the number of subsets of any given set.
 Solve problems involving subsets using Venn diagrams

EQUAL AND EQUIVALENT SETS

Try this ! Compare these sets of candies.

A = { mint, chocolate, Which set are equal ?
lemon } Which set are equivalent but not
B = { mint, strawberry, equal?
lemon } C = { mint,

1. Set A and Set C are equal sets.

2. Set A and Set B are equivalent sets. These sets are not equal.

Two sets are said to be equivalent if they have the same cardinal number. Two sets are
equal if they have exactly the same elements.

Consider the following

sets : A = { a, b, c, d, e }
B = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 }
C = { first five letter of the English alphabet}

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 Sets A and B are equivalent because they have the same cardinality. Sets A and C are
equal because they have exactly the same elements.

Activity 11. Consider these sets and identify if the following sets are equal or equivalent.
A = { 5, 3, 1 } D = { 7, 2 } G = { 3, 4 }
B = {a, b, c } E={} H = { set of primary
colors}
C = { 3, 1, 5 } F = { red, blue, yellow } I={}
1. Which of the set/s is/are equal to set A.
2. Which of the set/s is/are equivalent to Set A.
3. Name the sets that are equivalent but not equal .
UNIVERSAL SETS, SUBSETS, AND VENN DIAGRAM

Consider these cards.

Form the following sets using the numbers in the cards.

1. A = { numbers less than 5}
2. B = { even numbers less than 6 }
3. C = { prime numbers }
4. D = { numbers from 1 to 4}

The set of numbers in the 10 cards is U = { 1 ,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 }

The universal set, or simply the universe, denoted by U, contains all elements being considered in a
given situation.

The other sets are defined as

follows: 1. A = { 1, 2, 3, 4 }
2. B = { 2, 4 }
3. C = { 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 }
4. D = { 1, 2, 3, 4 }

Notice that every member of set B is also a member of Set A. We say that B  A or B  A. B  A
means that A has atleast one element that is not in B. The symbol “” suggest proper inclusion.

We write D  A but not D  A since A has no member that is not in D. Thus D 

A. Reading Notation

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 U Universal set
 Subset
 Proper subset
 Not a proper subset

Set A is a subset of Set B, written as “ A  B “ if and only if every element of A is also an element of B.

Set A is a proper subset B, written as “A  B “, if and only if every element of A is also an element of
B and that B contains at least 1 elements that is not in A.

Example : Write True or False if the statement is correct.  

U = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 } O = { 1, 3 }
M = { 1, 3, 5 } P = { 1, 3, 5 }
N = { 2, 4 } Q = { 2, 4, 5 }

1. N  Q = TRUE
Sol’n : Set N is a subset of Set Q because all the elements in Set N are in Set Q.

2. N  Q = TRUE
Sol’n : Set N is a proper subset of Set Q because all elements of Set N are found in Set
Q, and there is at least one element in Set Q that is not in Set N.

3. N  M = FALSE
Sol’n : Set N is not a subset of Set M, because all elements of Set N are not in Set M .

4. N  M = TRUE
Sol’n : Since not all elements of Set N are in Set M, then N is not a proper subset of M.

5. P  M = TRUE
Sol’n : Set P is a subset of M, because all elements in set P are found in Set M.

6. P  M = FALSE , Set P is not a proper subset of Set M , because there is no at least one
element in Set M that is not in Set P.

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Activity 12. Which of the following is a subset of {1,3,5,7,9}

A. { 3, 5 } D. { 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 }
B. { 7 } E. { 2, 3 }
C. { } F. { 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 }

Try this !
Consider G = { 3, 6, 9 }. List all its possible subsets.
Solution :
1. { 3 } 4. { 3, 6 } 7. { 3, 6, 9 }
2. { 6 } 5. { 6, 9 } 8. 
3. { 9 } 6. { 3, 9 }

Note that  Is always a subset of every set.

Activity 12. Number of Subset of a Set

Complete the table by identifying the number of elements, the subset of every set and the number of subset.

No. of elements in No. of

Se the Original Set List of
subset
t subsets
{} 0 {} 1
{a} 1 { }, {a} 2
{ a, b } 2 { } , {a} , {b}, { a, b } 4
{a, b, c }
{a, b, c, d }
{a, b, c, d, e }
{ a, b, c, d, e, f }

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10. { 2, 4 } { 2, 4, 6, 8 }

Watch video the example of well-defined and not set

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V7cfNbJAE8#:~:text=so%20for%20example%20the%20set,kno
wn Related link: example of not well defined sets - brainly.ph/question/588821
See more example of well-defined sets - brainly.ph/question/595777 and brainly.ph/question/47048

Watch video example of Set Builder Notation and Roster Method

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLgiccWl434
Related link: example of set-builder notation
https://www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/sets/set-builder-
notation https://www.onlinemathlearning.com/finite-sets.html
https://www.math-only-math.com/cardinal-number-of-a-set

You can proceed to the next lesson

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