Lesson 2- SET(MMW)

The Four Basic Concepts of Mathematics

1. Set

A set is a collection of well-defined objects that contains no duplicates: The

objects in the set are called the elements of the set. To describe a set, we use braces {
}, and use capital letters to represent it.

Examples:

1. The books in the shelves in a library.

2. The bank accounts in a bank.
3. The set of natural numbers N = {1, 2, 3, …}.
4. The integer numbers Z = {…, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, …}.
5. The rational numbers is the set of quotients of integers Q = {p/q : p, q ∈ Z and
q = 0}.

The three dot in enumerating the elements of the set are called ellipses and
indicate a continuing pattern. A finite set contains elements that can be counted and
terminates at certain natural number, otherwise, it is infinite set.

Example:

Set A = {1,3,5,7,11,13,17,19}

- The set of all prime numbers less than or equal to 19. The order in which the
elements are listed is not relevant: i.e., the set {1,3,5,7,11,13,17,19} is the
same as the set {13,3,5, 11,13,17,19,1}.

There is exactly one set, the empty set, or null set, ∅ or {}, which has no
members at all. A set with only one member is called a singleton or a singleton set.
(“single of a”).

Specification of Sets

There are three main ways to specify a set:

1. List Notation / Roster Method – by listing all its members

- List names of elements of a set, separate them by commas and enclose them
in braces:

Examples:

1. {1, 12, 35}

 2. {Daniela, Romina, Cassy, Marga}
3. {m, n, o, p}
4. {1, 2, …, 100}

2. Predicate Notation/Rule Method/Set-Builder Notation

- By stating a property of its elements. It has a property that members of the

set share (a condition or a predicate which holds for members of this set).

Examples:

a) {x/x is a natural number and x< 8} means “the set of all x such that x is
a natural number and is less than 8”
b) {x/x is a letter of Korean alphabet}
c) {y/y is a student of SKSU and y is older than 20}

3. Recursive rules

- By defining a set of rules which generates or defines its members.

Examples:

a) The set E of even numbers greater than 5

b) 4 ∈ E
c) If x ∈ E, then x+2 ∈ E
d) Nothing else belongs to E

Equal Sets

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

Examples:

1. {3, 8, 9} = {9, 8, 3}
2. {6, 7, 7, 7, 7,} = {6, 7}
3. {1, 3, 5, 7} ≠ {3, 5]

Equivalent Sets

Two sets are equivalent if they contain the same number of elements.

Example:

1. Which of the following sets are equivalent?

{���, α, β}, {∞, ∩, ∃}, {1, 3, 5}, {a, b, c}, {€, ₸, ₢}

Solution: All of the given sets are equivalent. Note that no two of them are
equal, but they all have the same numbers of elements.
Universal Set

A set that contains all the elements considered in a particular situation

denoted by U.

Example: The
universal set

a. Suppose we list the digits only.

Then, U = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}, since U includes all the digits. b. Suppose we

consider the whole numbers

Then U = {0, 1, 2, 3, …} since U contains all whole numbers.

Subsets

A set A is called a subset of set B if every element of A is also an

element of B. “A is a subset of B” is written as A ⊆ B. Example:

1. A = {7, 9} is a subset of B = {6, 7, 9}

2. D = {10, 8, 6} is a subset of G = {10, 8, 6}

A proper subset is a subset that is not equal to the original set, otherwise improper
subset.

Example:

Given {3, 5, 7} then the proper subsets are {}, {5, 7}, {3, 5}, {3, 7}.

The improper subset is {3, 5, 7}.

Cardinality of the Set

It is the number of distinct elements belonging to a finite set. It is also called the
cardinal number of the set A denoted by n(A) or card (A) and /A/.

Power Set

It is the family of all the subsets of A denoted by Power (A).

Given set A = {x, y}, the Power (A) = { ∅, {x}, {y}, {x,y} or {x/x is a subset of A}.
Operations on Sets

Union is an operation for sets A and B in which a set is formed that consists of all the
elements included in A or B both denoted by U as A U B.

Examples:

a) Given U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}, A = {1, 3, 5, 7}, B = {2, 4, 6, 8} and C = {1,

2}, find the following:

a) A U B b) A U C c) (A U B) U {8} Solution:

a) A U B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
b) A U C = {1, 2, 3, 5, 7}
c) (A U B) U {8} = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}

Intersection

-is the set containing all elements common to both A and B, denoted by ∩.

Example:

Given U = {a, b, c, d, e}, A = {c, d, e}, B = {a, c, e} and C = {a} and D = {e}. find
the following intersections of sets:

a) B ∩ C b) A ∩ C c) (A ∩ B) ∩ D

Solutions:

a) B ∩ C = {a} c) (A ∩ B) = {c, e}, (A ∩ B) ∩ D = {e} b) A ∩ C = ∅

Difference

Complementation

-is an operation on a set that must be performed in reference to a universal set,

denoted by A’. Example:

Given U = {a, b, c, d, e}, A = {c, d, e}, find A’.

Solution: A’ = {a, b}
 Relation

- A relation is a rule that pairs each element in one set, called the domain, with
one or more elements from a second set called the range. It creates a set of ordered
pairs.

Examples: 1. Given:

Regular holidays in the Philippines Month and Date

1. New Years’ Day January 1

2. Labor Day May 1
3. Independence Day June 12
4. Bonifacio Day November 30
5. Rizal Day December 30

A clearer way to express a relation is to form a set of ordered pairs;

(New Years’ Day, January 1), (Labor Day, May 1), (Independence Day, June 12),
(Bonifacio Day, November 30), (Rizal Day, December 30). This set describes a
Relation.

{ {2,3}, {4,5} is not a relation but just a set of ordered pairs.

{ {1,4}. {2,5}, {3,6} } is a relation. The domain of the relation is the set {1,2,3} and
the range is {4,5,6}