LESSON 3

OPERATIONS ON SET &VENN

DIAGRAM
 2

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

1. Perform different operations on set;

2. Apply several set operations involved in a statement;
3. Construct a Venn diagram given a number of sets; and
4. Determine sets from a Venn diagram.
 3

1.6 VENN (EULER) DIAGRAM

▪ The diagrammatic representation of sets for their relative study is called ‘Venn
diagram’ or ‘Euler Venn diagram’.

▪ Here we represent the universal S as a set of all points within rectangle and the
subset A of the set S is represented by the interior of a circle contained in the
rectangle.
S
A

FIGURE 1.10
 4

▪ If A and B are not equal but they have some common elements, then we represent
A and B by two intersecting circles.
A S

FIGURE 1.11

▪ If a set A is a subset of a set B , then the circle representing A is drawn inside the
circle representing B.

S
A

FIGURE 1.12
 5

▪ Two circles having no common element are represented by two non-overlapping

circles.
S
A

FIGURE 1.13

▪ The complementary set of the set 𝐴𝑐 is represented by the shaded region in the
figure by region lying outside the circle of set A and inside the universal set.

FIGURE 1.14
 6
1.7 OPERATIONS ON SETS
✓ Union of sets
Union of two or more sets is the set of all elements that belong to any of these
sets. The symbol used for union of sets is ‘∪’. In the Venn diagram below, the shaded
region represents the indicated operation.
EXAMPLE
𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = Union of set A and set B {𝑥: 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ }
If 𝐴 = 1, 2, 3, 4 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵 = 2, 4, 5, 6 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶 = 1, 2, 6, 8 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 ∪ 𝐶 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 .

A B
S

Set A= {1, 2, 3,4,5,6,} and

A∪𝐵
Set B {0, 2, 4, 6}
A ∪ B ={0,1,2,3,4,5,6}
 7

ANOTHER DEFINITION : The set of all elements which belong to A alone or to

B alone or to both A and B is called the union of A and B. It will be denoted by A ∪
B (read either as ‘‘the union of A and B’’ or as ‘‘A cup B’’). Thus,
𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = {𝑥: 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵}
More often, however, we shall write
𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = {𝑥: 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵}
The two are equivalent since every element of A ∩ B is an element of A.

EXAMPLE
Let 𝐴 = 1, 2, 3, 4 and 𝐵 = 2, 3, 5, 8, 10 ; then 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10}
𝐴 = 1, 2, 3 and 𝐵 = 𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑 ; then 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = 1, 2, 3, 𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑 .
𝐶 = 1, 3, 5, 8 and D = 2, 3, 4, 5 ; then C ∪ 𝐷 = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 .
✓ Intersection of sets 8

It is the set of all the elements, which are common to all the
sets. The symbol used for intersection of sets is ‘∩’.In the Venn
diagram below, the shaded region represents the indicated operation.
EXAMPLE
𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = {𝑥: 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑋 ∈ 𝐵}
If 𝐴 = 1, 2, 3, 4 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵 = 2, 4, 5, 6 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶 = 1, 2, 6, 8 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 ∩ 𝐶 2 .
A B
S

𝐴∩𝐵

Let A={1,2,3,7,11,13}
B={1,7,13,4,10,17}
A∩B {1,7,13}
 9

ANOTHER DEFINITION: Let A and B be given sets. The set of all

elements which belong to both A and B is called the intersection of A
and B. It will be denoted by A ∩ B (read either as ‘‘the intersection of
A and B’’ or as ‘‘A cap B’’). Thus,
𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = {𝑥: 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵}
EXAMPLES
Let
𝐴 = 1, 2, 3, 4 and 𝐵 = 2, 3, 5, 8, 10 ; then ∩ 𝐵 = 2, 3 .

𝐴 = 2, 4, 6, 8 and 𝐵 = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 ; then 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = 2, 4 .

C = 15 10, 15 and D = 1, 2, 3 ; then C ∩ 𝐷 = { }

✓ Difference of two sets 10

The difference of the sets A and B in this order is the set of elements which
belong to A but not to B. Symbolically, we write A – B and read as “ A minus B”.
The representation of A – B using a Venn diagram is given below.

Similarly, we can find B – A, the difference of the sets B and A in this order is the set
of elements which belong to B but not to A. Symbolically, we write B – A and read as
“ B minus A”. and a Venn diagram for B – A as:

Also, note that A – B is not equal to B – A, i.e. A – B ≠ B – A.

 11
EXAMPLES

If 𝐴 = 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵 = 𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑒, 𝑓 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛
𝐴 − 𝐵 = 𝑎, 𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵 − 𝐴 = 𝑒, 𝑓

If A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} and B = {3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}, then find A – B and B – A.

A – B = {1, 2} since the elements 1, 2 are there in A but not in B.

B – A = {7, 8}, since the elements 7 and 8 belong to B and not to A.
✓ Disjoints sets 12

Sets that have no common members are called disjoint sets.

EXAMPLE
Given that U= {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
Set A={ 1,2,3,4,5}
Set C={ 8,10}
Then 𝐴 ∩ 𝐶 = ∅.
No common elements hence set A and C are disjoint set.
✓ Symmetric difference 13

If A and B are two sets, then symmetric difference of sets A and B is

denoted by 𝐴 Δ B and is given by 𝐴 Δ B = (A − B) ∪ (B − A)

𝐴ΔB

EXAMPLE

A – B = 𝑥: 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 ∉ 𝐵 . Similarly, 𝐵 − 𝐴 = 𝑥: 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 𝐴 . 𝐼𝑛 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝐴 − 𝐵 ≠ 𝐵 − 𝐴.

If 𝐴 = 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵 = 𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐴 − 𝐵 = 𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵 − 𝐴 = 𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴 Δ B = {a, d}

 14

ANOTHER EXAMPLE

Let us consider two sets A = {1, 2, 4, 5, 8} and B = {3, 5, 6, 8, 9}. Then to

find the symmetric difference of A and B,

Step - 1: Find A - B.
A - B = {1, 2, 4, ̶5,̶ ̶8̶} - {3, 5̶ ̶, 6, ̶8̶, 9} = {1, 2, 4}

Step - 2: Find B - A.
B - A = {3, 5̶ ̶, 6, ̶8,̶ 9} - {1, 2, 4, ̶5̶, ̶8̶} = {3, 6, 9}

Step - 3: Find A Δ B = (A - B) U (B - A).

A Δ B = (A - B) U (B - A) = {1, 2, 4} U {3, 6, 9} = {1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9}
Other examples of Venn Diagram

a. ( A  B) − C

A A A

C B C B C B

A B C ( A  B) − C
 16

b. ( A  B) − (C  A)

A A
A

C B
C B C B

A B
(C  A)
( A  B) − (C  A) = 
 17

1. https://lms.su.edu.pk/download?filename=1588493195-discretemathematics-text-
book.pdf&lesson=536
2. https://lms.su.edu.pk/storage/uploads/1606728979-schaums-outline-series-seymour-
lipschutz-schaums-outline-of-theory-and-problems-of-set-theory-and-related-topics-
mcgraw-hill-1998-1.pdf
3. https://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/upload_library/46/Pengelley_project
s/Project-5/set_theory_project.pdf
4. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332254949_Set_Theory
5. http://pfister.ee.duke.edu/courses/ece586/notes_ch1.pdf
6. https://www.scribd.com/book/271539744/Set-Theory-and-Logic