Preparatory Course

Lecture 2 - Part 1: Set Theory

2.1. Introduction to Sets

2.2. Subsets & Proper Subsets Link zum Download:
https://bitly.cx/OB4D
2.3. Set Operations
2.4. Mapping & Functions
*2.5. Cardinality M.Sc. Ricardo Rose
19.09.2023
2.1. Introduction to Sets
2.1. Introduction to Sets

Discussion: For what could we need sets? How would you define sets?
Sets are more general than (for example) numbers!

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2.1. Introduction to Sets

Discussion: For what could we need sets? How would you define sets?
Sets are more general than (for example) numbers!

Definition: Set
A set is a collection of (different) things, called elements.
If M is a set and x is an element of M, this will be written in shorthand
as x P M. If x is not an element of M, this will be denoted as x R M.

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2.1. Introduction to Sets

Discussion: For what could we need sets? How would you define sets?
Sets are more general than (for example) numbers!

Definition: Set
A set is a collection of (different) things, called elements.
If M is a set and x is an element of M, this will be written in shorthand
as x P M. If x is not an element of M, this will be denoted as x R M.

Examples for Sets:

A “ tGreen, Gray , Pink , Yellow , Red u

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2.1. Introduction to Sets

Discussion: For what could we need sets? How would you define sets?
Sets are more general than (for example) numbers!

Definition: Set
A set is a collection of (different) things, called elements.
If M is a set and x is an element of M, this will be written in shorthand
as x P M. If x is not an element of M, this will be denoted as x R M.

Examples for Sets:

A “ tGreen, Gray , Pink , Yellow , Red u A “ tPink , Yellow u

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2.1. Introduction to Sets

Discussion: For what could we need sets? How would you define sets?
Sets are more general than (for example) numbers!

Set - Properties
‚ The elements of a set have no order
‚ Dublicates of elements will be not recognised

Examples for Sets:

A “ tGreen, Gray , Pink , Yellow , Red u A “ tPink , Yellow u

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2.1. Introduction to Sets

Discussion: For what could we need sets? How would you define sets?
Sets are more general than (for example) numbers!

Set - Properties
‚ The elements of a set have no order
‚ Dublicates of elements will be not recognised
‚ A Set M’ can be an element of another Set M

Examples for Sets:

! )
A “ tGreen, Gray , Pink , Yellow , Red u , tPink , Yellow u
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2.1. Introduction to Sets

The set A can be

‚ empty, noted by A “ tHu

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2.1. Introduction to Sets

The set A can be

‚ empty, noted by A “ tHu
‚ finite
- noted as on previous slides

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2.1. Introduction to Sets

The set A can be

‚ empty, noted by A “ tHu
‚ finite
- noted as on previous slides
- the set of all fractional numbers 1{n with n are natural numbers
from 1 to 20, noted by A “ t1{n | n P t1, 2, 3, . . . , 20uu

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2.1. Introduction to Sets

The set A can be

‚ empty, noted by A “ tHu
‚ finite
- noted as on previous slides
- the set of all fractional numbers 1{n with n are natural numbers
from 1 to 20, noted by A “ t1{n | n P t1, 2, 3, . . . , 20uu
‚ infinite, e.g.
- the set of all real numbers greater than 0N

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2.1. Introduction to Sets

The set A can be

‚ empty, noted by A “ tHu
‚ finite
- noted as on previous slides
- the set of all fractional numbers 1{n with n are natural numbers
from 1 to 20, noted by A “ t1{n | n P t1, 2, 3, . . . , 20uu
‚ infinite, e.g.
- the set of all real numbers greater than 0N
- the set of all real numbers between 0 and 1 with borders,
noted by A “ p0, 1q

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2.1. Introduction to Sets

The set A can be

‚ empty, noted by A “ tHu
‚ finite
- noted as on previous slides
- the set of all fractional numbers 1{n with n are natural numbers
from 1 to 20, noted by A “ t1{n | n P t1, 2, 3, . . . , 20uu
‚ infinite, e.g.
- the set of all real numbers greater than 0N
- the set of all real numbers between 0 and 1 with borders,
noted by A “ p0, 1q
- the set of all fractional numbers 1{n with n are natural numbers

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2.2. Subsets & Proper Subsets
2.2. Subsets & Proper Subsets

Let A and B be sets.

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2.2. Subsets & Proper Subsets

Let A and B be sets.

Definition: Subset
A is a subset of B, if for all x P A also x P B is valid. (Notation: A Ă B)

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2.2. Subsets & Proper Subsets

Let A and B be sets.

Definition: Subset
A is a subset of B, if for all x P A also x P B is valid. (Notation: A Ă B)

Definition: Equal Sets

A and B are equal, if A Ă B also B Ă A (Notation: A “ B)

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2.2. Subsets & Proper Subsets

Distinction between Sets and Proper Subsets:

Some authors make the following distinction between a subset and a proper subset: If A
is a subset of B and they are NOT equal, then A is called a proper subset of B (notation:
A Ă B). If A is a subset of B and they are equal, then A is just called „subset of B“ only
(notation: A Ď B).

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2.2. Subsets & Proper Subsets

Distinction between Sets and Proper Subsets:

Some authors make the following distinction between a subset and a proper subset: If A
is a subset of B and they are NOT equal, then A is called a proper subset of B (notation:
A Ă B). If A is a subset of B and they are equal, then A is just called „subset of B“ only
(notation: A Ď B).

Examples:
‚ The set of all bees is a proper subset of the set of all insects

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2.2. Subsets & Proper Subsets

Distinction between Sets and Proper Subsets:

Some authors make the following distinction between a subset and a proper subset: If A
is a subset of B and they are NOT equal, then A is called a proper subset of B (notation:
A Ă B). If A is a subset of B and they are equal, then A is just called „subset of B“ only
(notation: A Ď B).

Examples:
‚ The set of all bees is a proper subset of the set of all insects
‚ t1, 3u Ă t1, 2, 3, 4u

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2.2. Subsets & Proper Subsets

Distinction between Sets and Proper Subsets:

Some authors make the following distinction between a subset and a proper subset: If A
is a subset of B and they are NOT equal, then A is called a proper subset of B (notation:
A Ă B). If A is a subset of B and they are equal, then A is just called „subset of B“ only
(notation: A Ď B).

Examples:
‚ The set of all bees is a proper subset of the set of all insects
‚ t1, 3u Ă t1, 2, 3, 4u
‚ t1, 2, 3, 4u Ď t1, 2, 3, 4u

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2.2. Subsets & Proper Subsets

Distinction between Sets and Proper Subsets:

Some authors make the following distinction between a subset and a proper subset: If A
is a subset of B and they are NOT equal, then A is called a proper subset of B (notation:
A Ă B). If A is a subset of B and they are equal, then A is just called „subset of B“ only
(notation: A Ď B).

Examples:
‚ The set of all bees is a proper subset of the set of all insects
‚ t1, 3u Ă t1, 2, 3, 4u
‚ t1, 2, 3, 4u Ď t1, 2, 3, 4u, which is here the same as t1, 2, 3, 4u “ t1, 2, 3, 4u

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2.2. Subsets & Proper Subsets

Distinction between Sets and Proper Subsets:

Some authors make the following distinction between a subset and a proper subset: If A
is a subset of B and they are NOT equal, then A is called a proper subset of B (notation:
A Ă B). If A is a subset of B and they are equal, then A is just called „subset of B“ only
(notation: A Ď B).

Examples:
‚ The set of all bees is a proper subset of the set of all insects
‚ t1, 3u Ă t1, 2, 3, 4u
‚ t1, 2, 3, 4u Ď t1, 2, 3, 4u, which is here the same as t1, 2, 3, 4u “ t1, 2, 3, 4u
but in general A Ď B includes A “ B as well as A ‰ B if A and B are not specified in
detail, because A could be equal to B but A could be also a proper set of B

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2.3. Set Operations
2.3. Set Operations

Let A and B be sets

a) Union

Definition: Union
The union A Y B is the set of all elements that are elements of
A or B or both of them:

A Y B B tx | x P A or x P B u
Union A Y B

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2.3. Set Operations

Let A and B be sets

a) Union

Definition: Union
The union A Y B is the set of all elements that are elements of
A or B or both of them:

A Y B B tx | x P A or x P B u
Union A Y B

Examples:
‚ t1, 2, 3u Y t3, 4, 5u “ t1, 2, 3, 4, 5u
‚ QYI“R

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2.3. Set Operations

Let A and B be sets

b) Intersection

Definition: Intersection
The intersection A X B is the set of all elements that are
elements of A as well as of B:

A X B B tx | x P A and x P B u
Intersection A X B

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2.3. Set Operations

Let A and B be sets

b) Intersection

Definition: Intersection
The intersection A X B is the set of all elements that are
elements of A as well as of B:

A X B B tx | x P A and x P B u
Intersection A X B

Examples:
‚ t1, 2, 3u X t3, 4, 5u “ t3u
‚ RXQ“Q if and only if QĂR

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2.3. Set Operations

Let A and B be sets

c) Set Difference

Definition: Set Difference

The set difference A zB is the set of all elements that belongs
to A but are not contained in B :

A zB B tx | x P A and x R B u
Set Difference A zB

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2.3. Set Operations

Let A and B be sets

c) Set Difference

Definition: Set Difference

The set difference A zB is the set of all elements that belongs
to A but are not contained in B :

A zB B tx | x P A and x R B u
Set Difference A zB

Examples:
‚ t1, 2, 3uzt3, 4, 5u “ t1, 2u
‚ trains z long-distance trains “ regional trains

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2.3. Set Operations

Let A and B be sets

d) Complement

Definition: Complement
If B is a subset of A then B C “ A zB is called the complement
of B:
B C B tx | B Ď A and x P A zB u A is the complement of B

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2.3. Set Operations

Let A and B be sets

d) Complement

Definition: Complement
If B is a subset of A then B C “ A zB is called the complement
of B:
B C B tx | B Ď A and x P A zB u A is the complement of B

Examples:
‚ pp´8, 8q zr´1, 1sqC “ p1, 1q
‚ pStudents in the lecturehallqC “ lecturer

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2.3. Set Operations

Let A and B be sets

e) Symmetric Difference

Definition: Symmetric Difference

The symmetric Difference A ∆B is the set of all elements that
belongs to A or B, but not to both.

A ∆B B tx | x P A zB Y B zA u Symmetric Difference
A ∆B

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2.3. Set Operations

Let A and B be sets

e) Symmetric Difference

Definition: Symmetric Difference

The symmetric Difference A ∆B is the set of all elements that
belongs to A or B, but not to both.

A ∆B B tx | x P A zB Y B zA u Symmetric Difference
A ∆B

Examples:
‚ t1, 2, 3u∆t3, 4, 5u “ t1, 2, 4, 5u
‚ A ∆B “ H if and only if A “ B

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2.3. Set Operations

Let A and B be sets and a is in A and b is in B.

f) Cartesian Product

Definition: Cartesian Product

The Cartesian product A ˆ B is the set of all ordered pairs (a,b).

A ˆ B “ tpa , b q | a P A and b P B u

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2.3. Set Operations

Let A and B be sets and a is in A and b is in B.

f) Cartesian Product

Definition: Cartesian Product

The Cartesian product A ˆ B is the set of all ordered pairs (a,b).

A ˆ B “ tpa , b q | a P A and b P B u

Examples:
‚ t1, . . . , 10, J , Q , K , A u ˆ t♡, ♢, ♣, ♠u
“ tp♡, 1q, . . . , p♡, A q, p♢, 1q, . . . , p♢, A q, p♣, 1q, . . . , p♣, A q, p♠, 1q, . . . , p♠, A qu

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2.3. Set Operations

Let A and B be sets and a is in A and b is in B.

f) Cartesian Product

Definition: Cartesian Product

The Cartesian product A ˆ B is the set of all ordered pairs (a,b).

A ˆ B “ tpa , b q | a P A and b P B u

Examples:
‚ t1, . . . , 10, J , Q , K , A u ˆ t♡, ♢, ♣, ♠u
“ tp♡, 1q, . . . , p♡, A q, p♢, 1q, . . . , p♢, A q, p♣, 1q, . . . , p♣, A q, p♠, 1q, . . . , p♠, A qu
‚ t1, 3, 5 . . . , 35u ˆ tredu Y t2, 4, 6 . . . , 36u ˆ tblacku
“ tpred, 1q, pblack, 2q, pred, 3q, . . . , pblack, 34q, pred, 35q, pblack, 36qu
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2.3. Set Operations

g) Power Set

Definition: Power Set

The power set P pA q of a set A is the set of all subsets of A , including the empty set H
and A himself. Be n the number of elements of A , than P pA q has 2n elements.

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2.3. Set Operations

g) Power Set

Definition: Power Set

The power set P pA q of a set A is the set of all subsets of A , including the empty set H
and A himself. Be n the number of elements of A , than P pA q has 2n elements.

Examples:
‚ P ptx , y , z uq “ ttx , y , z u, tx , y u, ty , z u, tx , z u, x , y , z , Hu
‚ P ptbanana, chocolate, lemon, strawberryuq
“ all possible ice-combinations without dublication

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2.4. Mapping & Functions
2.4. Mapping & Functions

Definition: Binary Relations and Functions

Let X and Y be sets. Each subset R of X ˆ Y is called relation (between X and Y).

A relation between X and Y is called mapping or function (from X to Y), if applies:

‚ For all x P X exists a y P Y , with px , y q P R
‚ If px , y q P R and px , y 1 q P R then y “ y 1

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2.4. Mapping & Functions

Definition: Binary Relations and Functions

Let X and Y be sets. Each subset R of X ˆ Y is called relation (between X and Y).

A relation between X and Y is called mapping or function (from X to Y), if applies:

‚ For all x P X exists a y P Y , with px , y q P R
‚ If px , y q P R and px , y 1 q P R then y “ y 1

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2.4. Mapping & Functions

Definition: Binary Relations and Functions

Let X and Y be sets. Each subset R of X ˆ Y is called relation (between X and Y).

A relation between X and Y is called mapping or function (from X to Y), if applies:

‚ For all x P X exists a y P Y , with px , y q P R
‚ If px , y q P R and px , y 1 q P R then y “ y 1

This is only a relation but not a function because

(Pink,Green) P R and (Pink,Red) P R, but Green ‰ Red.
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2.4. Mapping & Functions

Definition: Domain and Range

Let f : X Ñ Y (or x Ñ f px q, x P X and f px q P Y ) be a relation R from the set X to the set Y .
Then X is called domain of f & Ranpf q B tf px q | x P X u “ ty P Y | Dx P X with y “ f px qu
is called range of f . If x maps to exact one f px q, with px , f px qq P R, than f is called function
and X is the Domain and Ranpf q the Range of the function.

Domain Range

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2.4. Mapping & Functions

Definition: Image and Inverse Image

Let f : X Ñ Y (or x Ñ f px q, x P X and f px q P Y ) be a relation from the set X to the set Y .

Let A Ă X . The image of A under f is f pA q B tf px q | x P A u “ ty P Y | Dx P A with y “ f px qu.

Let B Ă Y . The inverse image of B under f is then defined as: f ´1 pB q B tx P X | f px q P B u

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2.4. Mapping & Functions

Definition: Image and Inverse Image

Let f : X Ñ Y (or x Ñ f px q, x P X and f px q P Y ) be a relation from the set X to the set Y .

Let A Ă X . The image of A under f is f pA q B tf px q | x P A u “ ty P Y | Dx P A with y “ f px qu.

Let B Ă Y . The inverse image of B under f is then defined as: f ´1 pB q B tx P X | f px q P B u

The image of the worm color A “ tPinku are the apple colors f pA q “ tRed, Greenu.
The inverse image of the apple color B “ tRedu are the worm colors f ´1 pB q “ tPink,Yellowu

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2.4. Mapping & Functions

Definition: surjective, injective and bijective

Let X and Y be sets. A mapping (function) f : X Ñ Y is called
‚ surjective, if Ranpf q “ Y “ tf px q | x P X u “ t@y P Y | Dx P X with y “ f px qu
‚ injective, if @x , x 1 P X , f px q “ f px 1 q ñ x “ x 1
‚ bijective, if f is both: surjective and injective

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*2.5. Cardinality
*2.5. Cardinality

Definition: Cardinality of finite sets

The cardinality |A | of a set A is a measure of the numbers of elements of the set. For
example, the set A “ t♡, H , 721u has a cardinality of |A | “ 3.

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*2.5. Cardinality

Definition: Cardinality of finite sets

The cardinality |A | of a set A is a measure of the numbers of elements of the set. For
example, the set A “ t♡, H , 721u has a cardinality of |A | “ 3.

The concept of cardinality becomes interesting, when the investigated set is an infinite
set! It is possible to show, that:

reference: https://web.uvic.ca/~gmacgill/LFNotes/Cardinality.pdf

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*2.5. Cardinality

Definition: Cardinality of finite sets

The cardinality |A | of a set A is a measure of the numbers of elements of the set. For
example, the set A “ t♡, H , 721u has a cardinality of |A | “ 3.

The concept of cardinality becomes interesting, when the investigated set is an infinite
set! It is possible to show, that:
‚ the set of even natural numbers has the same cardinality as the set of all natural numbers

reference: https://web.uvic.ca/~gmacgill/LFNotes/Cardinality.pdf

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*2.5. Cardinality

Definition: Cardinality of finite sets

The cardinality |A | of a set A is a measure of the numbers of elements of the set. For
example, the set A “ t♡, H , 721u has a cardinality of |A | “ 3.

The concept of cardinality becomes interesting, when the investigated set is an infinite
set! It is possible to show, that:
‚ the set of even natural numbers has the same cardinality as the set of all natural numbers
‚ the set of natural numbers has the same cardinality as the set of integers and the same
cardinality as the set of fractional numbers

reference: https://web.uvic.ca/~gmacgill/LFNotes/Cardinality.pdf

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*2.5. Cardinality

Definition: Cardinality of finite sets

The cardinality |A | of a set A is a measure of the numbers of elements of the set. For
example, the set A “ t♡, H , 721u has a cardinality of |A | “ 3.

The concept of cardinality becomes interesting, when the investigated set is an infinite
set! It is possible to show, that:
‚ the set of even natural numbers has the same cardinality as the set of all natural numbers
‚ the set of natural numbers has the same cardinality as the set of integers and the same
cardinality as the set of fractional numbers
‚ the set of real numbers has the same cardinality than the open intervall [0,1], but both
have an higher cardinality than natural numbers, which mean, that the infinite set of real
numbers between 0 and 1 has more elements than the set of all natural numbers!
reference: https://web.uvic.ca/~gmacgill/LFNotes/Cardinality.pdf

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*2.5. Cardinality

Definition: Cardinality of finite sets

The cardinality |A | of a set A is a measure of the numbers of elements of the set. For
example, the set A “ t♡, H , 721u has a cardinality of |A | “ 3.

Short written:
‚ |N| “ |2N|
‚ |N| “ |Z| “ |Q|
‚ |R| “ |r0, 1s|, but |R| ą |N| and |r0, 1s| ą |N|

reference: https://web.uvic.ca/~gmacgill/LFNotes/Cardinality.pdf

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*2.5. Cardinality

Definition: Cardinality of finite sets

The cardinality |A | of a set A is a measure of the numbers of elements of the set. For
example, the set A “ t♡, H , 721u has a cardinality of |A | “ 3.

This leads to different kinds of infinity!

Definition Countable
The set A is called
‚ countable, if |A | “ |N|
‚ countable at most if |A | ď |N|
‚ uncountable if |A | ą |N|

reference: https://web.uvic.ca/~gmacgill/LFNotes/Cardinality.pdf

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