The set Theory

Definition : A set is a collection of objects. Or A set is a collection of distinct objects.

Example: {Book, Chair, Pen}

In a set, order does not matter
Example: {Book, Chair, Pen} = {Pen, Book, Chair}
Sets are usually denoted by capital letters A,B,C, · · · while elements are usually denoted by
small letters a, b, c, · · · .
For example:
Set of natural numbers ,
Set of integer numbers , else..

Each object is called an element of the set.

The set that contains all the elements of a given collection is called the universal set and is
represented by the symbol ‘ ’.

Empty (Null) Set: A set with no elements Denoted by .

• The empty set That is, is a set with no elements.

Universal Set: A set that contains all objects in the universe Denoted by .

• If is an element of a set , then we write . Otherwise, we write

• A set is a subset of , denoted by , if and only if every elements of is also an

element of . That is,

• A set is called a proper subset of set , if and , but . In this

case, we write .

• Two subsets and are equal , denoted by , if and only of and .

• If a set contains elements, we say that cardinality .

Note: For any set we have

1)
2) .

Theorem 2.1.1. For any sets A, B, and C, if and , then .

Proof.
Let . Since , .
But since , .
Thus, if . Thus, .

Definition 2.1.2 The power set of a set is the set of all subsets of
• Example 2.1.1

• If a set has elements, then has elements.

Example 2.1.2 Let . Find .

Solution:

Example 2.1.3 Let .

Solution:
.

Note that, , while and . Also, where and

hence Moreover, , and . Also,
and . Finally, , but and

Theorem 2.1.2. Let and be two sets. Then, if and only if .

Proof. ” ”: Assume that . Let . Then, . That is, .

Thus,
” ⇐ ”: Assume that . Since , we have .

2.2 Set Operations

Definition 2.2.1. Let and be two sets. Then,
1. Union:

For example, let and . Then

2. Intersection:

For example, let and . The .

If two sets have no common elements, their intersection is the empty (null) set.
For example,
if and then .

3. Difference:

4. Complement: If is the universal, then

̅ .

5. Disjoint: and are called disjoint if

For example, if and then .
 6. The Symmetric Difference. the symmetric difference of sets. Denoted by , is
simply the union of and .

For Example: Let be the set of non-negative multiples of two that are no more than
twenty four i.e . Let be the non-negative multiples
of three that are no more than twenty four i.e .

Then

Venn Diagram
A Venn diagram is used to show/visualize the possible relations among a collection of sets.
B)

Example 2.2.1 Let be the universe and let

and Answer Each of the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Theorem 2.2.1. Let A, B, and C be sets. Then,

1- Commutative Laws:
2- Associative Laws:
3- Distributive Laws:
4- Idempotent Laws:
5- Absorption Laws:
6- Identity Laws:
7- Domination Laws:
8- De Morgan’s Laws:
9- Complement Laws:
10- Complements of and :
11- Double Complement Law:
12- Set Difference Law:
13- The Symmetric Difference:

Proof. Proof of (3):

Proof. Proof of (9): If then or . In either cases,

. Thus,
⇐ Assume now that . Thus, or which
implies . Thus . Therefore,

Proof of the Second De Morgan Law (8).

Proof.(6) Now we want to show that is a true

sentence.

We have two cases:

(a) is true. Then we get ‘True or False True’ which is a true sentence.
(b) is false. Then we get ‘False or False False’ which is also a true sentence.
This concludes the proof.

Proof.(7) . So we want to ) ⇐show that the

sentence‘ )’ is true.

Since is false, we get the sentence ‘ and False False which is a true sentence.
Theorem 2.2.2. Let A, B, and C be sets. Then,

6.
7

Proof of (3): : Assume that . By part (1), so we only show that

Let , then or . In both cases, . Thus, .

Therefore, .
⇐ Assume that . By part (1) Thus, .

Proof of (6): Assume that . Let , then and . Thus,

and , which implies that . Therefore, .

Proof of (7): Using a contrapositive proof as follows:

Let and . Show that

Solution: Let . Since or . If , then ,

contradiction. Thus and therefore,

Example 2.2.3 Show that

Solution: Proof: By Theorem 2.2.1 part(12), we have .

Thus
Also, ( – )– ( – ) (Use Set Difference Law)
(De Morgan’s Laws)
⏟ (Distributive Laws )

(Complement Laws)
= (Identity Laws)

Another Proof:
Example 2.2.4 Show that .
Solution:
Let

Example 2.2.5 Show that

Can you show that in general? Explain.

Solution:
In general, and thus .
For example, consider and . Then
and P . Therefore,

Example 2.2.6. Give an example to show If A B, then P(A) P(B) = P(A B).

Solution:
consider and . Then
and P . Therefore,
{ }

2.3 Extended Set Operations

. ‫اذا اخروا اكثر مه مجمىعتيه فيصبح لديىا تعميم للمجمىعات والعمليات التي عليها‬

Definition 2.3.1. Let . Suppose that for each , there is a corresponding set i.
Then, the family of sets is called an indexed family of sets. Each
is called an index and is called an indexing set.

Definition 2.3.2. The set is called a family of sets.

If , then is a family of sets. Thus,
the union over is defined by

Moreover, the intersection over is defined by

Definition 2.3.3. The indexed family of sets is said to

be pairwise disjoint if and only if for all and in , if , then .

Example 2.3.1 For each , let . Find and ⋂

Solution:
Note that and so on. Thus,

⋃ ⋂

Example 2.3.2 Let Find and ⋂

Solution:
Examples of sets in are and and so on. Thus,

⋃ ⋂
Example 2.3.3 Let so that
, and If , answer each of the following:

a- .
b- ⋂
c- ⋂
d- ⋂
e- Is a pairwise disjoint? Explain.
Answer: No,

Theorem 2.3.2. Let be an indexed family of sets. Then, for every set
, we have:
1-
2- ⋂
⋂
3- }………………………..De Morgan Laws.
⋂

Proof. Proof of (1): Let . Since . Thus,

Proof of (2): Let ⋂ . Then, for every . Since , Thus,

⋂

Proof of (3.a):

(⋃ ) ⋃

for all
for all
⋂

Proof of (3.b): A similar proof as that in part (3.a) can be shown in this part as well.

Example 2.3.4 If , let . Define

1-
2-

a. ⋂
b.
c. ⋂
d. ⋂

Example 2.3.5 If , let for all . Find:

a.
b. ⋂
c. ⋂
d. ⋂
2.4 Proof by Induction ‫البرهان باالستقراء‬

Definition 2.4.1 (Principle of Mathematical Induction (PMI)). If is a subset of so that:

1. and
2. for all , if , then , then

2.4.1 Proof of using PMI

• Basic Step: Show that is true.

• Induction Step: Show that for all , if is true, then is true.
• Conclusion: By step 1 and step 2 and using the PMI, is true for all .

Example 2.4.1 Show that for all ,

Solution:
When , =1 which is true.
Suppose is true for , Then, for ,we add for both sides

Example 2.4.2 Show that for all

Solution:
Clearly, for , implies which is true.
Assume that is true for n. Then, for n + 1 we add for both sides

Example 2.4.3 Show that for all (H.W).