Scribd
Upload
11 views4 pages

1.1 Sets and Set Descriptions

Uploaded by

skhy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
11 views4 pages

1.1 Sets and Set Descriptions

Uploaded by

skhy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

1.

1 SETS AND SET DESCRIPTIONS


Sets
- A set is a collection of clearly defined objects.
- An element is an object or a member of a set.
- Sets are usually denoted by capital letters of the English alphabet.
- An element usually denoted by small letters of the English alphabet
NOTATIONS:
1. ∈ means:
- “is an element of”
- “is a member of”
- “belongs to”
2. ∉ means:
- “is an element of”
- “is a member of”
- “belongs to”

Example 1. The following are sets:


1. 𝐴 = the set of all vowels of the English alphabet.
2. 𝐵 = the set of all counting numbers.
3. 𝐶 = the set of all natural numbers from 1 to 100.
4. 𝐷 = the set of all counting numbers such that √𝑥 = −1.
Observe that in this example,
𝑖 ∈ 𝐴, 3 ∈ 𝐵, 3/2 ∉ 𝐶, and 0 ∉ 𝐷
METHODS OF DESCRIBING A SET
1. Roster Method
- lists, enumerates, or tabulates distinct elements of a set which are separated by a
comma and enclosed by a pair of braces {}.
2. Rule Method
- uses a phrase that describes the property of the elements of the set and enclosing it by
a pair of braces.
- it uses the set descriptive notation

{𝑥: 𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 "descriptive phrase here"}

 The letter x is a variable and is used to represent any element of a set and
may be replaced by any other letter.
 The symbol “:” is read as “such that”. The symbol “:” may be replaced by “|”.
 So, the set
{𝑥: 𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 "descriptive phrase here"}
will be read as “ the set of all x such that x is a ___________________. “
Example 2. Refer back to Example 1. Note that these sets can be described using the
following:
a. Roster Method:
𝐴 = {𝑎, 𝑒, 𝑖 , 𝑜, 𝑢}
𝐵 = {1, 2, 3, . . . }
𝐶 = {1, 2, . . . , 99, 100}
𝐷={ }
Note that the three dots we can find in sets B and C is called an ellipsis.
The three dots after the 3 in set B indicates that the listing goes on forever.
The three dots between 2 and 99 in set C indicates that there are more
natural numbers listed between 2 and 99.
b. Rule Method
𝐴 = {𝑥: 𝑥 is a vowel of the English alphabet}
𝐵 = {𝑥: 𝑥 is a counting number}
𝐶 = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is a natural number from 1 to 100}
𝐷 = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is a counting number and √𝑥 = −1}

Empty Set or Null Set


- A set that does not contain any element.
- Denoted by ∅ or { }
Example 3. The set 𝐷 in Example 1 is empty.
Universal Set
- A set containing all elements included in a single discussion. It is the set from which
all other sets are derived.
- Denoted by 𝑈
Example 4. The set of integers ℤ = {. . . , −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . . . } may be considered as
a universal set of the sets 𝐵 and 𝐶 in Example 1.

Subsets

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


 Denoted by 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵
- Set A is not a subset of set B if there is at least one element of Set A that is not an
element of set B.
 Denoted by 𝐴 ⊈ 𝐵
Note:

1. The symbol 𝐵 ⊇ 𝐴 means the same things as 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵.


2. For any set 𝐴, we have ∅ ⊆ 𝐴, that is, the empty set is always a subset of any set.
3. For any set 𝐴, we have 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐴, that is, the a set is always a subset to itself.
4. A set with 𝑛 number of elements has 2𝑛 total number of distinct subsets.
Example 5. In Example 1,
𝐵 = the set of all counting numbers.
𝐶 = the set of all natural numbers from 1 to 100.
We see that 𝐶 ⊆ 𝐵, but 𝐵 ⊈ 𝐶.
Example 6. Consider 𝑋 = {𝑎, 2, 𝑐 }. Then X has 3 elements, and thus has 23 = 8 subsets
as follows: ∅, {𝑎}, {2}, {𝑐 }, {𝑎, 2}, {𝑎, 𝑐 }, {2, 𝑐 }, 𝑋
Equal Sets
- Two sets A and B are equal if they have exactly the same elements.
- Denoted by 𝐴 = 𝐵.
- 𝐴 = 𝐵 if 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 and 𝐵 ⊆ 𝐴
Note:
1. 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 means A is contained in B or 𝐴 = 𝐵.
2. 𝐴 is a proper subset of 𝐵, denoted by 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵 𝑜𝑟 𝐵 ⊃ 𝐴, if A is contained in B, but
𝐴 ≠ 𝐵.
Example 7.

1. {𝑎, 2, 𝑐 } = {𝑎, 𝑐, 2} but {𝑎, 2, 𝑐 } ≠ {𝑎, 2𝑐} and {𝑎, 2, 𝑐 } ≠ {𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐}


2. {𝑎, 2} ⊆ {𝑎, 2, 𝑐 }.

Equivalent Sets
- Sets A and B are equivalent if they have the same number of elements.
- Denoted by 𝐴 ∼ 𝐵.
- If A and B are not equivalent, we write 𝐴 ≁ 𝐵.
Example 8. {1, 𝑎, 𝑐 } ∼ {𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑑}, but {1𝑎, 𝑐 } ≁ {𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑑}

Finite and Infinite Sets


- A set is said to be finite if it is empty or if it is equivalent to the set {1,2, … , 𝑛} for some
counting number 𝑛.
- A set which is not finite is infinite.
Example 9. Consider again the following sets:
𝐴 = {𝑥: 𝑥 is a vowel of the English alphabet} = {𝑎, 𝑒, 𝑖 , 𝑜, 𝑢}
𝐵 = {𝑥: 𝑥 is a counting number} = {1, 2, 3, . . . }
𝐶 = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is a natural number from 1 to 100} = {1, 2, . . . , 99, 100}
𝐷 = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is a counting number and √𝑥 = −1} = { }
We see that sets 𝐴, 𝐶, and 𝐷 are finite. On the other hand, set 𝐵 is infinite.
Cardinality
- The cardinality of a finite set A is he number of elements of A.
- Denoted by 𝑛(𝐴).
Example 10. Consider the sets in Example 9.
𝑛(𝐴) = 5, 𝑛(𝐵) is infinite, 𝑛(𝐶) = 100, 𝑛(𝐷) = 0.

Venn Diagram
- Shows the relationships among sets and between elements and sets.
- Named after the English logician James Venn.
- The universal set U is usually represented by a rectangle, while other sets, which are
subsets of U, are represented by circles, triangles, and other closed geometric figures.

Example 11. Consider the following sets.


𝑈 = {𝑢, 𝑣, 𝑤, 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
𝐴 = {𝑢, 𝑣, 3}
𝐵 = {1, 2 3, 4}
𝐶 = {𝑣, 𝑤, 𝑥}
Then the following shows a Venn diagram of sets 𝑈, 𝐴, 𝐵, and 𝐶.

Reference:
 Algebra and Trigonometry. Revised Edition. Department of Mathematics, MSU-IIT. 2015.

You might also like