1 2 3 4 .... 1  1  1  1  1 .........  ?

1 2  3 4 ....
Discrete mathematics

Basic Structures: Sets,

Functions, Sequences,
 x    y  ( x  y ) Sums, and Matrices

x( | x )

 1 Chapter 2
 x 1  ?
x

 x 1 x ?

RIZOAN TOUFIQ
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
RAJSHAHI UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
Sets

Section 2.1
 Section Summary

 Definition of sets
 Describing Sets
– Roster Method
– Set-Builder Notation
 Some Important Sets in Mathematics
 Empty Set and Universal Set
 Subsets and Set Equality
 Cardinality of Sets
 Tuples
 Cartesian Product
 Introduction

 Sets are one of the basic building blocks for the types of
objects considered in discrete mathematics.
– Important for counting.
– Programming languages have set operations.
 Set theory is an important branch of mathematics.
– Many different systems of axioms have been used to develop set
theory.
– Here we are not concerned with a formal set of axioms for set
theory. Instead, we will use what is called naïve set theory.
 Sets

 A set is an unordered collection of objects.

– the students in this class
– the chairs in this room
 The objects in a set are called the elements, or members
of the set. A set is said to contain its elements.
 The notation a ∈ A denotes that a is an element of the
set A.
 If a is not a member of A, write a ∉ A
 Describing a Set: Roster Method

 S = {a,b,c,d}
 Order not important
S = {a,b,c,d} = {b,c,a,d}
 Each distinct object is either a member or not; listing
more than once does not change the set.
S = {a,b,c,d} = {a,b,c,b,c,d}
 Elipses (…) may be used to describe a set without listing all
of the members when the pattern is clear.
S = {a,b,c,d, ……,z }
 Roster Method

 Set of all vowels in the English alphabet:

V = {a,e,i,o,u}
 Set of all odd positive integers less than 10:
O = {1,3,5,7,9}
 Set of all positive integers less than 100:
S = {1,2,3,……..,99}
 Set of all integers less than 0:
S = {…., -3,-2,-1}
 Some Important Sets

N = natural numbers = {0,1,2,3….}

Z = integers = {…,-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3,…}
Z⁺ = positive integers = {1,2,3,…..}
R = set of real numbers
R+ = set of positive real numbers
C = set of complex numbers.
Q = set of rational numbers
 Set-Builder Notation

 Specify the property or properties that all members

must satisfy:
S = {x | x is a positive integer less than 100}
O = {x | x is an odd positive integer less than 10}
O = {x ∈ Z⁺ | x is odd and x < 10}
 A predicate may be used:
S = {x | P(x)}
 Example: S = {x | Prime(x)}
 Positive rational numbers:
Q+ = {x ∈ R | x = p/q, for some positive integers p,q}
 Interval Notation

[a,b] = {x | a ≤ x ≤ b}
[a,b) = {x | a ≤ x < b}
( a, b ] = { x | a < x ≤ b }
( a, b ) = { x | a < x < b }

closed interval [a,b]

open interval (a,b)
 Universal Set and Empty Set

 The universal set U is the set containing everything

currently under consideration.
– Sometimes implicit
– Sometimes explicitly stated.
– Contents depend on the context. Venn Diagram
 The empty set is the set with no
elements. Symbolized ∅, but U
{} also used. V aeiou
 Russell’s Paradox

 Let S be the set of all sets which are not members of

themselves. A paradox results from trying to answer the
question “Is S a member of itself?”
 Related Paradox:
– Henry is a barber who shaves all people who do not shave
themselves. A paradox results from trying to answer the
question “Does Henry shave himself?”
 Some things to remember

 Sets can be elements of sets.

{{1,2,3},a, {b,c}}
{N,Z,Q,R}
 The empty set is different from a set containing the
empty set.
∅ ≠{∅}
 Set Equality

Definition: Two sets are equal if and only if they have

the same elements.
– Therefore if A and B are sets, then A and B are equal if and only
if .
– We write A = B if A and B are equal sets.
{1,3,5} = {3, 5, 1}
{1,5,5,5,3,3,1} = {1,3,5}
 Subsets

Definition: The set A is a subset of B, if and only if every

element of A is also an element of B.
– The notation A ⊆ B is used to indicate that A is a subset of the set B.
– A ⊆ B holds if and only if is true.
1. Because a ∈ ∅ is always false, ∅ ⊆ S ,for every set S.
2. Because a ∈ S → a ∈ S, S ⊆ S, for every set S.
 Showing a Set is or is not a
Subset of Another Set
 Showing that A is a Subset of B: To show that A ⊆ B,
show that if x belongs to A, then x also belongs to B.
 Showing that A is not a Subset of B: To show that A is
not a subset of B, A ⊈ B, find an element x ∈ A with x ∉
B. (Such an x is a counterexample to the claim that x ∈ A
implies x ∈ B.)
Examples:
1. The set of all computer science majors at your school is a subset of
all students at your school.
2. The set of integers with squares less than 100 is not a subset of the
set of nonnegative integers.
 Another look at Equality of Sets

 Recall that two sets A and B are equal, denoted by

A = B, iff

 Using logical equivalences we have that A = B iff

 This is equivalent to
A⊆B and B ⊆A
 Proper Subsets

Definition: If A ⊆ B, but A ≠B, then we say A is a proper

subset of B, denoted by A ⊂ B. If A ⊂ B, then

is true.

Venn Diagram
U
B
A
 Set Cardinality

Definition: If there are exactly n distinct elements in S

where n is a nonnegative integer, we say that S is finite.
Otherwise it is infinite.
Definition: The cardinality of a finite set A, denoted by
|A|, is the number of (distinct) elements of A.
Examples:
1. |ø| = 0
2. Let S be the letters of the English alphabet. Then |S| = 26
3. |{1,2,3}| = 3
4. |{ø}| = 1
5. The set of integers is infinite.
 Power Sets

Definition: The set of all subsets of a set A, denoted P(A),

is called the power set of A.
Example: If A = {a,b} then
P(A) = {ø, {a},{b},{a,b}}

 If a set has n elements, then the cardinality of the power

set is 2ⁿ. (In Chapters 5 and 6, we will discuss different
ways to show this.)
 Tuples

 The ordered n-tuple (a1,a2,…..,an) is the ordered

collection that has a1 as its first element and a2 as its
second element and so on until an as its last element.
 Two n-tuples are equal if and only if their corresponding
elements are equal.
 2-tuples are called ordered pairs.
 The ordered pairs (a,b) and (c,d) are equal if and only if a
= c and b = d.
 Cartesian Product

Definition: The Cartesian Product of two sets A and

B, denoted by A × B is the set of ordered pairs (a,b)
where a ∈ A and b ∈ B .

Example:
A = {a,b} B = {1,2,3}
A × B = {(a,1),(a,2),(a,3), (b,1),(b,2),(b,3)}

 Definition: A subset R of the Cartesian product A ×

B is called a relation from the set A to the set B.
 Cartesian Product

Definition: The cartesian products of the sets A1,A2,……,An,

denoted by A1 × A2 × …… × An , is the set of ordered
n-tuples (a1,a2,……,an) where ai belongs to Ai
for i = 1, … n.

Example: What is A × B × C where A = {0,1}, B = {1,2}

and C = {0,1,2}
Solution: A × B × C = {(0,1,0), (0,1,1), (0,1,2),(0,2,0), (0,2,1),
(0,2,2),(1,1,0), (1,1,1), (1,1,2), (1,2,0), (1,2,1), (1,2,2)}
 Truth Sets of Quantifiers

 Given a predicate P and a domain D, we define the truth

set of P to be the set of elements in D for which P(x) is
true. The truth set of P(x) is denoted by

 Example: The truth set of P(x) where the domain is the

integers and P(x) is “|x| = 1” is the set {-1,1}
 Query???

1 2 3 4 ....
 x    y  ( x  y )  ?

  1
 x 1 x ?
 x 1  ?
x

 x( | x )  ?  x    y  ( x  y )  ?

 1
1 2 3 4 .... ?
 x 1  ?
1  1  1  1  1 .........  ? x