VENN DIAGRAM

Venn Diagram
• Venn diagrams are an effective way of representing sets and their
operations and constitute a solving technique for problems based on
sets and this operations.
• It is, therefore, imperative that before we discuss Venn diagrams, we
need to understand the conceptual principles of set and its operations.
SET THEORY
• The three terms that are essential in understanding the set theory are – set,
universal set and subset.
• A set is a collection of well-defined objects. Each member of a set is called an
element. All elements of a set follow a certain pattern and share a common property
among them.
• For, example, the collection of first five prime numbers is a set containing the
elements 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 and the rule that is common to them is that all the five
numbers are prime. Similarly, the collection of cricketers in the world who were out
for 99 runs in a test match is a set. All of them had missed the century by one run.
• But the collection of good cricket players of India does not constitute a set since the
term ‘good player’ is vague and not well-defined.
• Similarly, the set of vowels in English alphabet is V(vowels)
= {a, e, i, o, u}
Rules for writing a set
• A set is denoted by a capital letter and the elements of the set in small letters as indicated in
the following examples.
• A = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
• B = {a, b, c, d, e}
• Here, A and B are the sets while 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and a, b, c, d, e are the elements belonging to the
sets A and B respectively.
• The symbol ε is used to denote that an element belongs to a set. In the above examples, 3 A
and c B. Following are certain standard letters used for some particular sets.
• N: Set of all natural numbers (1, 2, 3, …)
• Z: Set of all integers (3, 2, 1, 0, –1, –2)
• Q: Set of all rational numbers
• R: Set of all real numbers
• C: Set of all complex numbers
• Universal Set: A set that contains all sets in a given context is called the universal set and it is
denoted by U.
•  
Illustration
1: In two dimensional co-ordinate geometry, the set of all points in xy-plane is the
universal set.
2. When we are using sets containing natural numbers, then N is the universal set.
Subsets: Let A and B be two sets. If every element of A is an element of B, then A is
called a subset of B. It is written as Set B is said to be a superset of A and is written as

Illustration:
A = (1, 2, 3) and B = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
It may be seen that every elements set A is an element of set B. Set A is, therefore, a
subset of set B is the superset of
Null Set A set is said to be null or empty if it has no element and is denoted by
A null set is a subset of every set and every set is a subset of itself.
Venn Diagrams
• Venn diagrams are an alternate way of depicting sets. The universal set U is
represented by points within a rectangle and its subsets are represented by points
in closed curves (usually circles) within the rectangle. If set A is a subset of set B,
then the circle representing A is drawn in the circle representing B as shown in
fig. 1(i). If A and B are not equal but they have some common elements, then they
are represented by two intersecting circles (fig. 1(ii)).
• If A and B have nothing in common and they are two disjoint sets, they are
represented by two non-intersecting circles (fig. 1(iii)).
• Venn diagrams are not generally drawn to scale. Elements that do not belong
to any of the given sets are shown outside the sets but within the rectangle of
the universal set.

• The above figure is a representation of a Venn diagram. Here, each circle A, B

and C represents a set of elements.
• Set A has the elements a, d, e and g.
• Set B has the elements b, d, g and f.
• Set C has the elements e, g, f and c.
• Both A and B have the elements d and g.
• Both B and C have the elements g and f.
• Both C and A have the elements e and g.
• A, B and C all have the element g.
To elaborate further,
• Let us now represent the findings of the following survey in the form of
a Venn diagram and evolve out further information, if any.
• In a survey on a sample of 1000 persons with reference to their
knowledge of Tamil, English and Hindi languages, it was reported that
542 persons knew Tamil, 538 persons knew English and 538 persons
knew Hindi. As many as 105 persons knew both Tamil and English, 78
persons knew both English and Hindi and 85 person both Hindi and
Tamil while 175 persons knew all the three languages.
• We can now find out the following additional
information from the diagram.
•  Number of persons who knew only Tamil = a
(a)
a 542 – (105 + 175 + 85)
542 – 365 = 177
(b) Number of persons who knew only English = b
b 538 – (105 + 175 + 78)
538 – 358 = 180
(c) Number of persons who knew only Hindi = c
c 538 – (78 + 175 + 85)
538 – 338 = 200
(d) Number of persons who knew exactly one language
= 177 + 180 = 200 = 557
(e) Number of persons who knew exactly two languages
105 + 78 + 85 = 268
(f) Number of persons who knew all the three languages = 175
(g) Number of persons who knew at least two languages (this includes
persons who knew all the three languages)
= 105 + 78 + 85 + 175 = 443
Thus, with the help of the Venn diagram, we have been able to get all
possible information from the sample survey and as a result, we can easily
answer any type of question that may follow.
Example 1: Express the following as Venn diagram
(a) Relation between languages, English and Hindi
(b) Relation between cats and dogs
(c) Relation amongst boy, girl and student
(d) Relation amongst pigeons, birds and dogs
Solutions
(a) English and Hindi are two different languages and come under ‘Language’ in general.
The Venn diagram is as follows.
 
(b) Cats and dogs are two different categories of animals and hence, the Venn diagram is
(c) Boy and girl come under the category ‘student’ but they are separate
by gender. Hence, the Venn diagram is

(d) Pigeons belong to the class of birds but dogs come under the class of
animals. Hence, the Venn diagram is as follows.
Example 2: In interviewing a set of persons, it was found that they come under
different categories. Some of them are educated, some are employed and a few hail from
rural regions.
The following Venn diagram represents the classification of persons in each category.

Questions
1. How many educated persons other than rural are employed?
2. How many educated rural persons are employed?
3. How many rural persons are educated but not employed?
4. How many persons who are employed were neither educated nor from rural regions?
Solutions
There are three closed figures in the diagram, a triangle, a circle and a rectangle. Each of these
figures represents the set of persons coming under the three categories. The number written
in each region a to g indicates the set of persons belonging to that region.
Let us now answer the questions given.
1. Refer to region b in the Venn diagram. It represents the intersection of the triangle set and
the rectangle set. Therefore, the number of persons who are educated and employed = 12.
2. Region ‘g’ represents the intersection of the circle set, the triangle set and the rectangle set.
Therefore, the number of educated rural persons who are employed = 6.
3. Refer to region ‘d’ which covers the intersection of triangle set and the circle set. Therefore,
the number of rural persons who are educated and not employed = 22.
4. Region ‘f’ represents the number of persons who are employed but neither educated nor
from rural region = 14.
Example 3: Amongst the staff in a company, 85 persons are degree holders and
72 persons are certificate holders,
20 persons are both degree and certificate holders only,
12 persons both certificate and diploma holders only and
30 persons both diploma and degree holders only. Further,
10 persons are only degree holders.
Questions
1. How many persons possess all the three qualifications?
2. How many persons are diploma holders?
3. How many persons possess at least two qualifications?
4. How many persons hold exactly one qualification?
5. How many persons are diploma holders?
•
Solutions
 
The given information in the example can be represented by the following Venn diagram.
1. Let x be the number of persons who hold all the three qualifications.
Then, 10 + 20 + x + 30 = 85
Persons, holding all the three qualifications, are 25.
2. From the diagram, number of persons who are diploma holders = 30 + 25 + 12 + 5 = 72
3. From the diagram, number of persons who possess at least two qualifications (which
includes persons with all the three qualifications)
= 20 + 12 + 30 + x
= 20 + 12 + 30 + 25 = 87
4. It is clear from the diagram, number of persons who hold exactly one qualification
= 10 + 15 + 5 = 30
5. As per diagram, number of diploma holders
= 12 + 5 + 30 + 25 = 72
PRACTICE EXERCISE
Directions for Q1 to Q6: Read the following passage and answer the questions given below.
In a survey, it was reported that a total of 500 persons knew English, 550 persons Hindi and
460 persons Sanskrit. Among these, 110 persons knew only Hindi and Sanskrit, 120 persons
knew only English and Hindi and 80 knew only English and Sanskrit. There were 100 persons
who knew all the three languages. A total of 1000 persons were surveyed.
1. How many persons knew only Hindi?
(a) 240 (b) 220 (c) 250 (d) 260

2. How many persons knew at least two languages?

(a) 400 (b) 430 (c) 410 (d) 450

3. How many persons knew English or Sanskrit but not Hindi?

(a) 450 (b) 500 (c) 540 (d) 400
Directions for Q1 to Q6: Read the following passage and answer the questions given
below.
In a survey, it was reported that a total of 500 persons knew English, 550 persons Hindi
and 460 persons Sanskrit. Among these, 110 persons knew only Hindi and Sanskrit, 120
persons knew only English and Hindi and 80 knew only English and Sanskrit. There were
100 persons who knew all the three languages. A total of 1000 persons were surveyed.
4. How many persons knew English and Sanskrit but not Hindi?
(a) 100 (b) 80 (c) 110 (d) 120
5. How many persons knew exactly one of three languages?
(a) 590 (b) 690 (c) 670 (d) 700
6. What is the ratio of those who knew all the three languages to those who knew only
Sanskrit?
(a) 1/9 (b) 1/10 (c) 10/17 (d) 5/27
Directions for Q7 to Q11: Read the following passage and answer the questions given below.
In a survey conducted by an Employment Agency, 130 persons were asked about their
qualifications. It was reported from their response that 85 were Engineering graduates, 72
were Science graduates and 73 were Computer programmers. Further, it was reported that 25
persons possessed all the three qualifications, 20 persons had qualified in Engineering and
Science, 12 persons in Science and Programming and 30 in Engineering and Programming.
7. How many persons were only Science graduates?
(a) 10 (b) 15 (c) 6 (d) 25

8. How many persons were possessing exactly two of the three qualifications?
(a) 45 (b) 55 (c) 62 (d) 37

9. How many persons were not Engineering graduates?

(a) 62 (b) 45 (c) 75 (d) 87
Directions for Q7 to Q11: Read the following passage and answer the questions given
below.
In a survey conducted by an Employment Agency, 130 persons were asked about their
qualifications. It was reported from their response that 85 were Engineering graduates, 72
were Science graduates and 73 were Computer programmers. Further, it was reported that
25 persons possessed all the three qualifications, 20 persons had qualified in Engineering
and Science, 12 persons in Science and Programming and 30 in Engineering and
Programming.
10. How many persons were both Engineers and Computer Programmes but not Science
graduates?
(a) 25 (b) 30 (c) 16 (d) 50
 
11. How many persons were possessing at least one of the three qualifications?
(a) 118 (b) 31 (c) 62 (d) 93
Directions for Q12 to Q16: Read the
following passage and answer the
questions given below.
In the Venn diagram given below, the
12. Which section represents educated
square represents woman, the triangle
represents persons who are in women who are in Government jobs?
Government service, the circle (a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 6(d) 4
represents educated persons and the
rectangle represents persons working
in private sector. Each section of the
diagram is numbered. Study the
diagram carefully and answer the
questions that follow.
Directions for Q12 to Q16: Read the
following passage and answer the
questions given below.
In the Venn diagram given below, the
13. Which section represents the
square represents woman, the triangle
uneducated women who have
represents persons who are in
Government jobs as well as jobs in
Government service, the circle
private sector?
represents educated persons and the
(a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 12 (d) 9
rectangle represents persons working
in private sector. Each section of the
diagram is numbered. Study the
diagram carefully and answer the
questions that follow.
Directions for Q12 to Q16: Read the
following passage and answer the
questions given below.
In the Venn diagram given below, the
square represents woman, the triangle
14. Section numbered 10 represents which of the
represents persons who are in following?
Government service, the circle (a) Educated women in private jobs
represents educated persons and the (b) Uneducated women in Government jobs
(c) Educated men working in private sector
rectangle represents persons working
(d) Educated men having private as well as
in private sector. Each section of the Government jobs
diagram is numbered. Study the
diagram carefully and answer the
questions that follow.
Directions for Q12 to Q16: Read the
following passage and answer the
questions given below.
In the Venn diagram given below, the
square represents woman, the triangle
represents persons who are in 15. Which section represents educated
Government service, the circle represents women who neither have Government
educated persons and the rectangle nor private sector jobs?
represents persons working in private (a) 2 (b) 3(c) 6 (d) 5
sector. Each section of the diagram is
numbered. Study the diagram carefully
and answer the questions that follow.
Directions for Q12 to Q16: Read the
following passage and answer the
questions given below.
In the Venn diagram given below, the
16. Which section represents
square represents woman, the triangle
represents persons who are in uneducated men who are in private
Government service, the circle sector jobs?
(a) 8 (b) 10 (c) 11 (d) 12
represents educated persons and the
rectangle represents persons working
in private sector. Each section of the
diagram is numbered. Study the
diagram carefully and answer the
questions that follow.
Directions for Q17 to Q21: A survey of 17. How many people were surveyed?
faculty and graduate students at the (a) 84
University of Madras revealed the (b) 85
following information: 51 admire Moe, (c) 83
49 admire Larry, 60 admire Curly, 34 (d) 86
admire Moe and Larry, 32 admire Larry
and Curly, 36 admire Moe and Curly, 24
admire all three of the Stooges and 1
admires none of the three Stooges.
Directions for Q17 to Q21: A survey of 18. How many admire Curly but not
faculty and graduate students at the Larry nor Moe?
University of Madras revealed the (a) 16
following information: 51 admire Moe, (b) 18
49 admire Larry, 60 admire Curly, 34 (c) 20
admire Moe and Larry, 32 admire Larry (d) 19
and Curly, 36 admire Moe and Curly, 24
admire all three of the Stooges and 1
admires none of the three Stooges.
Directions for Q17 to Q21: A survey of 19. How many admire Larry or Curly?
faculty and graduate students at the (a) 79
University of Madras revealed the (b) 76
following information: 51 admire Moe, (c) 80
49 admire Larry, 60 admire Curly, 34 (d) 77
admire Moe and Larry, 32 admire Larry
and Curly, 36 admire Moe and Curly, 24
admire all three of the Stooges and 1
admires none of the three Stooges.
Directions for Q17 to Q21: A survey of 20. How many admire exactly one of the
faculty and graduate students at the Stooges?
University of Madras revealed the (a) 22
following information: 51 admire Moe, (b) 28
49 admire Larry, 60 admire Curly, 34 (c) 26
admire Moe and Larry, 32 admire Larry (d) 24
and Curly, 36 admire Moe and Curly, 24
admire all three of the Stooges and 1
admires none of the three Stooges.
Directions for Q17 to Q21: A survey of 21. How many admire exactly two of the
faculty and graduate students at the Stooges?
University of Madras revealed the (a) 30
following information: 51 admire Moe, (b) 34
49 admire Larry, 60 admire Curly, 34 (c) 36
admire Moe and Larry, 32 admire Larry (d) 28
and Curly, 36 admire Moe and Curly, 24
admire all three of the Stooges and 1
admires none of the three Stooges.
Directions for Q22 to Q25: At 22. English but not Business studies or
Dawnview High, there are 400 Grade II Computer Science.
learners. 270 do Computer Science, 300 (a) 7/80
do English and 50 do Business studies. (b) 9/80
All those doing Computer Science do (c) 11/80
English, 20 take Computer Science and (d) 3/80
Business studies and 35 take English
and Business studies. Using a Venn
diagram, calculate the probability that a
pupil drawn at random will take
Directions for Q22 to Q25: At 23. English but not Business studies.
Dawnview High, there are 400 Grade II (a) 57/80
learners. 270 do Computer Science, 300 (b) 53/80
do English and 50 do Business studies. (c) 59/80
All those doing Computer Science do (d) 61/80
English, 20 take Computer Science and
Business studies and 35 take English
and Business studies. Using a Venn
diagram, calculate the probability that a
pupil drawn at random will take
Directions for Q22 to Q25: At 24. English or Business studies but not
Dawnview High, there are 400 Grade II Computer Science.
learners. 270 do Computer Science, 300 (a) 9/80
do English and 50 do Business studies. (b) 13/80
All those doing Computer Science do (c) 7/80
English, 20 take Computer Science and (d) 19/80
Business studies and 35 take English
and Business studies. Using a Venn
diagram, calculate the probability that a
pupil drawn at random will take
Directions for Q22 to Q25: At 25. English or Business studies.
Dawnview High, there are 400 Grade II (a) 67/80
learners. 270 do Computer Science, 300 (b) 69/80
do English and 50 do Business studies. (c) 63/80
All those doing Computer Science do (d) 63/80
English, 20 take Computer Science and
Business studies and 35 take English
and Business studies. Using a Venn
diagram, calculate the probability that a
pupil drawn at random will take
26. This year, x people won an Olympic medal for water competitions.
One-third of the winners earned a medal for swimming and one-fourth of
those who earned a medal for swimming also earned a medal for diving.
How many people won an Olympic medal for water competitions but did
not receive both a medal for swimming and a medal for diving?
(a) 11x/12
(b) 7x/12
(c) 5x/12
(d) 6x/7
27. A survey was conducted among consumers who use products in liquid
and powder form. One third of them don't use liquid. Two fifth of them
don't use powder. 427 use both powder and liquid and one fifth use
neither of the products. What is the total number of consumers?
(a) 815
(b) 715
(c) 615
(d) 915
28. In a class of 120 students, numbered 1 to 120, all even numbered
students opt for Physics, those whose numbers are divisible by 5 opt for
Chemistry and those whose numbers are divisible by 7 opt for Maths.
How many opt for none of the three subjects?
(a) 19
(b) 41
(c) 21
(d) 57
29. Of the 200 candidates who were interviewed for a position at a call
center, 100 had a two-wheeler, 70 had a credit card and 140 had a mobile
phone. 40 of them had both, a two-wheeler and a credit card, 30 had both,
a credit card and a mobile phone and 60 had both, a two wheeler and a
mobile phone and 10 had all the three. How many candidates had none of
the three?
(a) 0
(b) 20
(c) 10
(d) 18
30. In a class of 40 students, 12 enrolled for both English and German. 22
enrolled for German. If the students of the class enrolled for at least one of
the two subjects, then how many students enrolled for only English and not
German?
(a) 30
(b) 10
(c) 18
(d) 28
31. In a class, 40% of the students enrolled for Maths and 70% enrolled for
Economics. If 15% of the students enrolled for both Maths and Economics,
what percentage of the students of the class did not enrol for either of the
two subjects?
(a) 5%
(b) 15%
(c) 0%
(d) 25%
Directions for Q32 to Q36: These 32. How many students in the class
questions are based on the data passed in at least one subject?
given below. (a) 20

In a class of 150 students, 70 (b) 180

students passed Physics and 90 in (c) 140
Statistics. 10 students failed in both (d) 160
the subjects.
Directions for Q32 to Q36: These 33. How many students passed in
questions are based on the data both the subjects?
given below. (a) 20

In a class of 150 students, 70 (b) 160

students passed Physics and 90 in (c) 40
Statistics. 10 students failed in both (d) 140
the subjects.
Directions for Q32 to Q36: These 34. What percentage (approx) of
questions are based on the data students who passed in at least one
given below. subject, failed only in Statistics?

In a class of 150 students, 70 (a) 70

students passed Physics and 90 in (b) 35

Statistics. 10 students failed in both (c) 280
the subjects. (d) 40
Directions for Q32 to Q36: These 35. What percentage (approx) of
questions are based on the data students who passed in Physics also
given below. passed in Statistics?

In a class of 150 students, 70 (a) 14

students passed Physics and 90 in (b) 42

Statistics. 10 students failed in both (c) 36
the subjects. (d) 28
Directions for Q32 to Q36: These 36. How many students passed in
questions are based on the data exactly one subject?
given below. (a) 160

In a class of 150 students, 70 (b) 120

students passed Physics and 90 in (c) 140
Statistics. 10 students failed in both (d) 20
the subjects.
Directions for Q37 to Q41: These
37. Which area represents the
questions are based on the
following venn diagram. number of people who play
Volleyball and Cricket but not
Football?
(a) a + g
(b) e
(c) d
(d) e + f
Directions for Q37 to Q41: These
38. Which area represents the
questions are based on the
following venn diagram. number of people who play
Volleyball or Football but not
Cricket?
(a) d + f
(b) a + b + c
(c) c
(d) c + e
Directions for Q37 to Q41: These
39. Which area represents the
questions are based on the
following venn diagram. number of people who play Cricket
or Football?
(a) b + g
(b) b + f + g
(c) b + c + d + e + f + g (d) c +
d+e
Directions for Q37 to Q41: These
40. Which area represents the
questions are based on the
following venn diagram. number of people who play at least
two games?
(a) c + d + f
(b) c + d + e + f
(c) a + b + e + d + f + g
(d) None of these
Directions for Q37 to Q41: These
41. Which area represents the
questions are based on the
following venn diagram. number of people who play exactly
two games?
(a) n + e
(b) a + b + g
(c) c + d + f
(d) c + d + e + f
Directions for Q42 to Q45: These 42. How many people are there in the
questions are based on the data locality?
given below. (a) 65
In a locality, three magazines are (b) 70
read, namely India Today, Sports (c) 50
Star and Business India. 45 people (d) 90
read only one magazine, 20 read
exactly two magazines and 5 read
all the three. There is no one who
does not read any of the three
magazines.
Directions for Q42 to Q45: These 43. How many people read at least
questions are based on the data two magazines?
given below. (a) 25
In a locality, three magazines are (b) 20
read, namely India Today, Sports (c) 50
Star and Business India. 45 people (d) 45
read only one magazine, 20 read
exactly two magazines and 5 read
all the three. There is no one who
does not read any of the three
magazines.
Directions for Q42 to Q45: These 44. If the ratio of people who read
questions are based on the data India Today to those who read Sports
given below. Star to those who read Business
In a locality, three magazines are India is 2:3:4 and 18 people read
read, namely India Today, Sports India today, then how many read
Star and Business India. 45 people Sports Star?
read only one magazine, 20 read (a) 28
exactly two magazines and 5 read (b) 27
all the three. There is no one who (c) 36
does not read any of the three (d) 54
magazines.
Directions for Q42 to Q45: These 45. If 10 people stop reading India
questions are based on the data Today and start reading Business
given below. India, then what is the maximum
In a locality, three magazines are number of people who read exactly
read, namely India Today, Sports two magazines?
Star and Business India. 45 people (a) 20
read only one magazine, 20 read (b) 30
exactly two magazines and 5 read (c) 25
all the three. There is no one who (d) 55
does not read any of the three
magazines.