Set Builder Notation & Interval Notation
Set Builder Notation & Interval Notation
Notation
Elements of a set
a ∊ A means that element a is in the
set A
Example: A = the set of all odd
integers bigger than 2 but less than or
equal to 11
3∊A
4∉A
15 ∉ A
Set builder notation
Example: A = the set of all odd
integers bigger than 2 but less than or
equal to 11
A = {3, 5, 7, 9, 11}
Example: A = the set of all irrational
numbers between 1 and 2
A = {x| x is irrational and 1<x<2}
Reads as A is the set of all x such that x is
irrational and 1<x<2
Interval notations
Closed interval: [a,b] is the set of
all numbers not smaller than a and
not bigger than b
[a,b] = {x | a≤x≤b}
Example:
[-1,3]
-1 3 x
Interval notations
Open intervals: (a,b) is the set of all
numbers bigger than a and smaller
than b
(a,b) = {x | a<x<b}
Example:
(-1,3)
-1 3 x
Interval notations
Half-Open (half-closed) intervals:
(a,b] is the set of all numbers bigger
than a and smaller than or equal to b
(a,b] = {x | a<x≤b}
Example:
(-1,3]
-1 3 x
(-∞,a] = {x | x≤a} a
(-∞,a) = {x | x<a} a
1
Intersection
The intersection
of two sets A B
A and B
is the set of all
elements x such that
x is in A AND x is in B
A∩B
Notation:
A ∩ B = { x | x ∊ A and x ∊ B}
Intersection
Examples
If A = (-1,1) ∪ [2, 4] and B=(0,3]
then A ∩ B = (0,1) ∪ [2, 3]
-1 0 1 2 3 4