A SET is a collection of numbers, objects or people.

Each item in a set is referred to as an element or a

member.
Examples: - set of books for Math 436
- set of tools used by a carpenter
- set of furniture for a bedroom
- set of students that have completed
Math 416
- set of people who were born during the
month of October
- set of people who work at a restaurant
- set of odd numbers
- set of numbers that are less than 6
There are several ways in which a SET can be
expressed. Three ways that will be used in this
chapter are:
LISTING
SET-BUILDER NOTATION
VENN DIAGRAM

When describing a set, special brackets are used

to contain the set.

{ }
It is inappropriate to use either of the following
sets of brackets to represent a set.

( ) [ ]
LISTING or Roster form
- when representing a set using this form there
are rules to follow.
Set name must be a single uppercase letter
like A, B, X or N but NOT a, b, x, Am, or Bb
Each element must be separated by a
comma or a semicolon.
Each element must be present only once.
A specific order is not required however it is
often convenient to list terms in order.
Suspension points (…) may be used to
replace elements when there is a predictable
sequence of elements.
 Example of some sets by LISTING or Roster form
P = {Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward
Island}
A = {Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Thierry Henry} n(A) = 3
C = {Blue, White, Red} n(C) = 3
T = {Teddy, Mihaela, Jean, Brian, Jack, Augusta, Vicky, Mariette}
n(T) = 8
M = {January, March, May, July, August, October, December}
n(M) = 7
O = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, n(O) = N/A E = { } n(E) = 0
…}
S = {0, 1, 4, 9, 16, n(S) = N/A B = {-2, -1, 0, 1, 2, … , n(B) = 9
…} 6}
L = {1, 4, 3, 0, 2}
n(L) = 5 D = {-40, -38, -36, … , 26, 28, 30} n(D) = 36
Some of these sets are finite (countable number of elements)
and some are infinite (uncountable number of elements). The
number of elements in a set is referred to as the cardinal
number of a set. If a set is finite, it has a cardinal number. If
it is infinite, it does not. The cardinal number is denoted as
shown n(set name).
For the first set above it would be shown as follows:
n(P) = 4
Notice that the cardinal number for set E is 0. This
set is a special set in that it has no elements. We
have several names for it – Empty Set or Null Set or
Void Set. Either way it has no elements and it can be
represented in either of 2 ways.
{ } or Ø
But not
{ thanØ people
} or other
For our purposes we will be working with sets
involving numbers more
things.
There are special sets involving numbers that you
need to know as they will be referred to often
throughout this
See handout onand other
Groups ofMath courses.
Numbers.
SET-BUILDER NOTATION
- This is basically a form where the set is described
instead of listed. The description however follows a
strict format.
A set-builder description of the set of natural
numbers less than 10 is shown below.
A={xЄN|x<
10}
As with listing sets the set name is a single uppercase
letter ( ‘A’ in this case).
When expressing with set-builder notation there are
new symbols and concepts that you must become
familiar with. symbol, Є - this symbol means ‘is an
Membership
element of’ OR ‘belongs1to’.
ЄL 5 Є L 5 does not belong to
L = {1, 4, 3, 0, 2} 3ЄL -1 Є L-1 is not an element of L
0ЄL L
A={xЄN|x<
10}
When expressing in set-builder notation, the first
section inside the bracket states that ‘x Є ‘ of some
universe. A universe is a set from which all possible
elements are considered for the set being described.
The universe is usually natural numbers (N), integers
(Z) or real numbers (R).
Separating the first section in the brackets from the
second section, is a the following symbol ‘ | ’. This
symbol can be read as ‘such that’ OR ‘whereas’.
The second section in the brackets describes the
elements of the set. It basically restricts the elements
from the universe that satisfies the set.
N = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,
15,
A = …}
{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9}
P = {Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward
Island}
P = {x Є a province of Canada| x is an Atlantic province}
C = {Blue, White, Red}
C = {x Є a color| x is a color in the Montreal Canadiens jersey}
T = {Teddy, Mihaela, Jean, Brian, Jack, Augusta, Vicky, Mariette}
T = {x Є a PACC teacher| x is a Math teacher}
M = {January, March, May, July, August, October, December}
M = {x Є a month of the year| x has 31
days}
O = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9,
…}
O = {x Є N| x is an odd number}
S = {0, 1, 4, 9, 16,
…}
S = {x Є N| x is a perfect square}
B = {-2, -1, 0, 1, 2, … ,
6}= {x Є Z| -3 < x < 7}
B
D = {-40, -38, -36, … , 26, 28, 30}
D = {x Є Z| x is an even number and -41 < x < 31}
The same set can be represented either by listing or set-builder
notation and if one form is presented, we should be able to
convert it to the other form.
VENN DIAGRAM – A closed figure containing the
elements of the set.
A = {x Є Z| -4 < x < 6 and x is an even number} … Set-builder
notation
A = {-2, 0, 2, 4} … Roster form
Venn
When constructing a Venn diagram, a diagram
A
closed figure must be drawn with each 2
element represented inside by a dot. 4 -2
The name (A in this case) must sit
outside of the closed figure. 0

U = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} U
A = {0, 1, 2, 7
A
3}
B = {3, 4, 5} 2 4 B
1 3 5

0 6
 N
A = {x Є N| 2 < x <
0 1
7} A 2
B = {x Є N| x = 3} 6
7
4 3
B 8
9
5 …

A
B U={ }
1 3
4
A=
2
5 {
B= }
8
{
C= }
6 { }
7 C
 R
Q Q’

N
A = {x Є N| 4 < x < B = {x Є N| 5 ≤ x ≤
7} 6}
4 5 6 7 8 4 5 6 7 8

What is the difference between sets A and

B?
What is the difference between sets A and
C?
What is the difference between sets B and
D?
What is the difference between sets C and
D?

C = {x Є R| 4 < x < D = {x Є R| 5 ≤ x ≤
7} 6}
4 5 6 7 8 4 5 6 7 8