Algebra of Set

en.wikipedia.org
Chapter 1

Algebra of sets

This article is about algebraic properties of set operations in general. For a boolean algebra of sets, see Field of sets.

The algebra of sets denes the properties and laws of sets, the set-theoretic operations of union, intersection, and
complementation and the relations of set equality and set inclusion. It also provides systematic procedures for evalu-
ating expressions, and performing calculations, involving these operations and relations.
Any set of sets closed under the set-theoretic operations forms a Boolean algebra with the join operator being union,
the meet operator being intersection, the complement operator being set complement, the bottom being and the top
being the universal set.

1.1 Fundamentals
The algebra of sets is the set-theoretic analogue of the algebra of numbers. Just as arithmetic addition and multiplication
are associative and commutative, so are set union and intersection; just as the arithmetic relation less than or equal
is reexive, antisymmetric and transitive, so is the set relation of subset.
It is the algebra of the set-theoretic operations of union, intersection and complementation, and the relations of
equality and inclusion. For a basic introduction to sets see the article on sets, for a fuller account see naive set theory,
and for a full rigorous axiomatic treatment see axiomatic set theory.

1.2 The fundamental laws of set algebra

The binary operations of set union ( ) and intersection ( ) satisfy many identities. Several of these identities or
laws have well established names.

Commutative laws:

AB =BA
AB =BA

Associative laws:

(A B) C = A (B C)
(A B) C = A (B C)

Distributive laws:

A (B C) = (A B) (A C)
A (B C) = (A B) (A C)

2
1.3. THE PRINCIPLE OF DUALITY 3

The union and intersection of sets may be seen as analogous to the addition and multiplication of numbers. Like
addition and multiplication, the operations of union and intersection are commutative and associative, and intersection
distributes over union. However, unlike addition and multiplication, union also distributes over intersection.
Two additional pairs of laws involve the special sets called the empty set and the universal set U ; together with
the complement operator (AC denotes the complement of A). The empty set has no members, and the universal set
has all possible members (in a particular context).

Identity laws:

A=A
AU =A

Complement laws:

A AC = U
A AC =

The identity laws (together with the commutative laws) say that, just like 0 and 1 for addition and multiplication,
and U are the identity elements for union and intersection, respectively.
Unlike addition and multiplication, union and intersection do not have inverse elements. However the complement
laws give the fundamental properties of the somewhat inverse-like unary operation of set complementation.
The preceding ve pairs of lawsthe commutative, associative, distributive, identity and complement lawsencompass
all of set algebra, in the sense that every valid proposition in the algebra of sets can be derived from them.
Note that if the complement laws are weakened to the rule (AC )C = A , then this is exactly the algebra of proposi-
tional linear logic.

1.3 The principle of duality

See also: Duality (order theory)

Each of the identities stated above is one of a pair of identities such that each can be transformed into the other by
interchanging and , and also and U.
These are examples of an extremely important and powerful property of set algebra, namely, the principle of duality
for sets, which asserts that for any true statement about sets, the dual statement obtained by interchanging unions and
intersections, interchanging U and and reversing inclusions is also true. A statement is said to be self-dual if it is
equal to its own dual.

1.4 Some additional laws for unions and intersections

The following proposition states six more important laws of set algebra, involving unions and intersections.
PROPOSITION 3: For any subsets A and B of a universal set U, the following identities hold:

idempotent laws:

AA=A
AA=A

domination laws:

AU =U
A=

absorption laws:
4 CHAPTER 1. ALGEBRA OF SETS

A (A B) = A
A (A B) = A

As noted above, each of the laws stated in proposition 3 can be derived from the ve fundamental pairs of laws stated
above. As an illustration, a proof is given below for the idempotent law for union.
Proof:
The following proof illustrates that the dual of the above proof is the proof of the dual of the idempotent law for
union, namely the idempotent law for intersection.
Proof:
Intersection can be expressed in terms of set dierence :
A B = A (A B)

1.5 Some additional laws for complements

The following proposition states ve more important laws of set algebra, involving complements.
PROPOSITION 4: Let A and B be subsets of a universe U, then:

De Morgans laws:
(A B)C = AC B C
(A B)C = AC B C
double complement or Involution law:
C
(AC ) = A
complement laws for the universal set and the empty set:
C = U
UC =

Notice that the double complement law is self-dual.

The next proposition, which is also self-dual, says that the complement of a set is the only set that satises the
complement laws. In other words, complementation is characterized by the complement laws.
PROPOSITION 5: Let A and B be subsets of a universe U, then:

uniqueness of complements:
If A B = U , and A B = , then B = AC

1.6 The algebra of inclusion

The following proposition says that inclusion, that is the binary relation of one set being a subset of another, is a
partial order.
PROPOSITION 6: If A, B and C are sets then the following hold:

reexivity:
AA

antisymmetry:
A B and B A if and only if A = B
1.7. THE ALGEBRA OF RELATIVE COMPLEMENTS 5

transitivity:
If A B and B C , then A C

The following proposition says that for any set S, the power set of S, ordered by inclusion, is a bounded lattice, and
hence together with the distributive and complement laws above, show that it is a Boolean algebra.
PROPOSITION 7: If A, B and C are subsets of a set S then the following hold:

existence of a least element and a greatest element:

AS

existence of joins:
AAB
If A C and B C , then A B C

existence of meets:
AB A
If C A and C B , then C A B

The following proposition says that the statement A B is equivalent to various other statements involving unions,
intersections and complements.
PROPOSITION 8: For any two sets A and B, the following are equivalent:

AB
AB =A
AB =B
AB =
B C AC

The above proposition shows that the relation of set inclusion can be characterized by either of the operations of set
union or set intersection, which means that the notion of set inclusion is axiomatically superuous.

1.7 The algebra of relative complements

The following proposition lists several identities concerning relative complements and set-theoretic dierences.
PROPOSITION 9: For any universe U and subsets A, B, and C of U, the following identities hold:

C \ (A B) = (C \ A) (C \ B)
C \ (A B) = (C \ A) (C \ B)
C \ (B \ A) = (A C) (C \ B)
(B \ A) C = (B C) \ A = B (C \ A)
(B \ A) C = (B C) \ (A \ C)
A\A=
\A=
A\=A
B \ A = AC B
(B \ A)C = A B C
U \ A = AC
A\U =
6 CHAPTER 1. ALGEBRA OF SETS

1.8 See also

-algebra is an algebra of sets, completed to include countably innite operations.

Axiomatic set theory

Field of sets

Naive set theory

Set (mathematics)
Topological space a subset of (X) , the power set of X , closed with respect to arbitrary union, nite
intersection and containing and X .

1.9 References
Stoll, Robert R.; Set Theory and Logic, Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications (1979) ISBN 0-486-63829-4. The
Algebra of Sets, pp 1623
Courant, Richard, Herbert Robbins, Ian Stewart, What is mathematics?: An Elementary Approach to Ideas and
Methods, Oxford University Press US, 1996. ISBN 978-0-19-510519-3. SUPPLEMENT TO CHAPTER II
THE ALGEBRA OF SETS

1.10 External links

Operations on Sets at ProvenMath
Chapter 2

Complement (set theory)

In set theory, the complement of a set A refers to elements not in A.

When all sets under consideration are considered to be subsets of a given set U, the absolute complement of A is
the set of elements in U but not in A.
The relative complement of A with respect to a set B, also termed the dierence of sets A and B, written B A, is
the set of elements in B but not in A.

2.1 Absolute complement

The absolute complement of A in U: A = U \ A

7
8 CHAPTER 2. COMPLEMENT (SET THEORY)

2.1.1 Denition
If A is a set, then the absolute complement of A (or simply the complement of A) is the set of elements not in A. In
other words, if U is the universe that contains all the elements under study, and there is no need to mention it because
it is obvious and unique, then the absolute complement of A is the relative complement of A in U:[1]

A = U \ A
Formally:

A = {x U | x
/ A}.
The absolute complement of A is usually denoted by A . Other notations include Ac , A , A , U A , and A .[2]

2.1.2 Examples
Assume that the universe is the set of integers. If A is the set of odd numbers, then the complement of A is the
set of even numbers. If B is the set of multiples of 3, then the complement of B is the set of numbers congruent
to 1 or 2 modulo 3.
Assume that the universe is the standard 52-card deck. If the set A is the suit of spades, then the complement
of A is the union of the suits of clubs, diamonds, and hearts. If the set B is the union of the suits of clubs and
diamonds, then the complement of B is the union of the suits of hearts and spades.

2.1.3 Properties
Let A and B be two sets in a universe U. The following identities capture important properties of absolute comple-
ments:

De Morgans laws:[3]

(A B) = A B .

(A B) = A B .

Complement laws:[3]

A A = U.
A A = .
= U.
U = .
IfA B then ,B A .
(this follows from the equivalence of a conditional with its contrapositive).

Involution or double complement law:

(A ) = A.

Relationships between relative and absolute complements:

A \ B = A B.
(A \ B) = A B.

Relationship with set dierence:

A \ B = B \ A.

The rst two complement laws above show that if A is a non-empty, proper subset of U, then {A, A } is a partition
of U.
2.2. RELATIVE COMPLEMENT 9

2.2 Relative complement

2.2.1 Denition
If A and B are sets, then the relative complement of A in B,[3] also termed the set-theoretic dierence of B and
A,[4] is the set of elements in B but not in A.

The relative complement of A (left circle) in B (right circle): B A = B \ A

The relative complement of A in B is denoted B A according to the ISO 31-11 standard. It is sometimes written B
A, but this notation is ambiguous, as in some contexts it can be interpreted as the set of all elements b a, where
b is taken from B and a from A.
Formally:

B \ A = {x B | x
/ A}.

2.2.2 Examples
{1, 2, 3} \ {2, 3, 4} = {1} .
{2, 3, 4} \ {1, 2, 3} = {4} .
If R is the set of real numbers and Q is the set of rational numbers, then R \ Q is the set of irrational numbers.

2.2.3 Properties
Let A, B, and C be three sets. The following identities capture notable properties of relative complements:

C \ (A B) = (C \ A) (C \ B) .
10 CHAPTER 2. COMPLEMENT (SET THEORY)

C \ (A B) = (C \ A) (C \ B) .
C \ (B \ A) = (C A) (C \ B) ,

C \ (C \ A) = (C A)

(B \ A) C = (B C) \ A = B (C \ A) .
(B \ A) C = (B C) \ (A \ C) .
A\A=.
\A=.
A\=A.

2.3 LaTeX notation

In the LaTeX typesetting language, the command \setminus[5] is usually used for rendering a set dierence symbol,
which is similar to a backslash symbol. When rendered, the \setminus command looks identical to \backslash except
that it has a little more space in front and behind the slash, akin to the LaTeX sequence \mathbin{\backslash}. A
variant \smallsetminus is available in the amssymb package.

2.4 Complements in various programming languages

Some programming languages allow for manipulation of sets as data structures, using these operators or functions to
construct the dierence of sets a and b:

.NET Framework a.Except(b);

C++ set_dierence(a.begin(), a.end(), b.begin(), b.end(), result.begin());

Clojure (clojure.set/difference a b)[6]

Common Lisp set-dierence, nset-dierence[7]

F# Set.dierence a b[8]

a - b[9]

Falcon di = a - b[10]

Haskell dierence a b

a \\ b[11]

Java di = a.clone();

di.removeAll(b);[12]

Julia setdi[13]

Mathematica Complement[14]

MATLAB setdi[15]

OCaml Set.S.di[16]
2.5. SEE ALSO 11

Octave setdi[17]

PARI/GP setminus[18]

Pascal SetDierence := a - b;

Perl 5 # for perl version >= 5.10 @a = grep {not $_ ~~ @b} @a;

Perl 6 $A $B $A (-) $B # texas version

PHP array_di($a, $b);[19]

Prolog a(X),\+ b(X).

Python di = a.dierence(b)[20]

di = a - b[20]

R setdi[21]

Racket (set-subtract a b)[22]

Ruby di = a - b[23]

Rust let di = std::collections::HashSet::dierence(&hashset_a, &hashset_b);[24]

Scala a.di(b)[25]

a -- b[25]

Smalltalk (Pharo) a dierence: b

SQL SELECT * FROM A EXCEPT SELECT * FROM B

Unix shell comm 23 a b[26]

grep -vf b a # less ecient, but works with small unsorted sets

2.5 See also

Algebra of sets

Naive set theory

Symmetric dierence
12 CHAPTER 2. COMPLEMENT (SET THEORY)

2.6 Notes
[1] The set other than A is thus implicitly mentioned in an absolute complement, and explicitly mentioned in a relative com-
plement.

[2] Bourbaki 1970, p. E II.6.

[3] Halmos 1960, p. 17.

[4] Devlin 1979, p. 6.

[5] The Comprehensive LaTeX Symbol List

[6] clojure.set API reference

[7] Common Lisp HyperSpec, Function set-dierence, nset-dierence. Accessed on September 8, 2009.

[8] Set.dierence<'T> Function (F#). Accessed on July 12, 2015.

[9] Set.( - )<'T> Method (F#). Accessed on July 12, 2015.

[10] Array subtraction, data structures. Accessed on July 28, 2014.

[11] Data.Set (Haskell) Archived 2009-05-28 at the Wayback Machine.

[12] Set (Java 2 Platform SE 5.0). JavaTM 2 Platform Standard Edition 5.0 API Specication, updated in 2004. Accessed on
February 13, 2008.

[13] . The Standard Library--Julia Language documentation. Accessed on September 24, 2014

[14] Complement. Mathematica Documentation Center for version 6.0, updated in 2008. Accessed on March 7, 2008.

[15] Setdi. MATLAB Function Reference for version 7.6, updated in 2008. Accessed on May 19, 2008.

[16] Set.S (OCaml).

[17] . GNU Octave Reference Manual

[18] PARI/GP Users Manual Archived September 11, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.

[19] PHP: array_di, PHP Manual

[20] . Python v2.7.3 documentation. Accessed on January 17, 2013.

[21] R Reference manual p. 410.

[22] . The Racket Reference. Accessed on May 19, 2015.

[23] Class: Array Ruby Documentation

[24] The Rust Standard Library Documentation. Accessed on March 7, 2017.

[25] scala.collection.Set. Scala Standard Library 2.11.7, Accessed on July 12, 2015.

[26] comm(1) Archived 2008-10-19 at the Wayback Machine., Unix Seventh Edition Manual, 1979.

2.7 References
Bourbaki, N. (1970). Thorie des ensembles (in French). Paris: Hermann. ISBN 978-3-540-34034-8.

Devlin, Keith J. (1979). Fundamentals of contemporary set theory. Universitext. Springer. ISBN 0-387-
90441-7. Zbl 0407.04003.

Halmos, Paul R. (1960). Naive set theory. The University Series in Undergraduate Mathematics. van Nostrand
Company. Zbl 0087.04403.
2.8. EXTERNAL LINKS 13

2.8 External links

Weisstein, Eric W. Complement. MathWorld.

Weisstein, Eric W. Complement Set. MathWorld.

Chapter 3

Element (mathematics)

In mathematics, an element, or member, of a set is any one of the distinct objects that make up that set.

3.1 Sets
Writing A = {1, 2, 3, 4} means that the elements of the set A are the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. Sets of elements of A,
for example {1, 2} , are subsets of A.
Sets can themselves be elements. For example, consider the set B = {1, 2, {3, 4}} . The elements of B are not 1, 2,
3, and 4. Rather, there are only three elements of B, namely the numbers 1 and 2, and the set {3, 4} .
The elements of a set can be anything. For example, C = {red, green, blue} , is the set whose elements are the colors
red, green and blue.

3.2 Notation and terminology

First usage of the symbol in the work Arithmetices principia nova methodo exposita by Giuseppe Peano.

The relation is an element of, also called set membership, is denoted by the symbol "". Writing

xA

means that "x is an element of A". Equivalent expressions are "x is a member of A", "x belongs to A", "x is in A"
and "x lies in A". The expressions "A includes x" and "A contains x" are also used to mean set membership, however
some authors use them to mean instead "x is a subset of A".[1] Logician George Boolos strongly urged that contains
be used for membership only and includes for the subset relation only.[2]
Another possible notation for the same relation is

14
3.3. CARDINALITY OF SETS 15

A x,
meaning "A contains x", though it is used less often.
The negation of set membership is denoted by the symbol "". Writing

x
/A
means that "x is not an element of A".
The symbol was rst used by Giuseppe Peano 1889 in his work Arithmetices principia nova methodo exposita. Here
he wrote on page X:

Signum signicat est. Ita a b legitur a est quoddam b; ...

which means

The symbol means is. So a b is read as a is a b; ...

The symbol itself is a stylized lowercase Greek letter epsilon (""), the rst letter of the word , which means is.
The Unicode characters for these symbols are U+2208 ('element of'), U+220B ('contains as member') and U+2209
('not an element of'). The equivalent LaTeX commands are "\in, "\ni and "\notin. Mathematica has commands
"\[Element]" and "\[NotElement]".

3.3 Cardinality of sets

Main article: Cardinality

The number of elements in a particular set is a property known as cardinality; informally, this is the size of a set. In
the above examples the cardinality of the set A is 4, while the cardinality of either of the sets B and C is 3. An innite
set is a set with an innite number of elements, while a nite set is a set with a nite number of elements. The above
examples are examples of nite sets. An example of an innite set is the set of positive integers = { 1, 2, 3, 4, ... }.

3.4 Examples
Using the sets dened above, namely A = {1, 2, 3, 4 }, B = {1, 2, {3, 4}} and C = { red, green, blue }:

2A
{3,4} B
3,4 B
{3,4} is a member of B
Yellow C
The cardinality of D = { 2, 4, 8, 10, 12 } is nite and equal to 5.
The cardinality of P = { 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, ...} (the prime numbers) is innite (this was proven by Euclid).

3.5 References
[1] Eric Schechter (1997). Handbook of Analysis and Its Foundations. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-622760-8. p. 12
[2] George Boolos (February 4, 1992). 24.243 Classical Set Theory (lecture). (Speech). Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA.
16 CHAPTER 3. ELEMENT (MATHEMATICS)

3.6 Further reading

Halmos, Paul R. (1974) [1960], Naive Set Theory, Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics (Hardcover ed.), NY:
Springer-Verlag, ISBN 0-387-90092-6 - Naive means that it is not fully axiomatized, not that it is silly or
easy (Halmoss treatment is neither).

Jech, Thomas (2002), Set Theory, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Suppes, Patrick (1972) [1960], Axiomatic Set Theory, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., ISBN 0-486-61630-4 -
Both the notion of set (a collection of members), membership or element-hood, the axiom of extension, the
axiom of separation, and the union axiom (Suppes calls it the sum axiom) are needed for a more thorough
understanding of set element.

3.7 External links

Weisstein, Eric W. Element. MathWorld.
Chapter 4

Empty set

"" redirects here. For similar symbols, see (disambiguation).

In mathematics, and more specically set theory, the empty set is the unique set having no elements; its size or
cardinality (count of elements in a set) is zero. Some axiomatic set theories ensure that the empty set exists by
including an axiom of empty set; in other theories, its existence can be deduced. Many possible properties of sets
are vacuously true for the empty set.
Null set was once a common synonym for empty set, but is now a technical term in measure theory. The empty set
may also be called the void set.

4.1 Notation
Common notations for the empty set include " {} ", "", and " ". The latter two symbols were introduced by the
Bourbaki group (specically Andr Weil) in 1939, inspired by the letter in the Norwegian and Danish alphabets
(and not related in any way to the Greek letter ).[1] Although now considered an improper use of notation, in the
past, " 0 " was occasionally used as a symbol for the empty set.[2]
The empty-set symbol is found at Unicode point U+2205.[3] In LaTeX, it is coded as \emptyset for or \varnothing
for .

4.2 Properties
In standard axiomatic set theory, by the principle of extensionality, two sets are equal if they have the same elements;
therefore there can be only one set with no elements. Hence there is but one empty set, and we speak of the empty
set rather than an empty set.
The mathematical symbols employed below are explained here.
For any set A:

The empty set is a subset of A:

A : A

The union of A with the empty set is A:

A : A = A

The intersection of A with the empty set is the empty set:

A : A =

The Cartesian product of A and the empty set is the empty set:
A : A =

17
18 CHAPTER 4. EMPTY SET

The empty set is the set containing no elements.

The empty set has the following properties:

Its only subset is the empty set itself:

A : A A =

The power set of the empty set is the set containing only the empty set:

2 = {}
4.2. PROPERTIES 19

A symbol for the empty set

Its number of elements (that is, its cardinality) is zero:

card() = 0

The connection between the empty set and zero goes further, however: in the standard set-theoretic denition of
natural numbers, we use sets to model the natural numbers. In this context, zero is modelled by the empty set.
For any property:

For every element of the property holds (vacuous truth);

There is no element of for which the property holds.

Conversely, if for some property and some set V, the following two statements hold:

For every element of V the property holds;

There is no element of V for which the property holds,

V =
20 CHAPTER 4. EMPTY SET

By the denition of subset, the empty set is a subset of any set A. That is, every element x of belongs to A. Indeed,
if it were not true that every element of is in A then there would be at least one element of that is not present in A.
Since there are no elements of at all, there is no element of that is not in A. Any statement that begins for every
element of " is not making any substantive claim; it is a vacuous truth. This is often paraphrased as everything is
true of the elements of the empty set.

4.2.1 Operations on the empty set

When speaking of the sum of the elements of a nite set, one is inevitably led to the convention that the sum of the
elements of the empty set is zero. The reason for this is that zero is the identity element for addition. Similarly, the
product of the elements of the empty set should be considered to be one (see empty product), since one is the identity
element for multiplication.
A derangement is a permutation of a set without xed points. The empty set can be considered a derangement of
itself, because it has only one permutation ( 0! = 1 ), and it is vacuously true that no element (of the empty set) can
be found that retains its original position.

4.3 In other areas of mathematics

4.3.1 Extended real numbers

Since the empty set has no members, when it is considered as a subset of any ordered set, then every member of
that set will be an upper bound and lower bound for the empty set. For example, when considered as a subset of the
real numbers, with its usual ordering, represented by the real number line, every real number is both an upper and
lower bound for the empty set.[4] When considered as a subset of the extended reals formed by adding two numbers
or points to the real numbers, namely negative innity, denoted , which is dened to be less than every other
extended real number, and positive innity, denoted +, which is dened to be greater than every other extended
real number, then:

sup = min({, +} R) = ,

and

inf = max({, +} R) = +.

That is, the least upper bound (sup or supremum) of the empty set is negative innity, while the greatest lower bound
(inf or inmum) is positive innity. By analogy with the above, in the domain of the extended reals, negative innity
is the identity element for the maximum and supremum operators, while positive innity is the identity element for
minimum and inmum.

4.3.2 Topology
Considered as a subset of the real number line (or more generally any topological space), the empty set is both closed
and open; it is an example of a clopen set. All its boundary points (of which there are none) are in the empty set,
and the set is therefore closed; while for every one of its points (of which there are again none), there is an open
neighbourhood in the empty set, and the set is therefore open. Moreover, the empty set is a compact set by the fact
that every nite set is compact.
The closure of the empty set is empty. This is known as preservation of nullary unions.

4.3.3 Category theory

If A is a set, then there exists precisely one function f from {} to A, the empty function. As a result, the empty set is
the unique initial object of the category of sets and functions.
4.4. QUESTIONED EXISTENCE 21

The empty set can be turned into a topological space, called the empty space, in just one way: by dening the empty
set to be open. This empty topological space is the unique initial object in the category of topological spaces with
continuous maps. In fact, it is a strict initial object: only the empty set has a function to the empty set.

4.3.4 Set theory

In the von Neumann construction of the ordinals, 0 is dened as the empty set, and the successor of an ordinal is
dened as S() = {} . Thus, we have 0 = , 1 = 0 {0} = {} , 2 = 1 {1} = {{}, } , and so on. The
von Neumann construction, along with the axiom of innity, which guarantees the existence of at least one innite
set, can be used to construct the set of natural numbers, N0 , such that the Peano axioms of arithmetic are satised.

4.4 Questioned existence

4.4.1 Axiomatic set theory

In Zermelo set theory, the existence of the empty set is assured by the axiom of empty set, and its uniqueness follows
from the axiom of extensionality. However, the axiom of empty set can be shown redundant in either of two ways:

There is already an axiom implying the existence of at least one set. Given such an axiom together with the
axiom of separation, the existence of the empty set is easily proved.
In the presence of urelements, it is easy to prove that at least one set exists, viz. the set of all urelements
(assuming there is not a proper class of them). Again, given the axiom of separation, the empty set is easily
proved.

4.4.2 Philosophical issues

While the empty set is a standard and widely accepted mathematical concept, it remains an ontological curiosity,
whose meaning and usefulness are debated by philosophers and logicians.
The empty set is not the same thing as nothing; rather, it is a set with nothing inside it and a set is always something.
This issue can be overcome by viewing a set as a bagan empty bag undoubtedly still exists. Darling (2004) explains
that the empty set is not nothing, but rather the set of all triangles with four sides, the set of all numbers that are
bigger than nine but smaller than eight, and the set of all opening moves in chess that involve a king.[5]
The popular syllogism

Nothing is better than eternal happiness; a ham sandwich is better than nothing; therefore, a ham sand-
wich is better than eternal happiness

is often used to demonstrate the philosophical relation between the concept of nothing and the empty set. Darling
writes that the contrast can be seen by rewriting the statements Nothing is better than eternal happiness and "[A]
ham sandwich is better than nothing in a mathematical tone. According to Darling, the former is equivalent to The
set of all things that are better than eternal happiness is " and the latter to The set {ham sandwich} is better than
the set ". It is noted that the rst compares elements of sets, while the second compares the sets themselves.[5]
Jonathan Lowe argues that while the empty set:

"...was undoubtedly an important landmark in the history of mathematics, we should not assume that
its utility in calculation is dependent upon its actually denoting some object.

it is also the case that:

All that we are ever informed about the empty set is that it (1) is a set, (2) has no members, and
(3) is unique amongst sets in having no members. However, there are very many things that 'have no
members, in the set-theoretical sensenamely, all non-sets. It is perfectly clear why these things have
no members, for they are not sets. What is unclear is how there can be, uniquely amongst sets, a set
which has no members. We cannot conjure such an entity into existence by mere stipulation.[6]
22 CHAPTER 4. EMPTY SET

George Boolos argued that much of what has been heretofore obtained by set theory can just as easily be obtained
by plural quantication over individuals, without reifying sets as singular entities having other entities as members.[7]

4.5 See also

Inhabited set

Nothing

4.6 References
[1] Earliest Uses of Symbols of Set Theory and Logic.

[2] Rudin, Walter (1976). Principles of Mathematical Analysis (PDF) (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 300. ISBN
007054235X.

[3] Unicode Standard 5.2

[4] Bruckner, A.N., Bruckner, J.B., and Thomson, B.S., 2008. Elementary Real Analysis, 2nd ed. Prentice Hall. P. 9.

[5] D. J. Darling (2004). The universal book of mathematics. John Wiley and Sons. p. 106. ISBN 0-471-27047-4.

[6] E. J. Lowe (2005). Locke. Routledge. p. 87.

[7] George Boolos, 1984, To be is to be the value of a variable, The Journal of Philosophy 91: 43049. Reprinted in
his 1998 Logic, Logic and Logic (Richard Jerey, and Burgess, J., eds.) Harvard Univ. Press: 5472.

4.7 Further reading

Halmos, Paul, Naive Set Theory. Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1960. Reprinted by Springer-
Verlag, New York, 1974. ISBN 0-387-90092-6 (Springer-Verlag edition). Reprinted by Martino Fine Books,
2011. ISBN 978-1-61427-131-4 (Paperback edition).
Jech, Thomas (2002), Set Theory, Springer Monographs in Mathematics (3rd millennium ed.), Springer, ISBN
3-540-44085-2

Graham, Malcolm (1975), Modern Elementary Mathematics (Hardcover) (2nd ed.), New York: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, ISBN 0155610392

4.8 External links

Weisstein, Eric W. Empty Set. MathWorld.
Chapter 5

Intersection (set theory)

Intersection of two sets:

AB

In mathematics, the intersection A B of two sets A and B is the set that contains all elements of A that also belong
to B (or equivalently, all elements of B that also belong to A), but no other elements.[1]
For explanation of the symbols used in this article, refer to the table of mathematical symbols.

5.1 Basic denition

The intersection of A and B is written "A B". Formally:

A B = {x : x A and x B}.

23
24 CHAPTER 5. INTERSECTION (SET THEORY)

Intersection of three sets:

ABC

That is, x is an element of the intersection A B if and only if x is both an element of A and an element of B.
For example:

The intersection of the sets {1, 2, 3} and {2, 3, 4} is {2, 3}.

The number 9 is not in the intersection of the set of prime numbers {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, ...} and the set of odd
numbers {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, ...}.[2]

Intersection is an associative operation; that is, for any sets A, B, and C, one has A (B C) = (A B) C. Intersection
is also commutative; for any A and B, one has A B = B A. It thus makes sense to talk about intersections of multiple
sets. The intersection of A, B, C, and D, for example, is unambiguously written A B C D.
Inside a universe U one may dene the complement Ac of A to be the set of all elements of U not in A. Now the
intersection of A and B may be written as the complement of the union of their complements, derived easily from De
Morgans laws:
A B = (Ac Bc )c
5.2. ARBITRARY INTERSECTIONS 25

Intersections of the Greek, English and Russian alphabet, considering only the shapes of the letters and ignoring their pronunciation

5.1.1 Intersecting and disjoint sets

We say that A intersects (meets) B at an element x if x belongs to A and B. We say that A intersects (meets) B if A
intersects B at some element. A intersects B if their intersection is inhabited.
We say that A and B are disjoint if A does not intersect B. In plain language, they have no elements in common. A
and B are disjoint if their intersection is empty, denoted A B = .
For example, the sets {1, 2} and {3, 4} are disjoint, while the set of even numbers intersects the set of multiples of
3 at the multiples of 6.

5.2 Arbitrary intersections

The most general notion is the intersection of an arbitrary nonempty collection of sets. If M is a nonempty set whose
elements are themselves sets, then x is an element of the intersection of M if and only if for every element A of M, x
is an element of A. In symbols:

( )

x A (A M, x A) .
AM
26 CHAPTER 5. INTERSECTION (SET THEORY)

Example of an intersection with sets

The notation for this last concept can vary considerably. Set theorists will sometimes write "M", while others will
instead write "AM A". The latter notation can be generalized to "iI Ai", which refers to the intersection of the
collection {Ai : i I}. Here I is a nonempty set, and Ai is a set for every i in I.
In the case that the index set I is the set of natural numbers, notation analogous to that of an innite product may be
seen:

Ai .
i=1

When formatting is dicult, this can also be written "A1 A2 A3 .... This last example, an intersection of
countably many sets, is actually very common; for an example see the article on -algebras.
5.3. NULLARY INTERSECTION 27

5.3 Nullary intersection

Conjunctions of the arguments in parentheses

The conjunction of no argument is the tautology (compare: empty product); accordingly the intersection of no set is the universe.

Note that in the previous section we excluded the case where M was the empty set (). The reason is as follows: The
intersection of the collection M is dened as the set (see set-builder notation)

A = {x : A M, x A}.
AM

If M is empty there are no sets A in M, so the question becomes which x's satisfy the stated condition?" The answer
seems to be every possible x. When M is empty the condition given above is an example of a vacuous truth. So the
intersection of the empty family should be the universal set (the identity element for the operation of intersection) [3]
Unfortunately, according to standard (ZFC) set theory, the universal set does not exist. A x for this problem can be
found if we note that the intersection over a set of sets is always a subset of the union over that set of sets. This can
symbolically be written as

A A.
AM AM

Therefore, we can modify the denition slightly to

{ }

A= x A : A M, x A .
AM AM
28 CHAPTER 5. INTERSECTION (SET THEORY)

Now if M is empty there is no problem. The intersection is the empty set, because the union over the empty set is
the empty set. In fact, this is the operation that we would have dened in the rst place if we were dening the set
in ZFC, as except for the operations dened by the axioms (the power set of a set, for instance), every set must be
dened as the subset of some other set or by replacement.

5.4 See also

Complement

Intersection graph

Logical conjunction
Naive set theory

Symmetric dierence
Union

Cardinality
Iterated binary operation

MinHash

5.5 References
[1] Stats: Probability Rules. People.richland.edu. Retrieved 2012-05-08.

[2] How to nd the intersection of sets

[3] Megginson, Robert E. (1998), Chapter 1, An introduction to Banach space theory, Graduate Texts in Mathematics, 183,
New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. xx+596, ISBN 0-387-98431-3

5.6 Further reading

Devlin, K. J. (1993). The Joy of Sets: Fundamentals of Contemporary Set Theory (Second ed.). New York,
NY: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-94094-4.
Munkres, James R. (2000). Set Theory and Logic. Topology (Second ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice
Hall. ISBN 0-13-181629-2.
Rosen, Kenneth (2007). Basic Structures: Sets, Functions, Sequences, and Sums. Discrete Mathematics and
Its Applications (Sixth ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-322972-0.

5.7 External links

Weisstein, Eric W. Intersection. MathWorld.
Chapter 6

Power set

For the search engine developer, see Powerset (company).

In mathematics, the power set (or powerset) of any set S is the set of all subsets of S, including the empty set and S

{x,y,z}

{x,y} {x,z} {y,z}

{x} {y} {z}

The elements of the power set of the set {x, y, z} ordered with respect to inclusion.

itself, variously denoted as P(S), (S) (using the "Weierstrass p"), P(S), (S), or, identifying the powerset of S with
the set of all functions from S to a given set of two elements, 2S . In axiomatic set theory (as developed, for example,
in the ZFC axioms), the existence of the power set of any set is postulated by the axiom of power set.[1]
Any subset of P(S) is called a family of sets over S.

29
30 CHAPTER 6. POWER SET

6.1 Example
If S is the set {x, y, z}, then the subsets of S are

{} (also denoted or , the empty set or the null set)

{x}

{y}

{z}

{x, y}

{x, z}

{y, z}

{x, y, z}

and hence the power set of S is {{}, {x}, {y}, {z}, {x, y}, {x, z}, {y, z}, {x, y, z}}.[2]

6.2 Properties
If S is a nite set with |S| = n elements, then the number of subsets of S is |P(S)| = 2n . This fact, which is the motivation
for the notation 2S , may be demonstrated simply as follows,

First, order the elements of S in any manner. We write any subset of S in the format {1 , 2 , ..., n }
where , 1 i n, can take the value of 0 or 1. If i = 1, the i-th element of S is in the subset; otherwise,
the i-th element is not in the subset. Clearly the number of distinct subsets that can be constructed this
way is 2n as i {0, 1} .

Cantors diagonal argument shows that the power set of a set (whether innite or not) always has strictly higher
cardinality than the set itself (informally the power set must be larger than the original set). In particular, Cantors
theorem shows that the power set of a countably innite set is uncountably innite. The power set of the set of natural
numbers can be put in a one-to-one correspondence with the set of real numbers (see Cardinality of the continuum).
The power set of a set S, together with the operations of union, intersection and complement can be viewed as the
prototypical example of a Boolean algebra. In fact, one can show that any nite Boolean algebra is isomorphic to
the Boolean algebra of the power set of a nite set. For innite Boolean algebras this is no longer true, but every
innite Boolean algebra can be represented as a subalgebra of a power set Boolean algebra (see Stones representation
theorem).
The power set of a set S forms an abelian group when considered with the operation of symmetric dierence (with the
empty set as the identity element and each set being its own inverse) and a commutative monoid when considered with
the operation of intersection. It can hence be shown (by proving the distributive laws) that the power set considered
together with both of these operations forms a Boolean ring.

6.3 Representing subsets as functions

In set theory, XY is the set of all functions from Y to X. As 2 can be dened as {0,1} (see natural number), 2S (i.e.,
{0,1}S ) is the set of all functions from S to {0,1}. By identifying a function in 2S with the corresponding preimage of
1, we see that there is a bijection between 2S and P(S), where each function is the characteristic function of the subset
in P(S) with which it is identied. Hence 2S and P(S) could be considered identical set-theoretically. (Thus there
are two distinct notational motivations for denoting the power set by 2S : the fact that this function-representation of
subsets makes it a special case of the XY notation and the property, mentioned above, that |2S | = 2|S| .)
6.4. RELATION TO BINOMIAL THEOREM 31

This notion can be applied to the example above in which S = {x, y, z} to see the isomorphism with the binary
numbers from 0 to 2n 1 with n being the number of elements in the set. In S, a 1 in the position corresponding to
the location in the set indicates the presence of the element. So {x, y} = 110.
For the whole power set of S we get:

{} = 000 (Binary) = 0 (Decimal)

{x} = 100 = 4

{y} = 010 = 2

{z} = 001 = 1

{x, y} = 110 = 6

{x, z} = 101 = 5

{y, z} = 011 = 3

{x, y, z} = 111 = 7

6.4 Relation to binomial theorem

The power set is closely related to the binomial theorem. The number of subsets with k elements in the power set of
a set with n elements is given by the number of combinations, C(n, k), also called binomial coecients.
For example, the power set of a set with three elements, has:

C(3, 0) = 1 subset with 0 elements (the empty subset),

C(3, 1) = 3 subsets with 1 element (the singleton subsets),

C(3, 2) = 3 subsets with 2 elements (the complements of the singleton subsets),

C(3, 3) = 1 subset with 3 elements (the original set itself).

6.5 Algorithms
If S is a nite set, there is a recursive algorithm to calculate P(S).
Dene the operation F (e, T) = {X {e} | X T}.
In English, return the set with the element e added to each set X in T.

If S = { }, then P(S) = { { } } is returned.

Otherwise:

Let e be any single element of S.

Let T = S \ {e}, where S \ {e} denotes the relative complement of e in S.
And the result: P(S) = P(T) F (e, P(T)) is returned.

In other words, the power set of the empty set is the set containing the empty set and the power set of any other set
is all the subsets of the set containing some specic element and all the subsets of the set not containing that specic
element.
32 CHAPTER 6. POWER SET

6.6 Subsets of limited cardinality

The set of subsets of S of cardinality less than is denoted by P(S) or P< (S). Similarly, the set of non-empty
subsets of S might be denoted by P (S).

6.7 Power object

A set can be regarded as an algebra having no nontrivial operations or dening equations. From this perspective the
idea of the power set of X as the set of subsets of X generalizes naturally to the subalgebras of an algebraic structure
or algebra.
Now the power set of a set, when ordered by inclusion, is always a complete atomic Boolean algebra, and every
complete atomic Boolean algebra arises as the lattice of all subsets of some set. The generalization to arbitrary
algebras is that the set of subalgebras of an algebra, again ordered by inclusion, is always an algebraic lattice, and
every algebraic lattice arises as the lattice of subalgebras of some algebra. So in that regard subalgebras behave
analogously to subsets.
However, there are two important properties of subsets that do not carry over to subalgebras in general. First, although
the subsets of a set form a set (as well as a lattice), in some classes it may not be possible to organize the subalgebras
of an algebra as itself an algebra in that class, although they can always be organized as a lattice. Secondly, whereas
the subsets of a set are in bijection with the functions from that set to the set {0,1} = 2, there is no guarantee that a
class of algebras contains an algebra that can play the role of 2 in this way.
Certain classes of algebras enjoy both of these properties. The rst property is more common, the case of having
both is relatively rare. One class that does have both is that of multigraphs. Given two multigraphs G and H, a
homomorphism h: G H consists of two functions, one mapping vertices to vertices and the other mapping edges
to edges. The set H G of homomorphisms from G to H can then be organized as the graph whose vertices and edges
are respectively the vertex and edge functions appearing in that set. Furthermore, the subgraphs of a multigraph G
are in bijection with the graph homomorphisms from G to the multigraph denable as the complete directed graph
on two vertices (hence four edges, namely two self-loops and two more edges forming a cycle) augmented with a
fth edge, namely a second self-loop at one of the vertices. We can therefore organize the subgraphs of G as the
multigraph G , called the power object of G.
What is special about a multigraph as an algebra is that its operations are unary. A multigraph has two sorts of
elements forming a set V of vertices and E of edges, and has two unary operations s,t: E V giving the source
(start) and target (end) vertices of each edge. An algebra all of whose operations are unary is called a presheaf.
Every class of presheaves contains a presheaf that plays the role for subalgebras that 2 plays for subsets. Such
a class is a special case of the more general notion of elementary topos as a category that is closed (and moreover
cartesian closed) and has an object , called a subobject classier. Although the term power object is sometimes
used synonymously with exponential object Y X , in topos theory Y is required to be .

6.8 Functors and quantiers

In category theory and the theory of elementary topoi, the universal quantier can be understood as the right adjoint of
a functor between power sets, the inverse image functor of a function between sets; likewise, the existential quantier
is the left adjoint.[3]

6.9 See also

Set theory

Axiomatic set theory

Family of sets

Field of sets
6.10. NOTES 33

6.10 Notes
[1] Devlin 1979, p. 50

[2] Puntambekar 2007, pp. 12

[3] Saunders Mac Lane, Ieke Moerdijk, (1992) Sheaves in Geometry and Logic Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-97710-4 See
page 58

6.11 References
Devlin, Keith J. (1979). Fundamentals of contemporary set theory. Universitext. Springer-Verlag. ISBN
0-387-90441-7. Zbl 0407.04003.
Halmos, Paul R. (1960). Naive set theory. The University Series in Undergraduate Mathematics. van Nostrand
Company. Zbl 0087.04403.
Puntambekar, A. A. (2007). Theory Of Automata And Formal Languages. Technical Publications. ISBN
978-81-8431-193-8.

6.12 External links

Weisstein, Eric W. Power Set. MathWorld.

Power set. PlanetMath.

Power set in nLab

Power object in nLab

Power set Algorithm in C++

Chapter 7

Union (set theory)

Union of two sets:

AB

In set theory, the union (denoted by ) of a collection of sets is the set of all elements in the collection.[1] It is one
of the fundamental operations through which sets can be combined and related to each other.
For explanation of the symbols used in this article, refer to the table of mathematical symbols.

7.1 Union of two sets

The union of two sets A and B is the set of elements which are in A, in B, or in both A and B. In symbols,

A B = {x : x A or x B} .[2]

34
7.2. ALGEBRAIC PROPERTIES 35

Union of three sets:

ABC

For example, if A = {1, 3, 5, 7} and B = {1, 2, 4, 6} then A B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}. A more elaborate example
(involving two innite sets) is:

A = {x is an even integer larger than 1}

B = {x is an odd integer larger than 1}
A B = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, . . . }

As another example, the number 9 is not contained in the union of the set of prime numbers {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, } and
the set of even numbers {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, }, because 9 is neither prime nor even.
Sets cannot have duplicate elements,[2][3] so the union of the sets {1, 2, 3} and {2, 3, 4} is {1, 2, 3, 4}. Multiple
occurrences of identical elements have no eect on the cardinality of a set or its contents.

7.2 Algebraic properties

Binary union is an associative operation; that is,
36 CHAPTER 7. UNION (SET THEORY)

A (B C) = (A B) C.

The operations can be performed in any order, and the parentheses may be omitted without ambiguity (i.e., either of
the above can be expressed equivalently as A B C). Similarly, union is commutative, so the sets can be written in
any order.[4]
The empty set is an identity element for the operation of union. That is, A = A, for any set A. This follows from
analogous facts about logical disjunction.
Since sets with unions and intersections form a Boolean algebra, intersection distributes over union

A (B C) = (A B) (A C)

and union distributes over intersection

A (B C) = (A B) (A C)

Within a given universal set, union can be written in terms of the operations of intersection and complement as

( )C
A B = AC B C

where the superscript C denotes the complement with respect to the universal set.

7.3 Finite unions

One can take the union of several sets simultaneously. For example, the union of three sets A, B, and C contains all
elements of A, all elements of B, and all elements of C, and nothing else. Thus, x is an element of A B C if and
only if x is in at least one of A, B, and C.
In mathematics a nite union means any union carried out on a nite number of sets; it does not imply that the union
set is a nite set.[5][6]

7.4 Arbitrary unions

The most general notion is the union of an arbitrary collection of sets, sometimes called an innitary union. If M is a
set or class whose elements are sets, then x is an element of the union of M if and only if there is at least one element
A of M such that x is an element of A.[7] In symbols:

x M A M, x A.

This idea subsumes the preceding sectionsfor example, A B C is the union of the collection {A, B, C}. Also,
if M is the empty collection, then the union of M is the empty set.

7.4.1 Notations
The notation for the general conceptncan vary considerably. For a nite union of sets S1 , S2 , S3 , . .
. , Sn one
often
writes S1 S2 S3 Sn or i=1 Si . Various common notations for arbitrary unions include M , AM A
, and iI Ai , the last of which refers to the union of the collection {Ai : i I} where I is an index setand Ai

is a set for every i I . In the case that the index set I is the set of natural numbers, one uses a notation i=1 Ai
analogous to that of the innite series.[7]
Whenever the symbol "" is placed before other symbols instead of between them, it is of a larger size.
7.5. SEE ALSO 37

7.5 See also

Alternation (formal language theory), the union of sets of strings

Disjoint union
Intersection (set theory)

Iterated binary operation

Naive set theory

Symmetric dierence

7.6 Notes
[1] Weisstein, Eric W. Union. Wolframs Mathworld. Retrieved 2009-07-14.

[2] Vereshchagin, Nikolai Konstantinovich; Shen, Alexander (2002-01-01). Basic Set Theory. American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN 9780821827314.

[3] deHaan, Lex; Koppelaars, Toon (2007-10-25). Applied Mathematics for Database Professionals. Apress. ISBN 9781430203483.

[4] Halmos, P. R. (2013-11-27). Naive Set Theory. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9781475716450.

[5] Dasgupta, Abhijit (2013-12-11). Set Theory: With an Introduction to Real Point Sets. Springer Science & Business Media.
ISBN 9781461488545.

[6] https://proofwiki.org/wiki/Finite_Union_of_Finite_Sets_is_Finite

[7] Smith, Douglas; Eggen, Maurice; Andre, Richard St (2014-08-01). A Transition to Advanced Mathematics. Cengage
Learning. ISBN 9781285463261.

7.7 External links

Weisstein, Eric W. Union. MathWorld.

Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001) [1994], Union of sets, Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Springer Science+Business
Media B.V. / Kluwer Academic Publishers, ISBN 978-1-55608-010-4

Innite Union and Intersection at ProvenMath De Morgans laws formally proven from the axioms of set theory.
38 CHAPTER 7. UNION (SET THEORY)

7.8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

7.8.1 Text
Algebra of sets Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebra_of_sets?oldid=790778930 Contributors: The Anome, AugPi, Charles
Matthews, WhisperToMe, Wile E. Heresiarch, Tea2min, Macrakis, Doshell, Discospinster, Esse~enwiki, Slipstream, Paul August, Oleg
Alexandrov, Woohookitty, Isnow, Salix alba, Juan Marquez, Mathbot, Splintercellguy, Trovatore, Arthur Rubin, Gilliam, Bluebot,
Javalenok, Byelf2007, Jackzhp, Kupirijo, Josephpetty100, Policron, The enemies of god, Alex10023, Jamelan, Tcamps42, Anchor
Link Bot, Hans Adler, Addbot, Legobot, TaBOT-zerem, Matt Popat, Bluerasberry, Corruptcopper, Saeidpourbabak, Cerniagigante,
Yahia.barie, Specs112, MegaSloth, DASHBot, Set theorist, ClueBot NG, MerlIwBot, DonMTobin, Helpful Pixie Bot, Daviddwd, Pall-
trast, ChrisGualtieri, Freeze S, Jochen Burghardt, YiFeiBot, Eniacpx, Plcarmelbiron, , Odcameron, Bender the Bot, Deacon Vorbis,
Magic links bot and Anonymous: 43
Complement (set theory) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complement_(set_theory)?oldid=801426418 Contributors: Damian
Yerrick, AxelBoldt, Fnielsen, Toby Bartels, Michael Hardy, Wshun, 6birc, Julesd, AugPi, Charles Matthews, Dcoetzee, Wik, E23~enwiki,
Hyacinth, Robbot, Peak, Bkell, Anthony, Tea2min, Giftlite, Lethe, Tweenk, Elektron, Sam Hocevar, TheObtuseAngleOfDoom, Run-
ning, Rich Farmbrough, Paul August, Robertbowerman, Bender235, , EmilJ, Nk, Mroach, Caesura, Oleg Alexandrov, Mindmatrix,
Shreevatsa, Isnow, Salix alba, Juan Marquez, Brighterorange, Bensin, Tardis, BMF81, Chobot, YurikBot, RussBot, Trovatore, Nathan11g,
Haginile~enwiki, Tomisti, Arthur Rubin, Cedar101, Mike1024, SmackBot, Melchoir, Deon Steyn, BiT, Bluebot, Georgelulu, Octahe-
dron80, DHN-bot~enwiki, Acepectif, Pilotguy, Newone, CRGreathouse, CBM, Karho.Yau, Pjvpjv, Escarbot, JAnDbot, Kcho, VoABot
II, Greg Ward, Gja822, JCraw, CommonsDelinker, Pharaoh of the Wizards, Numbo3, Fruits Monster, Pasixxxx, Kyle the bot, Hqb,
Philmac, AlleborgoBot, Haiviet~enwiki, BotMultichill, Jerryobject, Yoda of Borg, Anchor Link Bot, Denisarona, DEMcAdams, ClueBot,
Dead10ck, Ideal gas equation, JP.Martin-Flatin, Alexbot, Watchduck, Ewger, Addbot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Nallimbot, AnomieBOT, Ci-
phers, Jim1138, Txebixev, Martnym, RibotBOT, Entropeter, Thehelpfulbot, FrescoBot, Paine Ellsworth, Pinethicket, TobeBot, WillNess,
Lotusoneny, Whisky drinker, 1qaz-pl, EmausBot, AsceticRose, ZroBot, Alpha Quadrant (alt), Quondum, Nxtfari, Minoru-kun, Mikhail
Ryazanov, ClueBot NG, Bgcaus, Wcherowi, MelbourneStar, Pzrq, Catch2011, BG19bot, Chmarkine, Pxhayes, Brad7777, Bakkedal,
Freeze S, Deltahedron, Lambda Fairy, Manman2323, Gpendergast, Denziloe, ModeratelySober, Bradleyscollins, B2u9vm1ea8g, Inter-
netArchiveBot, GreenC bot, KolbertBot and Anonymous: 99
Element (mathematics) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Element_(mathematics)?oldid=800516294 Contributors: Michael Hardy,
Charles Matthews, Hyacinth, Chuunen Baka, Tea2min, Giftlite, Dbenbenn, Maximaximax, Eep, Brianjd, Dissipate, Paul August, El-
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Tarquin, Andre Engels, Toby~enwiki, Toby Bartels, Michael Hardy, Wshun, Chris-martin, Den fjttrade ankan~enwiki, AugPi, Dpol,
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Tophtucker, Devourer09, CBM, Mhaitham.shammaa, Pirtu, Spencer, Gkhan, David Eppstein, JaGa, CommonsDelinker, Fruits Monster,
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7.8. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 39

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Camrn86, Anonymous Dissident, PaulTanenbaum, Dmcq, AlleborgoBot, Pcruce, Faradayplank, MiNombreDeGuerra, Megaloxantha,
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Matthews, Dcoetzee, Dysprosia, Hyacinth, Sabbut, Donarreiskoer, Robbot, R3m0t, Romanm, Bkell, Tea2min, Giftlite, Fropu, Macrakis,
Tomruen, Sam Hocevar, Mormegil, Jisatsusha, Rich Farmbrough, Paul August, Elwikipedista~enwiki, *drew, Helix84, Petdance, Jum-
buck, Bookandcoee, Kenyon, Oleg Alexandrov, Isnow, Marudubshinki, Jshadias, Salix alba, FlaBot, Chobot, YurikBot, Michael Slone,
Trovatore, Bodo Thiesen, Adam majewski, Reedy, Melchoir, Octahedron80, Mets501, EdC~enwiki, Newone, Twas Now, Myncknm,
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Computer97, Thingg, Addbot, Betterusername, Cesiumfrog, Loupeter, Zorrobot, Jarble, Legobot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, AnakngAraw,
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40 CHAPTER 7. UNION (SET THEORY)

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