Set – a well-defined collection or groupings of objects

Elements – object belonging to a set (symbol: ∈). Each element is counted once only.

Cardinality – the number of elements in a finite set. (Symbol: n)

Finite Set – a set that has a finite number of elements. The elements can be counted. It has
exactly n distinct elements.
Infinite Set – a set whose elements are infinite
Three ways of denoting a set:
1. Descriptive Method – describes the set in complete words in a sentence
2. Roster (or tabular or enumeration) Method – the set is represented by writing its elements
inside braces ({ })
3. Set Builder Form (or rule method) – the set is described using the unique property shared
by all elements of the set
Examples:
1. Set A is the set of the first five positive multiples of 4.
(This is a descriptive method of denoting a set)

A = {4, 8, 12, 16, 20}. This is roster method.

The set is finite with a cardinality of 5 (n (A) =5)
8 is an element of set A: 8 ∈ A
5 is not an element of Set A: 5 ∉ A

A = {4x | x ∈ N, |≤ x ≤ 5}. This is a set builder notation.

2. Is the set of integers

= {…, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, …,}. This is an infinite set

3. The following are examples on how to translate roster method to set builder notation.
 C = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}
C = {x | x ∈ N and x < 7} where N is the set of counting numbers.
(It is read as “C is the set of all x such that x is a counting number less than 7”}
 D = { 1, 2, 3, 4, …}
D = {x | x ∈ N} where N is the set of counting numbers.
“D is the set of all x such that x is a counting number.”
 E = { 1, 2, 3, 4, …, 23}
E = {x | x ∈ N, 1 ≤ x ≤ 23} where N is the set of counting numbers.
“E is the set of all x such that x is a counting number and x is greater than or equal
to 1 but less than or equal to 23.”
  F = { 2, 4, 6, 8, …}
F = {2x | x ∈ N} where N is the set of counting numbers.
“F is the set of all 2x such that x is a counting number.”
 G = {2, 4, 6, 8, …, 34}
G = {2x | x ∈ N, 1 ≤ x ≤ 17} where N is the set of counting numbers.
“G is the set of all 2x such that x is a counting number and x is greater than or
equal to 1 but less than or equal to 17.”
 H = {1, 4, 9, 16, …}
H = {x² | x ∈ N} where N is the set of counting numbers.
”H is the set of all x² such that x is a counting number.”

Two sets are equal if and only if, they have the same elements.
A = {4, 5, 6, 7}, B = {7, 6, 5, 4}, C = {5, 6, 7, 8}
Set A is equal to Set B: A = B (The order of the elements does not matter.)
Set A or Set B is not equal to Set C. The three sets have only the number of elements.
Empty Set or Null Set – a set that has no elements: Symbol: ∅ or { }
Subset – a set of which all the elements are contained in another set. If every member of Set A is
also a member Set B, then A is a subset of B: A ⊆ B (A is contained in B)
Alternate Notation: B ⊇ A (B is a superset of A) B includes A or B contains A
If A is not a subset of B, we write A ⊄ B.
If A is a subset of B but A is not equal to B, we write A ⊂ B (read as A is a proper subset
of B)
Examples: A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
B = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8}
C = {2, 3, 7}
 Since all elements of B are in A, then B ⊆ A, A ⊇ B
 Since all elements of C are in A, then C ⊆ A, A ⊇ C
 Since not all elements of C are B, then C ⊄ B
If A is a subset of B but there are elements in A that are not in B, then B is a proper
subset of A, B ⊂ A.
Examples: A = {3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 16}
B = {6, 12, 15}
C = {15, 16, 12}
 B ⊆ A or B ⊂ A; C ⊆ A or C ⊂ A; B ⊆ C or C ⊆ B
The empty set is a subset of any set ∅ ⊂ S
The empty set is a proper subset of all sets except ∅, ∅ ⊂ S
If Set A has n elements, then it has 2n subsets
If Set A has n elements, then it has 2n-1 proper subsets
Examples: E = {7, 8, 9}
no. of subsets = 23 = 8
no. of proper subsets = 23 – 1 = 8 – 1 = 7
Subsets: F = {7}, G = {8}, H = {9}, I = {7, 8}, J = {7, 9}, K = {8, 9}, M = {7, 8, 9}, L =
{}
Sets F, G, H, I, J, K, L are proper subsets of E
Power Set:
 Given a set S, the power set of S is the set of all subsets of all subsets of the set S
(including the empty set and S itself)
 The power of Set of S is denoted by P(S)
Example: E = {7, 8, 9}
P(E) = { {7}, {8}, {9}, {7, 8}, {7, 9}, {8, 9}, {7, 8, 9}, { } }
Singleton Set – a set containing one (1) element
Union of Sets: The union of Sets A and B is the set that contains those elements that are either in
A or in B or in both. In symbol A ⋃ B
Intersection of Sets: The intersection of sets A and B is the set containing those elements in both
A and B: A ⋂ B
Universal Set: This set U is the set containing the elements of the union of all sets belonging to
it.
Complement of a Set: This is the set of elements in the Universal Set that are not included in the
set itself. The complement of Set A is denoted by Ac
Examples: A = {3, 5, 9, 13}
B = {2, 3, 4, 5}
C = {5, 9, 13, 15}
U = {2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 13, 15} Ac = {2, 4, 15}
A ⋂ C = {3, 5, 9, 13, 15} Bc = {9, 13, 15}
A ⋂ B = {3, 5} Cc = {2, 3, 4}
B ⋂ C = {5} A ⋃ Ac = U, A ⋂ Ac = ∅
Equivalent Sets: Two sets having the same cardinality.