Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
2. BASICS OF SET THEORY
3. VENN DIAGRAMS
4. OPERATION OF SETS
5. PROBLEM SOLVING USING VENN DIAGRAMS
Venn Diagrams
1. INTRODUCTION
Venn diagrams are an efficient way of representing and analysing sets
and performing set operations. As such, the usage of Venn diagrams is
just the elaboration of a solving technique. Problems that are solved
using Venn diagrams are essentially problems based on sets and set
operations. Thus, before we move on to understanding Venn diagrams,
we first need to understand the concept of a set.
2. BASICS OF SET THEORY
This section defines the terms set, universal set and subset – three
terms that are essential in understanding set theory.
Set: A well-defined collection of objects is called a set. Each member
of a set is called an element. All elements of a set follow a certain rule
and share a common property amongst them.
For example, the teams of the countries who qualified for the
Quarterfinals of the 2006 Football World Cup can constitute a set.
There will be 8 members in this set and the rule that is common to
them is that all of them are teams that have reached the quarterfinals of
the 2006 Football World Cup.
To understand how sets are denoted, take another example. Consider
the set of vowels in the English alphabet. Let this set be represented by
the letter V. This set contains 5 elements – a, e, i, o, u. This can also be
written as:
V = {a, e, i, o, u}
The following two conditions should be taken care of while writing a
set –
A set must be denoted by a capital letter.
The elements of the set must be denoted in small letters.
Following are certain examples of sets –
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
B = {a, b, c, d, e}
In the above examples, A and B are sets while 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and a, b, c,
d, e are the elements belonging to these sets respectively.
The symbol is used to denote that an element belongs to a set.
Certain sets are used very frequently, like the set of all natural
numbers. Following are certain standard letters used for particular sets
–
N = Set of all natural numbers = {1, 2, 3, 4 …}
I = Set of all integers = {…, 3, 2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 3 …}
Q = Set of all rational numbers
R = Set of all real numbers
P = Set of all prime numbers
C = Set of all complex numbers
Universal Set: A set that contains all the elements and sets in a given
scenario is called a Universal Set (U).
In our previous example of Football teams, the universal set can be
considered as the set of all international teams that play Football.
For example,
U = Set of all numbers
The universal set for the set of all numbers is U = { ∞ … ∞}. It
includes all natural numbers, integers, rational numbers, irrational
numbers, etc.
Subset: Set B is said to be a subset of another set A when all elements
of set B are also elements of set A. Set A is said to be a superset of set
B.
Using the same example, if A is the set of all teams that took part in
the 2006 Football World Cup and B is the set of teams that reached the
Quarterfinals, then B is said to be a subset of A. This simply means
that all the teams present in B must definitely be present in A.
Let us consider another example:
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} and B = {1, 2, 3}
We can see that every element of set B is an element of set A.
Hence, we can say that B is a subset of A. We can also say that B is
contained in A.
A is said to be the superset of B.
In any given context or scenario all sets are subsets of the Universal
set.
REMEMBER:
 A Null Set (a set that has no elements) is a subset of every set.
Every set is a subset of itself.
3. VENN DIAGRAMS
Now that we know what sets are, we can look at Venn Diagrams as an
alternate way of depicting sets. Venn Diagrams consist of closed
shapes, generally circles, which represent sets. The capital letter
outside the circle denotes the name of the set while the letters inside
the circle denote the elements of the set.
The various operations of sets are represented by partial or complete
overlap of these closed figures. Regions of overlap represent elements
that are shared by sets.
In practice, sets are generally represented by circles. The universal set
is represented by a rectangle that encloses all other sets. Venn
Diagrams are generally not drawn to scale.
The above figure is a representation of a Venn diagram. Here each of
the circles 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. In our example, A B will be all the students who have attended only
the English lecture and not the history lecture while B A will be all
4. OPERATION OF SETS the students who have attended just the History lecture and not the
English lecture.

Let us now look at few basic set operations and ways of representing
them using Venn diagrams. For understanding these operations, we
will use a common example and perform operations on it.

Consider a class of students that form the universal set. Set A is the set
of all students who were present in the English lecture, while Set B is
the set of all the students who were present in the History lecture. It is
obvious that there were students who were present in both lectures as
well as those who were not present in either of the two lectures.

Complement of a Set: Complement of a set A in the given context is

the set having all elements that belong to the Universal set but not to
A.
Let us consider another example. In a room, there are 5 people a, b, c,
In our example, the complement of set A will be all the students who
d, e. Out of them, a, b and c are men while d and e are women. Also, a
were absent in the English lecture.
and e study science while b, c and d study commerce.
Suppose, The set of males is:
U = {a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h} and A = {a, b, c, d, e},
M = {a, b, c}
Then A’, or complement of the set A = {f, g, h}
The set of females is:

F = {d, e}

The set of science students is:

S = {a, e}

The set of commerce students is:

C = {b, c, d}

If we wish to find out all female students who have taken science, we
Union of Sets: The union of two sets A and B is defined as the set need to find out what is common in set F and set S. This is called an
having all the elements which belong to either A or B or both A and B. intersection of set F and set S and is denoted by F ∩ S.

In our example, the union of sets A and B will contain all the students Here, F ∩ S = {e}
who were present in at least one of the two lectures. Only students who
did not attend a single lecture will not be considered in the union. Thus, an intersection of two sets is formed by the elements which are
common to both the sets.

Similarly, if we consider sets M and F, there is no common element

between them.

Hence, M ∩ F =

Such sets which have no elements in common are called disjoint sets.

Now, let us find out those females who have not taken science. Here,
we have to check the set F and remove all elements of set S present in
this set. This is called the difference between two sets.

S F = {a}
Intersection of Sets: The intersection of sets A and B is defined as the
set having all elements which belong to both A and B. Thus, difference of set A and set B is defined as the set of all elements
present in A but not in B.
In our example, the intersection of A and B will contain all the students
who sat for both, English as well as History lectures. A B = {x | x ( A and x ∉ B}

Now, suppose you want to represent a set containing ”either males or

commerce students or both”. This would mean taking all the elements
from set M and set C together into one set. This is called the union of
set M and set C and is denoted by M C.

Thus, M C = {a, b, c, d}

Note:

Though b and c exist in both sets, they are written only once while
writing the union. This is because no element is ever written twice
while writing a set.

5. PROBLEM SOLVING USING VENN DIAGRAMS

Difference of Sets: The difference of two sets A and B, A B, is
defined as the set having all the elements of A that do not belong to B.
Please note that A B is not always equal to B A. Let us take an example to understand Venn diagrams.
Let U be the universal set containing all the natural numbers between 0
and 11.

Hence, U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}

Let P be the set containing all the prime numbers between 0 and 11.

Thus, P = {2, 3, 5, 7}

Let E be the set containing all the even numbers between 0 and 11.

Hence, E = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}

Hence, P E = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10}

Also, P ∩ E = {2}

This can be represented using a Venn diagram in the following For a three level Venn diagram, the formula is
manner-
n (A B C) = n (A) + n (B) + n (C) n (A ∩ B) – n (A ∩ C) n (B ∩
C) + n (A ∩ B ∩ C)

So in this case,

n(A B C) = 4 + 3 + 5 1 3 2+1=7

Example 1:
Draw Venn diagrams for:

(1) A B–C

(2) (A ∩ B) C’
In the above diagram, the universal set is represented by the rectangle (3) (A B) ∩ C’
while all other sets are represented by circles. The common portion
between the two sets P and E is the intersection of these two sets. Solution:
The universal set contains two numbers, 1 and 9, which do not belong (1)A B–C
to the set of prime or even numbers. Hence, they are written outside
both circles but within the universal set.

n(P) = 4, n(E) = 5 and n(P E) = 8

Thus if we observe, n(P E) ≠ n(P) + n(E)

This is because the element 2 is included in both P and E but while

taking the union of the two sets, we count it only once.

Therefore, if we subtract n(P ∩ E) from n(P) + n(E), then we will get

n(P E).

n(P E) = n(P) + n(E) n(P ∩ E)

i.e. n(P E) = 4 + 5 – 1
(2)(A ∩ B) C’
=8

To generalize this, for any two sets A and B,

n(A B) = n(A) + n(B) n(A ∩ B)

Similarly, now let us consider a universal set as follows:

U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15}

Let A be the set of all even numbers.

Hence, A = {2, 4, 6, 8}

Let B be the set of all square numbers.

Hence, B = {1, 4, 9} (3)(A B) ∩ C’

Let C be the set of all composite numbers.

Hence, C = {4, 6, 8, 9, 15}

This can be represented using a Venn diagram as follows:

 It is given that everyone bought at least one T-shirt,
Example 2:
Express the following as Venn diagrams: From the diagram, we can see that
(1) Every bull is an animal 42 x + x + 30 x = 60
(2) No animal is a bull x = 12
Example 4:
Solution: In a drawing competition, students were asked to draw geometric
figures of their choice. The following Venn diagram represents the
Let A = Set of Animals, B = Set of bulls number of students and their choices of geometric figures. Each
geometric figure on the Venn diagram represents the set of students
(1) Every bull is an animal. who chose to draw that particular geometric figure.

(2) No animal is a bull

Questions:

(1)How many students drew all the figure types?

(2)How many students drew figures with no curves involved?

Here, A and B are disjoint sets.
Example 3: (3)How many students drew polygons with internal angles less than
At a T-shirt auction, 42 Reds United T-shirts were sold and 30 Blues
T-shirts were sold. No one bought more than one T-shirt of the same (4)How many students drew any two figures only?
type and everyone bought at least one. If 60 people participated in the
auction, how many bought both T-shirts? Solutions:

Solution: In order to solve this question set, let us first try and understand the
diagram and what it represents.
Number of people who bought Reds United T-shirts = n(R) = 42

Number of people who bought Blues T-shirts = n(B) = 30

Let the number of people who bought both

T-shirts = n(R B) = x

The total number of people participating in the auction = n(R B) = 60

As everyone bought at least one T-shirt,

n(R B) = n(R) + n(B) n(R B)

x = 42 + 30 – 60

x = 12

The number of people who bought both T-shirts = n(R B) = 12 There are four closed figures in the diagram – a triangle, a rectangle, a
circle and a parallelogram. Each of these figures represents a set of
Alternatively, the question can be easily solved by Venn diagram. students who have chosen to draw that particular geometrical figure.

Next, we move on to the numbers and the lower case letters in the
diagram. The addition of all the numbers (that are labelled using lower
case letters) in one particular figure represents the total number of
students in that set. The reason why these numbers are separated is
because they have different representations. Every letter (and its
number) represents some section of the set which is different from the
other sections.
Consider the circular set and its letters j, m, a, h, f and i. Here is what
each of these letters represents:
j – Number of students common to the circle set and the rectangle set
m – Number of students common to the circle, rectangle and the
triangle sets
a – Number of students common to all the sets
h – Number of students common to the circle set and the triangle set
f – Number of students common to the circle set and the parallelogram
set
i – Number of students who belong only to the circle set
This is how the entire diagram has been laid out. The significance of
the lower case letters in solving the questions is therefore, primary.
Now, let us move on to the solutions of the questions.
(1)Refer to zone a on the Venn diagram. It represents the intersection
of all four sets. Therefore, the number of students who drew all the
figure types = 12
(2)All zones that do not fall in set C fall in this category = c + d + b +
k + g + e + l = 14 + 4 + 13 + 3 + 7 + 9 + 12 = 62
(3) All zones lying within set T satisfy this condition = k + g + b + e +
m + a + h = 3 + 7 + 13 + 9 + 5 + 12 + 1 = 50
(4) All zones formed by the overlap of exactly two sets = d + e + f + g
+ j + h = 4 + 9 + 2 + 7 + 10 + 1 = 33
Example 5:
In the diagram below, the circle stands for ‘educated’, square stands
for ‘hard working’, triangle for ‘urban people’ and rectangle for
‘honest’. The different regions of the diagram are numbered from 1 to
12. Study the diagram carefully and answer the questions:
[SNAP 2008]
Question 1:
Uneducated urban hard-working and honest people are indicated by:
(1) 3(2) 11 (3) 9(4) 4
Solution:
Urban, hardworking honest people but not educated is the region
which is common to all the figures except the circle and is represented
by 4.
Hence, option 4.
Question 2:
Non-urban educated people who are neither hard-working nor honest
are indicated by:
(1) 5(2) 7 (3) 10(4) 11
Solution:
Non-urban educated people who are neither hard working nor honest is
the region belonging to only the circle, and is represented by 7.
Hence, option 2.
Example 6:
In a survey conducted at a University, it was found that 51% of the
students wanted to learn French as a foreign language, 48% wanted to
learn German and 52% wanted to learn Russian. Of the surveyed
students, 21% wanted to learn both French and German, 23% wanted
German and Russian and 24% wanted French and Russian. Only 12%
wanted to learn all three languages. A total of 500 students were
surveyed.
Questions:
(1)How many students wanted to learn only German?
(2)What is the percentage of students interested in French and Russian
only?
(3)How many more students (apart from those who wanted to learn
French and Russian only) were interested in either French or Russian?
(4)How many students were not interested in any of the languages?
(5)What is the ratio of the number of students interested in exactly two
languages to those interested in only one language?
Solution:
To solve this question set, it is absolutely critical to mark the different
sections of the Venn diagram appropriately or you may stand to get
confused.
Let F denote French, G denote German and R denote Russian.
Total number of students surveyed = n(U) = 100% = 500
So, it follows that n(F) = 51%, n(G) = 48% and n(R) = 52%
To represent the fact that there are students who wanted to learn more
than one language, we should use the intersection notation as it
represents elements common to two or more sets. As per the
information given in the question statement, we have:
n(F G) = 21%, n(G R) = 23%, n(R F)
= 24%, n(F G R) = 12%
As per the diagram, it is seen that:
The percentage of students who wanted to learn F and G only = the
percentage of students who wanted to learn both F and G – the
percentage of students who wanted to learn all 3 languages
= n(F G) n(F G R)
= (21 12)%
= 9%
Similarly,
The percentage of students who wanted to learn G and R only
= n(G R) n(F G R)
= (23 12) % Solution:

= 11% To solve this question set, let us introduce a variable x that represents
the set of players that participated in all three sports. In the Venn
The percentage of students who wanted to learn R and F only diagram, this set will be represented by the area that
that is common to all
three circles. In symbolic form, it means:
= n(R F) n(
n(F G R)
n(H F C) = x
= 12%
Now, it is given that the number of
of students that participated in both
Now that we have all this information, we can go ahead and answer Hockey and Football is 48.
the questions.
This means that the number of students that participated only in both
(1)The percentage of students who wanted to learn G only = The Football and Hockey and not Cricket = 48 – x
percentage of students who wanted to learn G the percentage of
students who wanted to learn G and R only the percentage of Similarly, the number of students that participated in Football and
students who wanted to learn F and G only the percentage of ut not in Hockey = 70 – x
Cricket but
students who wanted to learn all 3 languages = (48 11 9 12)% =
16% In this way, we can label all the sections of the Venn diagram in terms
of known numbers and the variable x.
Therefore,
ore, the number students who wanted to learn German only =
0.16 500 = 80 After incorporating data from the first question (that is said to be valid
for the second question as well), this is the completed Venn diagram:
(2)The percentage of students who wanted to learn R and F only =
12%

Therefore, the number of students who wanted to learn R and F only

= 0.12 500 = 60

(3)The percentage of students who wanted either R or F = n(R F)

= n(R) + n(F)) n(R F)

= (52 + 51 24)%

= 79%

The number of students who wanted either R or F = 0.79 500 = 395

Therefore, 395 60 = 335 more students were interested in either

French or Russian. Now, we can easily solve the questions using basic linear equations.

(4)The percentage of students not interested in any of the languages =
100% (the percentage of students interested in any one language
only) (the percentage of students interested in any two languages
only) (the percentage of students interested in all three languages)
Percentage of students interested in F only = 51 9 12 12 = 18%
Similarly we can find that the percentage of students interested in only
Russian and German is 17% and 16% respectively.
The percentage of students not interested in any of the languages
= 100% (18 + 17 + 16) % (9 + 12 + 11)% 12% = 5%
Therefore, the number of students not interested in any language =
0.05 500 = 25
(5)The required ratio is given by:
(1)Refer to the Venn diagram
After appropriating cardinal numbers to the various zones on the Venn
diagram, we get, x + (54 x) + (48 x) + (70 x)) + (x ( + 4) + (x 4) +
(x + 4) = 200 – 10
Simplifying, x = 14
(2)Clearly from the diagram the number of sportsmen who did not
participate in either cricket or football = (x
( + 4) + 10 = 28
Example 8:
A survey was conducted of 100 people to find out whether they had
read recent issues of Golmal, a monthly magazine. The summarized
information regarding readership in 3 months is given below:
Only September: 18; September but not August: 23; September and
July: 8; September: 28; July: 48; July and August: 10; None of the
three months: 24.

What is the number of surveyed people who have read exactly two
consecutive issues (out of the three)?

[CAT 2006]

(1) 7 (2) 9(3) 12

Example 7:
At the annual sports meet, 106 sportsmen participated in hockey, 122 (4) 14 (5) 17
in football and 120 in cricket. It is known that 48 participated in
hockey and football and 70 in football and cricket. A total of 200 Solution:
sportsmen participated in the meet.

Questions:

(1)If 10 sportsmen did not participate in any sport and 54 participated

in hockey and cricket, how many participated in all three?

(2)How many sportsmen did not participate in either cricket or

football?? Assume data from the above question to be valid.
 b=8

Also, e = 3 and f = 2

It is given that a + g = b + c + d + f

a c + g = 16 … (i)

Number of projects involving more than 1 consultant = 6 + 8 + 2 + 3 =

19

Total number of projects = 2 19 1 = 37

a + b + c + d + e + f + g = 2 (b + d + e + f) 1
100 – 24 = 76 had read at least one issue.
a + c + g = 19 1 = 18 … (ii)
If x people read all the three issues, then (8 – x) people read only the
September and July issues. Solving (i) and (ii), we get,

23 people read the September issue but not the August issue. c = 1 and a + g = 17

18 + 8 – x = 23 a cannot be determined uniquely.

x=3 Hence, option 4.

As 28 people read the September issue, [28 – (8 – 3) – 3 – 18] = 2 Question 2:

people read only the August and September issues.
What is the number of projects in which Medha alone is involved?
As 10 people read the July and August issues, 10 – 3 = 7 people read
only the July and August issues. (1) Uniquely equal to zero

The number of people who have read exactly two consecutive issues
=7+2=9
Hence, option 2.
Example 9:
New Age Consultants have three consultants Gyani, Medha and
Buddhi. The sum of the number of projects handled by Gyani and
Buddhi individually is equal to the number of projects in which Medha
is involved. All three consultants are involved together in 6 projects.
Gyani works with Medha in 14 projects. Buddhi has 2 projects with
Medha but without Gyani and 3 projects with Gyani but without
Medha. The total number of projects for New Age Consultants is one
less than twice the number of projects in which more than one
consultant is involved.
[CAT 2003 Leaked Test]
Question 1:
What is the number of projects in which Gyani alone is involved?
(2) Uniquely equal to 1
(3) Uniquely equal to 4
(4) Cannot be determined uniquely
Solution:
From the solution to the previous question, we get, c = 1
Number of projects in which Medha alone is involved = 1
Hence, option 2.
Example 10:
Help Distress (HD) is an NGO involved in providing assistance to
people suffering from natural disasters. Currently, it has 37 volunteers.
They are involved in three projects: Tsunami Relief (TR) in Tamil
Nadu, FloodRelief (FR) in Maharashtra, and Earthquake Relief (ER)
in Gujarat. Each volunteer working with Help Distress has to be
involved in at least one relief work project.

(1) Uniquely equal to zero  A maximum number of volunteers are involved in the FR
project. Among them, the number of volunteers involved in FR
(2) Uniquely equal to 1 project alone is equal to the volunteers having additional
involvement in the ER project.
(3) Uniquely equal to 4
 The number of volunteers involved in the ER project alone is
(4) Cannot be determined uniquely double the number of volunteers involved in all the three
projects.
Solution:
 17 volunteers are involved in the TR project.

 The number of volunteers involved in the TR project alone is

one less than the number of volunteers involved in ER Project
alone.

 Ten volunteers involved in the TR project are also involved in

at least one more project.

[CAT 2005]

Question 1:

Based on the information given above, the minimum number of

Let a be the number of projects in which only Gyani is involved, g be volunteers involved in both FR and TR projects, but not in the ER
the number of projects in which only Buddhi is involved and c be the project is:
number of projects in which only Medha is involved.
(1) 1(2) 3
From the data, d = 6
(3) 4(4) 5
b + d = 14
Solution:
17 volunteers are involved in the TR project and 10 in TR are also
involved in other projects. Thus, 7 volunteers are involved only in TR.
8 volunteers are involved in ER alone.
4 volunteers are involved in all the three projects.
Let x people be involved in FR alone.
Number of people involved in FR and ER but not TR = x – 4
Now, a + b + 4 = 10
a+b=6
Also, 7 + a + b + 4 + x + x – 4 + 8 = 37
2x = 16 or x = 8
Number of Volunteers involved in FR > Number of Volunteers
involved in TR
And Number of Volunteers involved in FR > Number of Volunteers
involved in ER
16 + a > 17 and 16 + a > 16 + b or a > b
a and b can be (6, 0), (5, 1), (4, 2)
The minimum number of volunteers involved in both FR and TR
projects, but not in the ER Project = minimum value of a = 4
Hence, option 3.
Question 2:
Which of the following additional information would enable to find
the exact number of volunteers involved in various projects?
(1)Twenty volunteers are involved in FR.
(2)Four volunteers are involved in all the three projects.
(3)Twenty three volunteers are involved in exactly one project.
(4)No need for any additional information.
Solution:
We can obtain the information in options 2 and 3 from the initial data.
Based on the information given in the explanation to the first question,
the information in option 1 will give us the value of a, which in turn
will give us the value of b. Thus, option 1 would enable us to find the
exact number of volunteers involved in various projects.
Hence, option 1.
Question 3:
After some time, the volunteers who were involved in all the three
projects were asked to withdraw from one project. As a result, one of
the volunteers opted out of the TR project, and one opted out of the ER
project, while the remaining ones involved in all the three projects
opted out of the FR project. Which of the following statements, then,
necessarily follows?
(1)The lowest number of volunteers is now in TR project.
(2)More volunteers are now in FR project as compared to ER project.
(3)More volunteers are now in TR project as compared to ER project.
(4)None of the above
Solution:
After the volunteers withdraw as mentioned, the number of volunteers
working on different projects is as shown.
Number of volunteers working on TR = 7 + 6 + 3 = 16
Number of volunteers working on FR = 14 + a
Number of volunteers working on ER = 15 + b
Considering the possible values of a and b,
14 + a > 15 + b
More volunteers are now in FR than in ER
Hence, option 2.
Question 4:
After the withdrawal of volunteers, as indicated in the previous
question, some new volunteers joined the NGO. Each one of them was
allotted only one project in a manner such that, the number of
volunteers working in one project alone for each of the three projects
became identical. At that point, it was also found that the number of
volunteers involved in FR and ER projects was the same as the number
of volunteers involved in TR and ER projects. Which of the projects
now has the highest number of volunteers?
(1) ER(2) FR(3) TR
(4) Cannot be determined
Solution:
Let m volunteers be added to TR project and n be added to each of FR
and ER projects.
Then, 7 + m = 8 + n
m=n+1
Also, b + 2 = 5
b = 3 and a = 3
Number of volunteers working on TR = 7 + n + 1 + 4 + 5 = 17 + n
Number of volunteers working on FR = 17 + n
Number of volunteers working on ER = 18 + n
Thus, ER has the highest number of volunteers.
Hence, option 1.
Example 11:
70 percent of the employees in a multinational corporation have VCD
players, 75 percent have microwave ovens, 80 percent have ACs and
85 percent have washing machines. At least what percent
percentage of
employees has all four gadgets?

[CAT 2003 Re
Re-Test]

(1) 15%(2) 5%(3) 10%

(4) Cannot be determined

Solution:

70% have VCD Players.

As per the given information
30% do not have VCD Players.
a = b = c = d = e = f = g=
g 1
75% have microwave ovens.
Chetan watched 4 birds and it is given that Chetan watched four
25% do not have microwave ovens. yellow birds.
80% have ACs. All the birds, he watched are yellow.
20% do not have ACs. c, d, g, f are yellow.
85% have washing machines. Abdul watched two yellow birds.
15% do not have washing machines. a and e are not yellow.
30 + 25 + 15 + 20 = 90% of employees do not have at least 1 gadget. Mala watched three yellow birds.
Minimum percentage of employees who has all the four gadgets b is yellow.
= 100 − 90 = 110% There are 5 (b, c, d, g,
g f) yellow and 2 (a and e)) non-yellow
non birds.
Hence, option 33. Hence, option 2.
Example 13:
Alternatively, It is known that at the university, 60% of the students play tennis, 50%
of them play bridge, 70% jog, 20% play tennis and bridge, 30% play
Minimum percentage of employees which possess both VCDs and tennis and jog, and 40% play bridge and jog. If someone claimed that
Microwaves 20% students play bridge, jog and
a play tennis,
= 70% + 75% − 100% [JMET 2009]
= 45% (1)The person is telling the truth.
Minimum percentage of employees which possess both ACs and (2)Students who do all three activities are more than 20%.
Washing machines
(3)Students who do all three activities are less than 20%.
= 80% + 85% − 100%
(4)There are no students who do all three activities.
= 65%
Solution:
Minimum percentage of employees which possess all the four
gadgets Assume the strength of the university to be 100.
= 45% + 65% − 100% Then we have the following Venn diagram representation:
= 10%
Example 12:
Abdul, Mala and Chetan went bird watching. Each of them saw one
bird that none of the others did. Each pair saw one bird that the third
did not. And one bird was seen by all three. Of the birds Abdul saw,
two were yellow. Of the birds Mala saw, three were yellow. Of the
birds Chetan saw, four were yellow. How many yellow birds were
seen in all? How many nonnon-yellow
yellow birds were seen in all?

[SNAP 2008]

(1)7 yellow birds and 3 non yellow birds

(2)5 yellow birds and 2 non yellow birds

(3)4 yellow birds and 2 non yellow birds

Given that:
(4)3 yellow bi
birds and 2 non yellow birds
y + w = 20 … (1)
Solution:
x + w = 30 … (2)

z + w = 40 … (3)

Adding the above three equations we get,

(x + y + z) + 3w
w = 90 … (4) (1) 160(2) 60

From the figure: (3) 640(4) 140

(a + b + c)) + 2(
2(x + y + z) + 3w = 180 … (5) Solution:

Subtracting (4) from (5) we get, Respondents preferring T40 and IPL = 16%, i.e. a total of 160
respondents
(a + b + c) +(xx + y + z) = 90 … (6)
Hence, option 1.
Also since the total strength is 100, we have: Example 15:
The Venn diagram given below shows the estimated readership of 3
(a + b + c) + (xx + y + z) + w = 100 … (7) daily newspapers (X, Y & Z) in a city. The total readership and
advertising cost for each of these papers is as below
Subtracting (6) from (7) we get:
Newspapers Readership (lakhs) Advertising cost(Rs. per sq. cm)
w = 10 … (8) X 8.7 6000
Y 9.1 6500
Statement 3 states that students who do all three activities are less than Z 5.6 5000
20%, is right as w = 10 = 10%.
The total population of the city is estimated to be 14 million. The
Hence, option 33. common readership (in lakhs) is indicated in the given Venn diagram
Example 14:
After a successful T20 cricket tournament, Indian Premier League
(IPL) is interested in launching a new variant of One Day International
cricket called T40 (forty overs a side game). Indian Cricket League
(ICL, a rival league of IPL) also has similar thoug
thoughts. An independent
agency conducted a survey of 1000 respondents to determine the
consumer preference of IPL versus ICL, and preference of T20 versus
T40. Unfortunately, some of the survey information is lost. Following
information is available:

1. 70 percen
percentt of the respondents prefer T20 over T40.

2. 80 percent of the respondents prefer IPL over ICL.

3. 80 percent of those who preferred IPL preferred T20 over T40. [SNAP 2009]

[JMET 2009] Question 1:

Question 1: The number of people (in lakhs) who read at least one newspaper is

Determine the number of respondents who prefer both T20 and ICL. (1) 4.7(2) 11.9

(1) 640(2) 60 (3) 17.4(4) 23.4

(3) 50(4) 140 Solution:

Solution: Total readership of X is 8.7 lakhs.

Constructing the Venn diagram based on the given information, we X + 2.5 + 0.5 + 1 = 8.7
have from the given statements:
X = 4.7

Also, total readership of Y is 9.1 lakhs

2.5 + 0.5 + 1.5 + Y = 9.1

Y = 4.6

Also, total readership of Z is 5.6 lakhs

Completing the above grid, we have: Z + 1 + 0.5 + 1.5 = 5.6

Z = 2.6

Therefore,we have

Respondents preferring T20 and ICL = 6%, i.e. a total of 60

respondents

Hence, option 22.

Question 2:

Determine the number of respondents who prefer both T40 and IPL.
Number of people who read at least one paper = 4.7 + 4.6 + 2.6 + 1 +
1.5 + 0.5 + 2.5 = 17.4

Hence, option 3.

Question 2:

The number of people (in lakhs) who read only one newspaper is

(1) 4.7(2) 11.9

(3) 17.4(4) 23.4

Solution:

From the solution to the previous question,

Number of people who read only one newspaper = 4.6 + 4.7 + 2.6 =
11.9

Hence, option 2.

STRATEGY TIPS

 Logical Reasoning question sets that involve groups of objects

with overlapping elements are the ones that are solved using
Venn diagrams.

 Generally, the diagram is not given as part of the question.

Making a Venn diagram for such question sets is essential as it
is very unnerving to hold so many numbers in your memory.

 While making the diagram, ensure that there is enough space

for labelling all the sections of the diagram. If the diagram is
using variables, then there needs to be enough space for
marking variable values too.

 The question statement contains a lot of information and it is

very easy to confuse the description of a particular section of
the diagram with another. Familiarize yourself with the
language used in such questions.

 Although these question sets are based on simple linear

equations, the sheer volume of numbers might result in
calculation mistakes. Recheck all obtained answers by
substituting them in the Venn diagram and recalculating using
the Set Intersection Formula.

 Most of the questions asked in such problem sets have

additional information needed to find a unique answer. Be very
careful while assuming the validity of this data for other
questions. Do not use this information in other questions unless
specified.

 Venn diagram question sets are one of the simplest question

types asked in MBA entrance exams. Always attempt these
question sets first and with a fresh mind so that you make no
calculation errors.