ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

UNIT ONE

THE NUMBER SYSTEM

 Numbers are usually classified as natural, whole, integers, rational, irrational, real and
complex.

 The natural numbers, denoted by N are the numbers 1, 2, 3, . . . (counting numbers).

 Whole numbers, denoted by W are the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, …..

 The integers, denoted by Z, are the positive and negative whole numbers including
zero . . . -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .

Z  denote positive integers 1, 2, 3, . . .

Z  denote negative integers . . . –3, -2, -1

 The rational numbers, denoted Q, are those numbers that can be written in the form
p when p and q are integers and q  0 . Example: 2 , 7 , 1 .
q 3 5 3

Note: All integers are rational numbers.

 Irrational numbers, denoted by Q1, are those numbers which cannot be written in the
form p . Numbers such as 2, 7,  are examples.
3

q
 These numbers cannot be written fractions or decimal form since they do not
terminates

Note: Every rational number has a decimal representation that either

terminates or repeats. Example 5  0.625 or ⅓ = 0.333 . . .
8

 Real numbers are made up of all the rational and irrational numbers. These can be
represented on the number line and these are denoted by R.

-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

Inequalities
Expressions such as the following are called inequalities.

ab a is less than b.

ab a is less than or equal to b.
ba b is greater than a.
ba b is greater than or equal to a.

Intervals
Numbers that lie between given values can be represented as intervals. Intervals can be
written in the form

a  x  b or a  x  b where a should be than b.

Example 1.1: Given the interval 2  x  3

This is read as “x is greater than or equal to negative 2 and less than 3.

Hence if x is an integer, the values of x would be given as -2, -1, 0, 1, 2.

If x is given as Z  (positive integers) then x would be given as 1, 2.

On the other hand, if x is a real number “R” we must consider all numbers greater than or
equal to -2 and less than 3. (Note: This would represent an infinite set of values hence
x can only be shown on the number line.).

General Notation in Representing Intervals

Interval Notation Statement Number Line

a xb
FX Draw

[a, b] closed
a b

a xb (a, b] half open/

half closed
a b

OR

a xb [a, b) half open/

half closed
a b

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

xa (  , a] x less than

or equal to a a

x<a (  , a) x less than a

a

Absolute Value
The absolute value of a real number is its distance from 0 on the real number line. Hence
3 and -3 has the same absolute value.

Formal Definition and Notation

x if x  0
The absolute value of x written x   .
 x if x  0

Note: 5  7 is the same as 7  5 meaning the absolute value of 5  7 is equal to

the absolute value of 7  5 .

The absolute value is always positive.

Equalities/Inequalities Involving Absolute Value

Example 1.1: Solve the equation 2 x  5  7 absolute value gives rise to

equations.

Solution:

2x  5  7 OR   2 x  5  7
2x  7  5  2x  5  7
2 x  12  2x  7  5
x6  2x  2
x  1

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

Example 1.2: Solve the inequality and show your solution on the number line
2x  3  3 .

Solution:

2x  3  3 OR   2 x  3  1
2x  3  3  2x  3  3
2x  0  2x  3  3
x0  2x  6
2 x 6
 note the change of
2 2
x  3 inequality sign

Solution: can be written as 3  x  0

On number line

-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2

Example 1.3: Solve the inequality and show the solution on the number line
2  3x  7 .
Solution:

2  3x  7 OR   2  3x   7
3 x  7  2  2  3x  7
3 x  5 3x  7  2
3 x 5
 3x  9
3 3
5 3x 9
x 
3 3 3
2
x  1 x  3.
3

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

2
Solution: written as x  1 , x  3.
3

On number line

-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

Note: Linear inequalities are solved similar to equations, however when dividing or
multiplying by a negative quantity the sign of the inequality is reversed, i.e.

2 x  4
2 x 4

2 2
x  2

SETS
Definition: A set is a collection of well defined and distinct objects.

Terms: ‘well defined’ specifies what elements belong to the set.

‘distinct’ indicates that each element of the set is different from the others.

A = {1, 2, 3} meaning letters 1, 2, and 3 are elements or members of the set A. This can
be written as 1  A, 2  A and 3  A. Also we can write 4  A meaning 4 is not an
element/member of the set A.

Set Notation
There are three methods commonly used to denote sets:

(1) The Roster Method

This method specifies a set by listing the elements between braces:

Examples: A  3,5,7,9 or B  1, 2,3,.......

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

(2) The Descriptive Method

This method specifies a set by writing a description of its elements between

braces:

W  whole numbers less than 5

Example: OR
C   Integers greater than 5

Note: These sets can be given in the Roster Method where

W  0,1, 2,3, 4
C  6, 7,8,9,10,....

(3) The Set-Builder Method

This method specifies a set by writing:

A   x / x has property P

Example: A   x / 2 x  1  3, x  Z 

Note: The elements in a must be determined by the equation 2x 1  3 and x must

be an integer.

.
2x 1  3
2x  3 1
Hence
2x  2
x 1
Since x is in the set of Z (Integers) then the elements in set a can be Rostered.

A  {1, 2,3, 4,...}

Example: B  {x 2 x  1  3, x  R}

Note: This solution is similar to the previous example, however x  R means x is a

real number. Therefore the elements in x cannot be rostered. The set can
only be represented on the number line.

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

x 1 xR hence

-1 0 1 2 3 4

The set B contains all real numbers greater than or equal to 1.

Definition: A set A is a subset of a set B iff (if and only if) a  A implies
   a  B for all a  A . This is denoted by A  B .
Note: B  B or A  A .

If A is a subset of B it means all the elements in the set A must be in

the set B.

Example 1.5: Given A = {a, b, c} B = {a, b, c, d} C={a, b, c}. Then A  B (A

is a subset of B). Also C  B (C is a subset of B). Also A  C , and
C  A.

Definition: A is a proper subset of a set B, denoted by A  B , if (if and only if) A is

a subset of B and A  B .

From Example 1.5: C  B and A  B . A and C are proper subsets of

B.

Note: The element in A represents some of the elements in B, note that not
all the elements in B are in the set A.

Definition: The empty set is a set which contains no elements, denoted by  or {}.

Note: (i) The empty set is a subset of every set.

(ii) Every set is a subset of itself.

Definition: If the elements of a set A are countable, then A is said to be finite. A is

called infinite otherwise.

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 ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

Example 1.6:

A   x 4  x  2 , x  Z  meaning A is the set x such that x is greater than or equal

to -4 and less than 2, where x is an integer.

The element of A can be listed in roster form as A = {-4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1} hence A is
countable, therefore A is finite.

B   x 4  x  2 , x  R . Since the elements cannot be listed, the set B is infinite.

1
5
4
3
2
1
2
3
4
5
Note:
0– 5
1
2
3
4
B includes rational and irrational numbers).

This solution can be shown on the number line

– 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 0 1 2 3 4 5

The cardinality or cardinal number of a set A is the number of elements in the set denoted
by n(A) or A .

Note: The cardinality can only be determined for finite sets.

Example 1.7: A = {2, 3, 5} then n(A)=3.

Definition: Two sets A and B are equal denoted A=B if A  B and B  A .

Example 1.5 page 5. A=C

Definition: A set with one element is called a unit set or singleton. For example
B={4} is a unit set.

Example 1.7a: B  {2,3, 4,.....} or B  {whole numbers greater than 1}

n(B) not possible, since B is infinite

Definition: The set made up of all subsets of a set A is called the power set of A,
denoted by 2A.

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

Example 1.9: A = {a, b , c}

2A = {{a}, {b}, {c}, {a, b}, {a, c}, {b, c},  , A}

Note: In example 1.9, the number of subsets in the power set is 2 A  23  8 .

Example 1.9a: Given B={1, {2}, a} list the subsets of B.

Solution: B  {1,},{2},{a}, 1,{2} , {1, a} , {2}, a ,  B

Definition: The universal set is a special set which contains all the elements from
the sets under discussion. The universal set is denoted by U or  .

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

Set Operations

Definition: The union of two sets A and B, denoted by A  B , is defined as

A  B   x x  A or x  B
.

The shaded region in the Venn diagrams represent the union of the sets A and B.

A B

A B

OR

A B

A  B (disjoint sets)

Definition: The intersection of two sets A and B denoted by A  B is defined as

A  B   x x  A and x  B
.

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 ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

A B

A  B is the shaded region

A B

A  B   for disjoint sets.

Example 1.11: Let U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} A = {1, 2, 4}

B = {2, 3, 4, 6}

Find: (i) A B
A B
F X D r a w

(ii)
(iii) Represent the information on a Venn diagram.

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

Solution: (i) A  B  1, 2,3, 4, 6

(ii) A  B  2, 4

(iii)

Definition: The absolute complement of a set A, with respect to U, denoted by A ,

is defined as A   x x  U and x  A .

Venn Diagram

A

A is the shaded region

A is the shaded region

Example 1.12: Let U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10} A = {1, 2, 3} B = {2, 3, 6, 7}

(i) A  4,5, 6, 7,8,9,10

(ii)  A  B   4,5,8,9,10 since  A  B   1, 2,3, 6, 7 .

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 ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

B
A

6
1 2
3
7
4 10

9
5 8

Definition:

The relative complement of a set A with respect to B (or relative difference between
B and A) denoted by B – A is defined as B  A   x x  B and x  A . This can also
be denoted by B/A or B  A .

Venn Diagram

B
A

F X D r a w
Shaded region is B – A

Note: This can be referred to as B only.

Example 1.13: Given A = {2, 3, 4, 5} B = {3, 5, 7, 9, 11}

B – A = {7, 9, 11}
A – B = {2, 4}

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 ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

B
A

7
2
4 3
5 9

11

Definition: The symmetric difference of two sets A and B is defined as

A  B   A  B   A  B .

Venn Diagram

A B

Shaded region is A  B

Example 1.14: A = {1, 2, 3, 4} B = {1, 3, 4, 6, 7}

F X D r a w
A  B  1, 2,3, 4, 6, 7 A  B  {1,3, 4}

Hence A  B  1, 2,3, 4,6,7  1,3, 4  2,6,7

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

Laws of Algebra of Sets

Let A, B and C be sets then

(i) Closure: A  B , A  B , A ,  A  B  etc. are all sets.

(ii) Associativity:  A  B  C  A   B  C 
 A  B  C  A   B  C 
(iii) Commutavity: A B  B  A
A B  B  A

(iv) Distributivity: A   B  C    A  B   A  C 
 B  C   A   B  A   C  A
A   B  C    A  B   A  C 

(v) Idempotent: A A  A
A A  A

(vi) DeMorgans’:  A  B   A  B
 A  B   A  B
(vii) Complement Laws: A  A  
 A  A
A  A  U
  U
U  

(viii) Identity Law: A U  A ; A  

A U  U ; A  A

Proof: Prove that A   B  C    A  B   C

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

L.H.S: A   B  C   x x  A   B  C 
  x x  A or x   A  C 
by definition of union
  x x  A or x  B or x  C
  x x   A  B  or x  C
  x x   A  B   C   A  B   C
.

Other Examples Using Set Operations

Example 1.15: Let U = {1, 2, 3… 10}

A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 7}
B = {2, 3, 5, 7, 9}
C = {1,2, 3, 4, 5, 9,10}

Evaluate: (i) A B C
(ii) AC
(iii)  A  B 
(iv)  A C  B
(v)  A  B  C
(vi) Represent the sets on a Venn Diagram.

Solution: (i) A  B  C  2,3,

(ii) A  C  1, 2,3, 4
(iii)  A  B   {2,3, 7} hence ( A  B)  1, 4,5, 6,8,9,10

(iv)  AC  B
1, 2,3, 4  2,3,5, 7,9  1, 4

(v)  A  B  C
1, 2,3, 4,5,7,9  1, 2,3, 4,5,9,10  7
(vi) Venn Diagram

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

A  B  C  2,3
A  B  2,3, 7
A  C  1, 2,3, 4
B  C  2,3,5,9

Example 1.16: Let U   x 10  x  10, x  R

A   x x  2, x  R
B   x 3  x  4, x  R
C   x 7  x  0, x  R

Represent the sets on the number line and answer the questions below:

Determine: (i) A B C
(ii) A B C
(iii)  A  B 
(iv) AC

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

Solution:
C

-10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10

(i) A  B  C  x  7  x  10, x  R OR  x x  7

(ii) A  B  C  x  2  x  0

(iii)  A  B   x x  2, x  4 since  A  B    x 2  x  4

(iv) A  C   x x  0

Example 1.17:

On a campus the following information was recorded for 200 first year students enrolled
in the economics department:

100 were enrolled in course EC 14A

90 were enrolled in course EC 10A
103 were enrolled in course EC 14B
20 were enrolled in EC 14A and EC 10A only
25 were enrolled in EC10A and EC 14Bbut not EC14A
51 were enrolled in EC 14A and EC 14B
23 were enrolled in EC 14A, EC 14B and EC 10A.

Represent the information on a Venn diagram and state the number of students not
enrolled in any of the three courses and

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

Answer the following questions:

i. How many students were enrolled in EC 10A only?

ii. How many students were enrolled in only two courses?
iii. How many students were enrolled in only one course?
iv. How many students were not enrolled for any of these courses?

There are four students not enrolled any of these courses.

Solution:

(i) 22 Students
(ii) 20  28  25  73 students
(iii) 429  22  27  78 students
(iv) 26 Students

Example 1.18

Sixty students were surveyed by the sports representative to determine their preferences
for the sports cricket (C) Basketball (B) and Football (F). The responses were
summarized as follows:

37 students prefer cricket

27 students prefer basketball
21 students prefer football
21 students prefer cricket and basketball
5 students prefer cricket and football only
8 students prefer basketball and football
6 students prefer all three sports

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

Draw a carefully labeled Venn diagram and use it to answer the following

(i) How many students prefer none of the sports?

(ii) How many students prefer cricket only?
(iii) How many students do not like football?
(iv) How many students like cricket or football but not basketball?

Solution:

C B

15 4
11

6
5 2

F
9

x  11  15  4  5  6  2  8  60 students
x  51  60
x9

(i) 9 Students
(ii) 11 students
(iii) 9  11  15  4  39 students
(iv) 11  5  8  24 students

Note: Check Appendix I for assistance in the solution.

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

Additional Practice Question

1. Let   10,  9,.........,7,8

A  1, 2,3, 4,5
B  5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0,1, 2,3
C  4, 3,0,1,3,6

Find (i) A  B  C

(ii) ( A  B )  C

(iii) B  ( A  B )

(iv) ( A  C )  B

2. The following are defined on the set of integers

  6  x  6 B   x x  2

C   x  1  x  5

If B and C are subsets of  , List

(i) B  C (ii) B  C (iii) B  C (iv) n( B  C ) (v) n(C  B )

3. Solve the inequalities and show the solutions on the number line

(a) 2 x  5  1

(b) 3x  4  10

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ECON 1003 Mathematics for Social Sciences I

4. Of the 64 executives at the certain company last year.

30 had more than 5 years service with the company

29 received a performance bonus
15 were fired
8 had more than 5 years service, received a bonus and were fired
3 had more than 5 years service, did not receive a bonus and were fired
9 received a bonus and were fired
14 had 5 or fewer years of service, received a bonus and were not fired.

Show this information on a Venn diagram then answer the following questions

(i) How many executives with more than 5 years of service received a bonus
and were fired?

(ii) How many executives with more than 5 years of service were fired?

(iii) How many executives who received a bonus were not fired?

(iv) How many executives who did not receive a bonus was fired?

5. Given the sets

U  {1, 2,3,.....10}
B  {1, 2,3,{4}}
A  {1, 2,3, 4,5, 7}
C  {3, 4,5,10,11}
D  {3, 4,10}

State whether the following are True or False.

(a) B A
(b) 4 B
(c) A  B  C  {3, 4}
(d) DC
(e) {4}  B
(f) A B  D  

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