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2.1 Basic Properties of Sets Sets
2.2 Complements, Subsets,
and Venn Diagrams In mathematics, any group or collection of objects is called a set. A simple applica-
tion of sets occurs when you use a search engine (such as Google or Bing) to find a
2.3 Set Operations
topic on the Internet. You enter a few words describing what you are searching for
2.4 Applications of Sets and click the Search button. The search engine then creates a list (set) of websites
2.5 Infinite Sets that contain a match for the words you submitted.
For instance, suppose you wish to make a cake. You search the Internet for a
cake recipe and you obtain a set containing over 30 million matches. This is a very
large number, so you narrow your search. One method of narrowing your search
is to use the AND option found in the Advanced Search link of some search en-
gines. An AND search is an all-words search. That is, an AND search finds only
those sites that contain all of the words submitted. An AND search for “flourless
chocolate cake recipe” produces a set containing 210,400 matches. This is a more
reasonable number, but it is still quite large.
Search for:
You narrow the search even further by using an AND search for “foolproof
flourless chocolate cake recipe,” which returns a few hundred matches. One of
these sites provides you with a recipe that provides clear directions and has several
good reviews.
Sometimes it is helpful to perform a search using the OR option. An OR search
is an any-words search. That is, an OR search finds all those sites that contain any
of the words you submitted.
Many additional applications of sets are given in this chapter.
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52 CHAPTER 2 | Sets
POINT OF INTEREST TA B L E 2.1 Define Sets by Using a Word Description and the Roster Method
The set of denominations of U.S. paper {$1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100}
US Department
of the Treasury
The set of states in the United States {California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii}
that border the Pacific Ocean
Paper currency in denominations of
$500, $1000, $5000, and $10,000 has
been in circulation, but production of
these bills ended in 1945. If you just
happen to have some of these bills, you ▼ example 1 Use The Roster Method to Represent a Set
can still cash them for their face value.
Use the roster method to represent the set of the days in a week.
Solution {Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday}
▼ check your progress 1 Use the roster method to represent the set of
months that start with the letter A.
Solution See page S4. ◀
TA K E N O T E
Some sets can be describedd in
i more
than one way. For instance, {Sunday, ▼ example 2 Use a Word Description to Represent a Set
Saturday} can be described as the days
of the week that begin with the letter Write a word description for the set
S, as the days of the week that occur in
A ! !a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z"
a weekend, or as the first and last days
of a week. Solution Set A is the set of letters of the English alphabet.
S E C T I O N 2.1 | Basic Properties of Sets 53
▼ check your progress 2 Write a word description for the set {March, May}.
Solution See page S4. ◀
The following sets of numbers are used extensively in many areas of mathematics.
The set of natural numbers is also called the set of counting numbers. The three
dots ... are called an ellipsis and indicate that the elements of the set continue in a manner
suggested by the elements that are listed.
The integers ... , !4, !3, !2, !1 are negative integers. The integers 1, 2, 3, 4, ... are
positive integers. Note that the natural numbers and the positive integers are the same set of
numbers. The integer zero is neither a positive nor a negative integer.
If a number in decimal form terminates or repeats a block of digits, then the
p
number is a rational number. Rational numbers can also be written in the form ,
q
where p and q are integers and q " 0. For example,
1 3
! 0.25 and ! 0.27
4 11
are rational numbers. The bar over the 27 means that the block of digits 27 repeats without
end; that is, 0.27 ! 0.27272727. . . .
A decimal that neither terminates nor repeats is an irrational number. For
instance, 0.35335333533335. . . is a nonterminating, nonrepeating decimal and thus is an
irrational number.
Every real number is either a rational number or an irrational number.
▼ check your progress 3 Use the roster method to write each of the given
sets.
a. The set of whole numbers less than 4
b. The set of counting numbers larger than 11 and less than or equal to 19
c. The set of negative integers between !5 and 7
Solution See page S4. ◀
The statement “4 is an element of the set of natural numbers” can be written using
mathematical notation as 4 ! N. The symbol ! is read “is an element of.” To state that
“!3 is not an element of the set of natural numbers,” we use the “is not an element of”
symbol, ", and write !3 " N.
The empty set, or null set, is the set that contains no elements. The symbol # or ! " is
TA K E N O T E used to represent the empty set. As an example of the empty set, consider the set of natural
numbers that are negative integers.
Neither the set !0" nor the set !#" Another method of representing a set is set-builder notation. Set-builder notation is
represents the empty set because each especially useful when describing infinite sets. For instance, in set-builder notation, the
set has one element. set of natural numbers greater than 7 is written as follows:
membership
conditions
{ x | x ∈ N and x > 7}
The preceding set-builder notation is read as “the set of all elements x such that x is an
element of the set of natural numbers and x is greater than 7.” It is impossible to list all
the elements of the set, but set-builder notation defines the set by describing its elements.
▼ check your progress 5 Use set-builder notation to write the following sets.
a. The set of integers less than 9
b. The set of natural numbers greater than 4
Solution See page S4. ◀
A set is finite if the number of elements in the set is a whole number. The cardinal
number of a finite set is the number of elements in the set. The cardinal number of a fi nite
set A is denoted by the notation n$A%. For instance, if A ! !1, 4, 6, 9", then n$A% ! 4. In
this case, A has a cardinal number of 4, which is sometimes stated as “A has a cardinality
of 4.”
The following definitions play an important role in our work with sets.
▼ Equal Sets
Set A is equal to set B, denoted by A ! B, if and only if A and B have exactly the
same elements.
▼ Equivalent Sets
Set A is equivalent to set B, denoted by A & B, if and only if A and B have the
same number of elements.
State whether each of the following pairs of sets are equal, equivalent, both, or neither.
a. !a, e, i, o, u", !3, 7, 11, 15, 19" b. !4, !2, 7", !3, 4, 7, 9"
Solution
a. The sets are not equal. However, each set has exactly five elements, so the sets are
equivalent.
b. The first set has three elements and the second set has four elements, so the sets are
not equal and are not equivalent.
answer Yes. If the sets are equal, then they have exactly the same elements; therefore, they also have the
same number of elements.