MATHEMATICS FOR ENGINEERS

LESSON III – SET AND SET OPERATIONS

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” –Albert Einstein

AUGUST 22, 2019 PREPARED BY: REYMAR S. LEDESMA

 SET AND SET OPERATIONS
• Set
• Set Operations
• Venn Diagram

See Reference
SET

Definition of Set
A set is intuitively defined as a collection of well-defined
objects.
Example:
1. a class of BSIE-1A students
2. the days in a week
3. the set of even numbers is a set of numbers divisible by 2
SET

Sets are denoted by capital letters like A, B, C, and so on.

Elements – objects belonging to a set, usually denoted by
small letters such as a, b, c, and so on, unless
specified.
 If a belongs to set A, we may right 𝐚 ∈ 𝑨 which is read as
“a is an element of A”.
 If 2 does not belong to set A, we may right 𝟐 ∉ 𝑨.
SET

DESCRIBING SETS
1. Roster or Tabular Method
 the elements are enumerated or listed and enclosed in braces.
Example: V is the set of vowels in the English alphabet.
V = {a, e, i, o, u}
2. The Rule method or set-builder form
 The general property of elements are given.
Example: V is the set of vowels in the English alphabet.
V = {x/x is a vowel in the English alphabet}
SET

EXAMPLE
I. Describe the following sets using both the roster and the
rule method.
1. P = the set of prime numbers between 0 and 20.
2. D = the set of days in a week
SET

EXAMPLE
II. Given the sets
𝑂 = 𝑥/𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑑𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑟
𝐸 = {𝑥/𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑟}
Determine whether each of the following is true or false.
a. 4 ∈ 𝐸 c. 6 ∈ 𝑂
b. 9 ∈ 𝐸 d. 7 ∈ 𝑂
SET

Finite and Infinite Set

 A set is finite if it has n distinct elements. Otherwise, it is an
infinite set.
EXAMPLE: Determine each given set whether finite or infinite.
1. V = {a, e, i, o, u}
2. S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
3. Z = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, …}
4. E = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, …}
SET

Equality of Sets
 Two sets are equal if every element in one is an element of the
other. Otherwise the sets are unequal.
Example: Consider the following sets
V = {a, e, i, o, u}
W = {a, i, a, e, e, o, u, i}
P = {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13}
M = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13}
Determine the following whether true or false
a. V = W b. P = M c. W = V
SET

Subsets
 If for two sets A and B, every element in A is in B, then A is called
a subset of B, denoted by 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵.
Example: Consider the following sets
V = {a, e, i, o, u}
T = {a, e, i}
S = {a, b, e}
Determine the following whether true or false
a. 𝑇 ⊆ 𝑉 c. S ⊆ 𝑉
b. V ⊆ 𝑇 d. S ⊆ 𝑇
SET

Proper Subsets
 If for the sets A and B where A is a subset of B and if there is at
least one element in B that is not in A, then A is called a proper
subset of B denoted by 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵.
Example: Consider the following sets
V = {a, e, i, o, u}
T = {a, e, i}
S = {a, b, e}
Determine the following whether true or false
a. 𝑇 ⊂ 𝑉 c. S ⊂ 𝑉
b. V ⊂ 𝑇 d. S ⊂ 𝑇
SET

Trivial Subsets
 Any set has trivial subsets, namely the set itself and the empty
set, the set which has no elements and is denoted by ∅ 𝑜𝑟 .

Power Set
 Given a set D = {1, 2, 3}, the power set of D, denoted by
P(D), is the set of all the subsets of D, that is,
𝑃 𝐷 = { 1 , 2 , 3 , 1,2 , 1,3 , 2,3 , 1,2,3 , ∅}.
 The number of subsets n of a given set is given by the formula
𝑛 = 2𝑘 ,
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑘 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑡.
SET

Equivalence of sets
 When sets are so related that there is one-to-one
correspondence between their elements, they are called
equivalent sets, denoted by “∼”.
Example: Consider the following sets
R = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
L = {a, e, i, o, u}
J = {k, l, m, n}
Determine the following whether true or false
a. 𝐽 ∼ 𝐿 c. R ∼ 𝐿
b. L ∼ 𝐽 d. R ∼ 𝐽
SEATWORK

I. Determine whether the set is finite or infinite.

a. the set of counting numbers
b. the set of letters in English alphabet
c. the set of even integers
d. the set of students in BSIE – 1A
e. the set of counting numbers divisible by 3
II. Consider the following sets
A = set of distinct letters in the word “ability”
B = set of d
SEATWORK

II. Describe the following sets using tabular method

A = set of distinct letters in the word “ability”
L = set of distinct letters in the word “liability”
M = set of distinct letters in the word “mathematics”
T = set of distinct letters in the word “temporary”
and,
1. Determine the equal sets
2. Determine the equivalent sets
SEATWORK

III. Let W = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}, X = {3, 5, 7, 9} and

Y = {2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8}. Determine if each of the following is
true or false. If false, give the reason for its falsity.
a. 𝑋 ⊆ 𝑊 c. 𝑋 ⊆ 𝑌
b. Y ⊆ 𝑋 d. Y ⊆ 𝑊
IV. If A and B are two sets such that A = B, will it follow that
𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 ? Why?
V. Let F = {a, b}. Find the power set of F.
SET OPERATIONS

1. Union
 The Union of two sets A and B, denoted by 𝑨 ∪ 𝑩 and read as “A
union B”, is the set of all elements that belong to A or to B or both
A and B.
Example: Consider the following sets
W = {1, 2, 3, ,4 ,5 ,6 ,7 ,8}
R = {1, 3, 5, 7}
S = {2, 4, 6, 8}
Z = {2, 3, 5, 8} , then,
a. R ∪ 𝑆 = b. 𝑅 ∪ 𝑍 = c. S ∪ 𝑊 =
SET OPERATIONS

2. Intersection
 The intersection of two sets A and B, denoted by 𝑨 ∩ 𝑩, and
read as “A intersection B”, is the set of all elements that
belong to both A and B.
Example: Consider the following sets
W = {1, 2, 3, ,4 ,5 ,6 ,7 ,8}
R = {1, 3, 5, 7}
S = {2, 4, 6, 8}
Z = {2, 3, 5, 8} , then,
a. R ∩ 𝑍 = b. W ∩ 𝑍 = c. R ∪ 𝑆 =
SET OPERATIONS

2. Intersection
 If 𝑨 ∩ 𝑩 has at least one element , then A and B are called
joint sets. If 𝑨 ∩ 𝑩 = ∅, then A and B are called disjoint
sets.
Note: The set consisting of all the elements under consideration is called
the universal set, denoted by U. For the given sets previously, we can let
U = W = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8} and the sets R, S, and Z are its subsets.
SET OPERATIONS

3. Set Complement
 The complement of a set B, denoted by B’ and read as “B
prime”, is the set of elements in the universal set that are
not in B.
Example:
W = {1, 2, 3, ,4 ,5 ,6 ,7 ,8}
R = {1, 3, 5, 7}
S = {2, 4, 6, 8}
Z = {2, 3, 5, 8} , then,
a. 𝑅’ = b. 𝑆’ = c. 𝑍’ = d. 𝑈’ = e. ∅′ =
SET OPERATIONS
3. Set Difference
 The difference of two sets A and B, denoted by A – B and read as
“A difference B”, is the set of elements in A which are not in B,
that is, the set of elements in the first set that are not in the
second set.
Example:
W = {1, 2, 3, ,4 ,5 ,6 ,7 ,8}
R = {1, 3, 5, 7}
S = {2, 4, 6, 8}
Z = {2, 3, 5, 8} , then,
a. W − R = b. W − S = c. S − Z =
d. Z − R = e. R − S =
THE VENN DIAGRAM

Definition of the Venn Diagram

The elements of a set can be represented by dots (or points) on

the plane and the collection of these elements can be enclosed by
figures. This representation of sets is called Venn Diagram and the
operations are done by shading.
THE VENN DIAGRAM

Example: Let the universal set U be the set of points in a

parallelogram, C be the set of points in a circle and T be
the set of points in a triangle.
Shade the area represented by:
U 1. 𝐶 ∩ 𝑇
T 2. 𝐶 − 𝑇
3. 𝐶 ∪ 𝑇
C 4. (𝐶 ∩ 𝑇)′
ASSIGNMENT

I. Given the following sets

U = { x/x is a counting number less than or equal to 11}
A = {x/x is an even counting number less than 12}
B = {x/x is a positive odd integer less than 13}
C = {x/x is a counting prime number less than 11}
Find:
1. (𝐴 ∩ 𝐵)
2. 𝐴 ∪ (𝐵 ∩ 𝐶)
3. 𝐴′ ∪ 𝐵
ASSIGNMENT

II. If in the following diagram, the parallelogram represents set P,

the triangle set T, and the circle set C, shade the area
represented by:
1. P ∪ 𝑇
U
2. 𝑃 ∩ 𝑇 C

3. P − (C ∩ 𝑇)
P
4. T ∪ 𝐶
5. (𝑃 ∪ 𝑇)′ ∩ 𝐶

T
ASSIGNMENT

III. Decide whether each of the following is true or false for any
two sets A and B.
1. 𝐴 is a subset of 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵.
2. 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 is a subset of 𝐵.
3. 𝐴 is a subset of 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵.
4. 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 is a subset of 𝐴.
5. If 𝐵 is a subset of 𝐴, then 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = 𝐵.
6. If 𝐵 is a subset of 𝐴, then 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = 𝐵.
ASSIGNMENT
IV. Using Venn Diagram, solve the following problem:
Ms. Julieta Cruz took a survey of three TV programs
watched by the studentsin her class. The figures she
gathered were as follows:
News (N) 17 students
Concerts (C) 23 students
Sports (S) 19 students
News and Concerts 6 students
News and Sports 4 students
Concerts and Sports 9 students
News, Concerts and Sports 3 students
ASSIGNMENT
CONTINUE…
a) Draw the Venn diagram from the given data.
b) How many students were there in the class?
c) How many students viewed only one program?
PRACTICE PROBLEM (Venn Diagram)
In a class of 40 students, 18 of them are taking Mathematics
(M), 20 are taking English (E), 15 are taking Chemistry (C), 11 are
taking English and Chemistry, 6 are taking Mathematics and
English, 4 are taking Mathematics and Chemistry and 2 are taking
all three subjects.

a. How many students are taking only one subject?

b. How many are taking two subjects?
c. How many are not taking any of the three subjects?
REFERENCES

Apellado, A., et. Al. College Algebra. Central Mindanao University. College
of Arts and Sciences. Department of Mathematics. Copyright 2009.
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
-–Albert Einstein

T HA NK Y O U !