Name : Blessy E.

Sampayan Subject : CSEM 209

Course and year: BSED-II Instructor: Mr. Peter John Lim

SUB-MODULE 1. BASIC OF SET

Sets are represented as a collection of well-defined objects or elements and it does not
change from person to person. A set is represented by a capital letter. The number of elements in
the finite set is known as the cardinal number of a set.

Since a set is usually represented by the capital letter.  Thus, A is the set and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 are
the elements of the set or members of the set. The elements that are written in the set can be in
any order but cannot be repeated. All the set elements are represented in small letter in case of
alphabets.  Also, we can write it as 1 ∈ A, 2 ∈ A etc. The cardinal number of the set is 5. Some
commonly used sets are as follows:

N: Set of all natural numbers

Z: Set of all integers
Q: Set of all rational numbers
R: Set of all real numbers
Z+: Set of all positive integers

There are three ways to write a set: verbal description/written description, list or roosted
form, and set builder notation.

1. Listing The Elements (Roster Method)

The set can be defined by listing all its elements, separated by commas and enclosed within
braces. This is called the roster method.

Examples:
V = {a, e, i, o, u}
B = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}
X = {a, b, c, d, e}

However, in some instances, it may not be possible to list all the elements of a set. In such
cases, we could define the set by methods 2 or 3.

2. Describing The Elements

The set can be defined, where possible, by describing the elements clearly in words.

Examples:
R is the set of multiples of 5.
V is the set of vowels in the English alphabet.
M is the set of months of a year.
 3. Set Builder Notation

The set can be defined by describing the elements using mathematical statements. This is
called the set-builder notation.

Examples:
C = {x : x is an integer, x > –3 }
This is read as: “C is the set of elements x such that x is an integer greater than –3.”
D = {x: x is the capital city of a state in the USA}

We should describe a certain property which all the elements x, in a set, have in common
so that we can know whether a particular thing belongs to the set.

We relate a member and a set using the symbol ∈. If an object x is an element of set A,
we write x ∈ A. If an object z is not an element of set A, we write z ∉ A.
∈ denotes “is an element of’ or “is a member of” or “belongs to”
∉ denotes “is not an element of” or “is not a member of” or “does not belong to”

Example:
If A = {1, 3, 5} then 1 ∈ A and 2 ∉ A

SUB-MODULE 2. Union, Intersection, Complement and Universal Set

Union of Sets

The union of two sets is a set containing all elements that are in A or in B (possibly
both). For example, {1,2}∪{2,3}={1,2,3}. Thus, we can write x∈(A∪B) if and only
if (x∈A) or (x∈B). Note that A∪B=B∪A.

Similarly we can define the union of three or more sets. In particular, if A1,A2,A3,⋯,An
are n sets, their union A1∪A2∪A3⋯∪An is a set containing all elements that are in at least one
of the sets. We can write this union more compactly by

¿ i=1 ¿ n Ai

For example, if A1={a,b,c}, A2={c,h},A3={a,d}, then ⋃iAi=A1∪A2∪A3={a,b,c,h,d}.

We can similarly define the union of infinitely many sets A1∪A2∪A3∪⋯.

Intersection of Sets

The intersection of two sets A and B, denoted by A∩B, consists of all elements that are
both in A and B. For example, {1,2}∩{2,3}={2}.
More generally, for sets A1,A2,A3,⋯, their intersection ¿ i Ai is defined as the set
consisting of the elements that are in all Ai ’s.
Complement of Sets

The complement of a set A, denoted by Ac or Á , is the set of all elements that are in the
universal set S but are not in A.

Universal Sets

A universal set is a set which contains all the elements or objects of other sets, including
its own elements. It is usually denoted by the symbol ‘U’.

Suppose Set A consists of all even numbers such that, A = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, …} and set B
consists of all odd numbers, such that, B = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, …}. The universal set U consists of all
natural numbers, such that, U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,….}. Therefore, as we know, all the
even and odd numbers are a part of natural numbers. Therefore, Set U has all the elements of Set
A and Set B.

There is no formula to find the universal set, we just have to represent all the elements in
a single which is collectively called a universal set.

Fact: There is no standard notation for Universal set symbol, it can also be denoted by any other
entity like ‘V’ or ‘ξ’.
Example: Let us say, there are three sets named as A, B and C. The elements of all sets A, B and C is
defined as;
A={1,3,6,8}
B={2,3,4,5}
C={5,8,9}
Find the universal set for all the three sets A, B and C.
Answer: By the definition we know, the universal set includes all the elements of the given sets.
Therefore, Universal set for sets A, B and C will be,
U={1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9}

SUB-MODULE 3. Venn Diagram

A Venn diagram uses overlapping circles or other shapes to illustrate the logical
relationships between two or more sets of items. Often, they serve to graphically organize things,
highlighting how the items are similar and different.

Venn diagrams, also called Set diagrams or Logic diagrams, are widely used in
mathematics, statistics, logic, teaching, linguistics, computer science and business. Many people
first encounter them in school as they study math or logic, since Venn diagrams became part of
“new math” curricula in the 1960s. These may be simple diagrams involving two or three sets of
a few elements, or they may become quite sophisticated, including 3D presentations, as they
progress to six or seven sets and beyond. They are used to think through and depict how items
relate to each within a particular “universe” or segment. Venn diagrams allow users to visualize
data in clear, powerful ways, and therefore are commonly used in presentations and reports.

Here are drawings of venn diagram of the sets mentioned above: union, intersection, complement
and universal sets

Venn diagram of union of sets venn diagram of intersection of sets

Intersection of sets complement of sets

Another example: A Venn diagram of Turkey and Eagle.

Turkey Eagle

Can’t fly Both Can fly

Have have Have

feathers feathers feathers

Small Intelligent
Lays eggs
brained bird bird

Lays eggs Lays eggs