Chapter 2 The Language of Sets

Sets
 Sets
Any group or collection of objects is called a set. It is usually denoted by the capital
letters 𝐴, 𝐵, 𝐶, … , 𝑍.
The objects that belong in a set are the elements, or members, of the set.

Examples:
1.) The set consisting of the four seasons has spring, summer, fall, and winter as its
elements.
2.) The set of states in the Unites States that border the Pacific Ocean has California,
Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii as its elements.
3.) The set of days in a week has elements Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
 Sets
The following two methods are often used to designate
a set.
1. Describe the set using words.
2. List the elements of the set inside a pair of braces, { }.
This method is called the roster method. Commas are used
to separate the elements.
 Sets
For instance, if we let S to represent the set consisting of the four
seasons, then, using the roster method, we would write
S = {spring, summer, fall, winter} .
Note: The order in which the elements of a set are listed is not
important. Thus, the set consisting of the four seasons can also
be written as
S = {winter, spring, fall, summer}.
 Sets
The following table gives two examples of sets, where each set is designated
by a word description and also by using the roster method.

Define Sets by Using a Word Description and the Roster Method

Table 2.1
Example 1 – Use the Roster Method to Represent a Set

Use the roster method to represent the set of the days

in a week.

Solution:
Example 2 – Use a Word Description to Represent a Set

Write a word description for the set

Solution:

Set A is the set of letters of the English alphabet.

 Sets
The following sets of numbers are used extensively in many
areas of mathematics.
 Sets
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:
• The natural numbers and the positive integers are the same set of numbers.
• The integer zero is neither a positive nor a negative integer.
 Sets
If a number in decimal form terminates or repeats a block of digits without end, then the
number is a rational number.
Rational numbers can also be written in the form
where p and q are integers and q  0.

Example:

are rational numbers.

 Sets
➢ The bar over the 27 means that the block of digits 27 repeats without end;
that is,

➢ 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.

 Example 3 – Use the Roster Method to Represent a Set of Numbers

Use the roster method to write each of the given sets.

a. the set of natural numbers less than 5

b. the solution set of
c. the set of negative integers greater than –4

Solution:
a. The set of natural numbers is given by {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, ...}.
The natural numbers less than 5 are 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Using the roster method, we write this set as {1, 2, 3, 4}.
 cont’d

Example 3 – Solution
b. Adding –5 to each side of the equation produces x = –6.
The solution set of
c. The set of negative integers greater than –4 is {–3, –2, –1}.
Definitions Regarding Sets
 Definitions Regarding Sets
A set is well-defined if it is possible to determine whether any given item is an
element of the set.
For instance:
• The set of letters of the English alphabet is well defined.
• The set of great songs is not a well-defined set.

It is not possible to determine whether any given song is an element of the

set or is not an element of the set because there is no standard method for
making such a judgment.
 Definitions Regarding Sets
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.
 Example 4 – Apply Definitions Regarding Sets

Determine whether each statement is true or false.

Solution:
a. Since 4 is an element of the given set, the statement is true.
b. There are no negative natural numbers, so the statement is
false.
 cont’d

Example 4 – Solution
c. Since is not an integer, the statement is true.

d. The word nice is not precise, so the statement is

false.
 Definitions Regarding Sets
The empty set, or null set, is the set that contains no elements.
The symbol  or { } is used to represent the empty set.
Example of the empty set: the set of natural numbers that are
negative integers

Another method of representing a set is set-builder notation.

Set-builder notation is especially useful when describing infinite
sets.
 Definitions Regarding Sets
For instance, in set-builder notation, the set of natural numbers greater than 7 is written as
follows:

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.
 Example 5 – Use Set-Builder Notation to Represent a Set

Use set-builder notation to write the following sets.

a. The set of integers greater than –3

b. The set of whole numbers less than 1000
• Solution:
 Definitions Regarding Sets
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 finite set A is denoted by the notation
n(A).
Example: If A = {1, 4, 6, 9}, then n(A) = 4.
Note: In this case, A has a cardinal number of 4, which is sometimes
stated as “A has a cardinality of 4.”
 Example 6 – The Cardinality of a Finite Set
Find the cardinality of each of the following sets.

Solution:
a. Set J contains exactly two elements, so J has a cardinality of 2.
Using mathematical notation, we state this as n(J) = 2.

b. Only a few elements are actually listed. The number of natural numbers from 1
to 31 is 31. If we omit the numbers 1 and 2, then the number of natural numbers
from 3 to 31 must be 31 – 2 = 29. Thus n(S) = 29.
 cont’d

Example 6 – Solution
c. Elements that are listed more than once are counted
only once. Thus n(T) = 3.
 Definitions Regarding Sets
The following definitions play an important role in our
work with sets.

•For instance {d, e, f } = {e, f, d }.

 Example 7 – Equal Sets and Equivalent Sets
State whether each of the following pairs of sets are equal, equivalent, both,
or neither.

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.
Subsets
 Subsets

Example: The set of vowels, {a, e, i, o, u}, is a subset of the set of letters in
the alphabet.
 Subsets
Here are two fundamental subset relationships.

The notation A B is used to denote that A is not a subset

of B. To show that A is not a subset of B, it is necessary to
find at least one element of A that is not an element of B.
 Example 8 – Apply the Definition of a Subset
Determine whether each statement is true or false.
a. {5, 10, 15, 20}  {0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30}
b. W  N
c. {2, 4, 6}  {2, 4, 6} c. True; every set is a subset of itself.
d. ∅  {1, 2, 3}
d. True; the empty set is a subset of every set.
Solution:
a. True; every element of the first set is an element of the second set.
b. False; 0 is a whole number, but 0 is not a natural number.
 Subsets
The English logician John Venn (1834–1923) developed diagrams, which we now refer to as Venn
diagrams, that can be used to illustrate sets and relationships between sets.

A Venn diagram

In a Venn diagram, the universal set is represented by a rectangular region and subsets of the universal
set are generally represented by oval or circular regions drawn inside the rectangle.
 Subsets
The Venn diagram below shows a universal set and one of its subsets, labeled as set A.

A Venn diagram

The size of the circle is not a concern.

The region outside of the circle, but inside of the rectangle, represents the set A.
Proper Subsets of a Set
Proper Subsets of a Set
 Example 9 – Proper Subsets
For each of the following, determine whether the first set is a proper subset of the
second set.
a. {a, e, i, o, u}, {e, i, o, u, a} b. N, I

Solution:
a. Because the sets are equal, the first set is not a proper subset of the second set.
b. Every natural number is an integer, so the set of natural numbers is a subset of the
set of integers. The set of integers contains elements that are not natural numbers,
such as –3. Thus the set of natural numbers is a proper subset of the set of integers.
 Example 10 – List All the Subsets of a Set
Set C shows the four condiments that a hotdog stand offers on its hotdogs.
C = {mustard, ketchup, onions, relish}
List all the subsets of C.

Solution:
An organized list shows the following subsets.
{}
•

{mustard}, {ketchup}, {onions}, {relish}

 cont’d

Example 10 – Solution
{mustard, ketchup}, {mustard, onions},
{mustard, relish}, {ketchup, onions},
{ketchup, relish}, {onions, relish}

{mustard, ketchup, onions},

{mustard, ketchup, relish},
{mustard, onions, relish},
{ketchup, onions, relish}

{mustard, ketchup, onion, relish}

Number of Subsets of a Set
 Number of Subsets of a Set
•In some applications we need to determine the number of subsets of
a set without making an actual list of all the subsets. We know that the
empty set has 0 elements and the only subset of the empty set is the
empty set. A set with 1 element has 2 subsets, namely, itself and the
empty set. It is easy to show that a set with 2 elements has 4 subsets
and a set with 3 elements has 8 subsets.
•In Example 10 we found that a set with 4 elements has 16
subsets. The following diagram summarizes the above
results.
 Number of Subsets of a Set
•It appears that if the number of elements in a set is
increased by 1, then the number of subsets of the set is
doubled. Thus we suspect that a set with 5 elements will
have 2  16 = 32 subsets and a set with 6 elements will have
2  32 = 64 subsets.

•Also note that each of the numbers in the bottom row of

the diagram is equal to 2n.
 Number of Subsets of a Set
•These observations lend support for the following theorem.

•Consider set A with n elements. All of the 2n subsets of A are proper subsets
of A, except for A itself. Thus the number of proper subsets of A is 2n – 1.
 Number of Subsets of a Set
•In Example 11, we apply the formula for the number of
subsets of a set to determine the number of different
variations of pizzas that a restaurant can serve.
 Example 11 – Pizza Variations
A restaurant sells pizzas for which you can choose from seven toppings.
a. How many different variations of pizzas can the restaurant serve?
b. What is the minimum number of toppings the restaurant must provide if it
wishes to advertise that it offers over 1000 variations of its pizzas?

Solution:
a. The restaurant can serve a pizza with no topping, one topping, two toppings,
three toppings, and so forth, up to all seven toppings.
 cont’d

Example 11 – Solution
Let T be the set consisting of the seven toppings.

The elements in each subset of T describe exactly one of the variations

of toppings that the restaurant can serve.

Consequently, the number of different variations of pizzas that the

restaurant can serve is the same as the number of subsets of T.

Thus the restaurant can serve 27 = 128 different variations of its pizzas.
 cont’d

Example 11 – Solution
b. Use the method of guessing and checking to find the smallest natural number n for
which 2n > 1000.

The restaurant must provide a minimum of 10 toppings if it wishes to offer over 1000
variations of its pizzas.