Chapter 1

Sets
Chapter Contents
 Sets and their Representation
SETS AND THEIR REPRESENTATION
 Types of Sets
 Analysis of Two Sets A well defined collection of objects is called a set. By “well defined collection”,
we mean that when given a set and an object, we should clearly be able to
 Operations on Sets
say whether a particular object is a member of the set or is not a member
 Union of Sets
of the set. Consider the following examples :
 Intersection of Sets
 The collection of all good students in a class is not a well defined
 Disjoint Sets
collection as there is no particular criteria for a student to be good. It
 Difference of Two Sets
can vary from student to student. So, it is not a set.
 Symmetric Difference
 The collection of all students scoring 90 marks or more than 90 marks
 Complement of a Set
would be a well defined collection. It forms a set.

The objects that belong to a set are called members or elements of the set.
The elements of a set are generally denoted by small letters a, b, c, ……,
x, y, z. Sets are usually denoted by capital letters A, B, C, …… X, Y, Z. If
x is an element of set A, then we say that “x belongs to A” and write as
x A. (The Greek symbol, epsilonis used to denote the phrase ‘belongs
to’). If y is not an element of set A, then we say ‘y does not belong to A’ and
write as y  A. If x and y both belongs to set A, then we write x, y  A.
Consider the following examples :

 In a set N of natural numbers

1 N but – 1  N

 In a set P of prime factors of 135,

3 P but 15  P
Aakash Educational Services Limited Regd. Office : Aakash Tower, 8, Pusa Road, New Delhi-110005 Ph.011-47623456
2 Sets Pre-Regional Mathematical Olympiad

Some Important Notations

Belongs to 
Does not belong to 
Such that : or |
There exists 
Implies that 
For all values 
Implies that and implied by 
or
Iff
or
If and only If

Standard Sets Description Denoted by

Natural numbers The set of natural (or counting) N
numbers N = {1, 2, 3,  }
Whole numbers The set of whole numbers W
W = {0, 1, 2, 3,  }
Integers The set of all integers Z or I
Z = {, –2, –1, 0, 1,  }
Rational numbers Any number which can be expressed in the Q
form p/q where p, q  Z and q  0
e.g. 2 , – 2 etc.
3 7
Real numbers All rational as well as irrational numbers are R
real numbers
e.g. 2, – 3, 0, 3, 3 2, etc.,
Complex numbers The set of complex numbers which is in form C
of x + iy where x, y R & i = – 1

SOLVED EXAMPLES
Example 1 : Which of the following collections are sets?
(i) The collection of honest persons in India.
(ii) The collection of all prime numbers between 14 and 50.

Aakash Educational Services Limited Regd. Office : Aakash Tower, 8, Pusa Road, New Delhi-110005 Ph.011-47623456
Pre-Regional Mathematical Olympiad Sets 3
Solution :

(i) The concept of honest person is not well defined as there is no such rule for deciding whether
a particular person is honest or not.

 Given collection is not a set.

(ii) A natural number ‘p’ is called a prime number if it has exactly two factors 1 and p (itself). Prime
numbers between 14 and 50 are 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43 and 47.

 Given collection is a set and contains elements 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43 and 47.

Example 2 : If A = {1, 2, 4, 3, 6} is a set then which of the following is true? If not, then explain why?

(i) 3  A (ii) 3, 6  A

(iii) 9  A (iv) 2  A

Solution : (i) 3  A is true

(ii) 3, 6 A is true

(iii) 9 A is not true because set A does not contain 9.

(iv) 2  A is not true because 2 belongs to A.

A set can be represented either by defining all its elements or by defining properties which are satisfied only
by the elements of the given set, not by any other element. Based on these considerations, we have two
methods of representing a given set, namely

(i) ROSTER OR TABULAR FORM

(ii) SET - BUILDER FORM

(i) ROSTER OR TABULAR FORM : In roster form, all the elements of a set are listed; the elements are
being separated by commas and are enclosed within braces { } (curly brackets).

SOLVED EXAMPLES

Example 3 : Write the following sets in roster form.

(i) The set of all natural numbers less than 7.

(ii) The set of all integers which are multiple of 6.

Solution : (i) The natural numbers less than 7 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

 The given set can be written in roster form as {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}

(ii) The integers which are multiple of 6 are…, – 12, – 6, 0, 6, 12, 18, …

 The given set can be written in roster form as

{…, –12, –6, 0, 6, 12, 18, …}

Aakash Educational Services Limited Regd. Office : Aakash Tower, 8, Pusa Road, New Delhi-110005 Ph.011-47623456
 4 Sets Pre-Regional Mathematical Olympiad

(ii) SET - BUILDER FORM : In set builder form, all the elements of a set possess a single common property
which is not possessed by any other element outside the set.

Generally, the element of the set is represented using a symbol x (any other symbols like the letters
y, z, k … can be used) which is followed by a colon “ : ”.The colon “ : ” stands for words “such that”
Illustration 1 :
(i) If A is set of all positive factors of 36, then
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 36} (in roster form)
and A = {x : x is factor of 36, x N} (in set-builder form)
(ii) If A is set of vowels in English alphabet then
A = {a, e, i, o, u} (in roster form)
and A = {x : x is a vowel in English alphabet} (in set-builder form).

SOLVED EXAMPLES
Example 4 : Write the following sets in set builder form
(i) A = {1, 4, 9, 16, 25, …}
(ii) A = {T, E, A, C, H, E, R}
(iii) A = {1, –2}
Solution : (i) A = {x : x is the square of natural numbers}
or A = {x : x = n2, where n N}
(ii) A = {x : x is a letter of the word TEACHER}
(iii) The values of elements are 1, –2. Let the element be x i.e., x = 1 and x = – 2.
(x – 1) (x + 2) = 0
 x2 + x – 2 = 0
So, A = {x : x is root of the equation x2 + x – 2 = 0}

TYPES OF SETS
1. Empty set : A set which does not contain any element is called the empty set or null set or void set. It is
denoted by or { }. e.g.,
 The collection of natural numbers less than 1.
 {x : x is a four footed man}
 {x : 2x + 11 = 3 and x N}
2. Singleton set : A set that contains only one element is called a singleton set or unit set. e.g.,
 {0}
 {x : x – 1 = 2}
 {x : x is capital of India}

Aakash Educational Services Limited Regd. Office : Aakash Tower, 8, Pusa Road, New Delhi-110005 Ph.011-47623456
Pre-Regional Mathematical Olympiad Sets 5
3. Finite set : A set that contains a finite number of different elements is called a finite set i.e., in a set if the
elements can be counted. e.g.,
 S = {a, e, i, o, u}
 M = {x : x is a month in a year}
 A = {x : x = n2, where 1 < n < 20, n N}
4. Infinite set : A set which is not finite is called an infinite set. e.g.,
 The set of even natural numbers i.e., {2, 4, 6,…}
 The set of all points on a line.
 {x : x  N and x is prime} i.e., {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13,…}
5. Cardinal number or order of a finite set : The number of different elements in a finite set A or non-empty
finite set A is called the cardinal number or order of set A. It is denoted by n(A) or O(A) or C(A) or |A| where
n(A) is a whole number. e.g.,
 A be the set of letters of the word SCHOOL
i.e., A = {S, C, H, O, L}
n(A) = 5

ANALYSIS OF TWO SETS

Equal sets :
Two sets A and B are said to be equal if they have exactly the same elements and we write A = B.
Otherwise, the sets are said to be unequal and written as A  B.
Thus, if A = B then every element of A is an element of B and every element of B is an element of A.
Converse is also true.

Equivalent sets :
Two finite sets are said to be equivalent if they have same number of elements. If A and B are equivalent
i.e., A ~ B or A  B then n(A) = n(B).
Illustration 2 : (i) Let A = {x : x N, 2  x  6} and B = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, then A = B.
(ii) Let A = {1, 3, 5} and B = {3, 5, 1} then A = B.
(iii) Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {1, 1, 3, 2, 3} then A = B

Proper subset :
Let A be any set and B be a non-empty set, A is called a proper subset of B if every member of A is also
a member of B and there exists at least one element in B which is not a member of A.
Mathematically,
If A is proper subset of B, we write as A B, A  B and B is called superset of A.
Remark :
 A and B are two sets such that A B and B A if and only if A = B.

Aakash Educational Services Limited Regd. Office : Aakash Tower, 8, Pusa Road, New Delhi-110005 Ph.011-47623456
6 Sets Pre-Regional Mathematical Olympiad

Mathematically, A B, B AA =B

 Every set is a subset of itself, i.e., A A but not a proper subset.

 A subset which is not a proper subset is called an improper subset.

 The empty set has no elements,  A i.e., the empty set is subset of every set.

Subsets of Real Numbers

There are many important subsets of R which are as follows :

1. The set of natural numbers, N = {1, 2, 3, …}

2. The set of integers, Z = {…, –3, –2, –1, 0, 1, 2, 3 …}

⎧ p ⎫
3. The set of rational numbers, Q  ⎨ x : x  , p, q  Z and q  0 ⎬
⎩ q ⎭

4. The set of irrational numbers, T = {x : x  R and x  Q}

Some relation among these subsets are N Z Q, Q R, N T, T R.

OPERATIONS ON SETS
Some of the significant operations are :
 Union of sets
 Intersection of sets
 Difference of sets
 Complement of sets

UNION OF SETS
The union of two sets A and B is a set which consists of all those elements which are either in A or in B.
The symbol ‘’ is used to denote the union.
Mathematically, A B = {x : x  A or x  B}
The union of sets can be represented by a Venn diagram as shown below.

U
The shaded area A B
represents A B

Some properties of operation of union :

(i) A B = B A (Commutative law)
(ii) (A B)C = A (B C) (Associative law)
(iii) A  = A (Law of identity element,  is the identity of U)
(iv) A A = A (Idempotent law)
(v) U A = U (Law of U)

Aakash Educational Services Limited Regd. Office : Aakash Tower, 8, Pusa Road, New Delhi-110005 Ph.011-47623456
Pre-Regional Mathematical Olympiad Sets 7

SOLVED EXAMPLES

Example 5 : Let X = the set of all letters in the word “DELHI” and Y = the set of all letters in the word “INDIA”.
Find X  Y.

Solution : X = {D, E, L, H, I}, Y = {I, N, D, A}

X  Y = {D, E, L, H, I, N, A}.

INTERSECTION OF SETS

The intersection of two sets A and B is a set of all those elements which belong to both A and B.
Mathematically, we write

A B = {x : x A and x B}

The intersection of sets can be represented by a Venn diagram as shown.

U
The shaded area indicates the A B
intersection of set A and set B

DISJOINT SETS

If A and B are two sets such that A B =  then A and B are called disjoint sets.

e.g., A = {1, 2, 3, 4} and B = {5, 6, 7, 8}, then A and B are disjoint sets because there are no common
elements. The disjoint sets can be represented by means of Venn diagram.

U
A
Here, A and B
are disjoint sets B

DIFFERENCE OF TWO SETS

The difference of the sets A and B in this order is the set of elements which belong to A but not B.
Mathematically,

A – B = {x : x A and x B}

B – A = {x : x B and x A}

Aakash Educational Services Limited Regd. Office : Aakash Tower, 8, Pusa Road, New Delhi-110005 Ph.011-47623456
8 Sets Pre-Regional Mathematical Olympiad

The difference of sets can be represented by a Venn diagram as shown below.

U
The shaded area A B
represents A – B

The shaded area A B

represents B – A

SYMMETRIC DIFFERENCE

Symmetric difference of two sets A and B is written as AB.

AB = (A – B)  (B – A)

U
A B

Example :
If A = {a, b, c, d, e}, B = (b, c, d, f, g}
 AB = {a, e}  {f, g} = {a, e, f, g}

COMPLEMENT OF A SET

Let U be the universal set and A be a subset of U. Then, the complement of A is the set of all elements of
U which are not the elements of A. Mathematically, we write A, to denote the complement of A with respect
to U thus,
A = {x : x U and x A}
= U– A
Complement of set A w.r.t. U can be represented by Venn diagram as shown below.

U
The shaded portion
is A, complement A
of A.

Aakash Educational Services Limited Regd. Office : Aakash Tower, 8, Pusa Road, New Delhi-110005 Ph.011-47623456
Pre-Regional Mathematical Olympiad Sets 9

ASSIGNMENT

1. If universal set, U = {x : x is a letter in the phrase THE MAD DONKEY}

A = {x : x is a letter of word MONKEY},
B = {x : x is a letter of word ANT} and
C = {x : x is a letter of word THAT}, then
find the following:
(i) B  A
(ii) AC
(iii) (B– C)
2. Find the number of non-empty subsets of the set {1, 2, 3, 4}.
3. If U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8} and A = {2, 3, 4, 5} then find A' .
4. Let A and B be two sets such that n(A – B) = 60 + 3x, n(B – A) = 8x and n(A B) = x – 4. Draw a Venn
diagram to illustrate this information. If n(A) = n(B), then find
(i) The value of x
(ii) n(A B)
5. In a university, out of 120 students, 15 opted mathematics only, 16 opted statistics only, 9 opted for physics
only and 45 opted physics and mathematics, 30 opted physics and statistics, 8 opted mathematics and statistics
and 80 opted physics. By drawing a Venn diagram, find the number of students who
(i) opted Mathematics
(ii) opted Statistics
(iii) did not opt any of the above three subjects
6. In a group of 200 students, 20 played cricket only, 36 played tennis only, 40 played hockey only, 8 played
cricket and tennis, 20 played cricket and hockey, 28 played hockey and tennis and 80 played hockey. By
drawing a Venn diagram, find the number of students who
(i) played cricket
(ii) played tennis
(iii) did not played any of the above three games
7. A town has total population 30,000 out of which 18000 read “The Hindu” and 11000 read “TOI” and 3000 read
p
both papers. If the percentage of population who read neither of these papers is , then find the value of p.
3

2
8. In a beauty contest, half the number of judges voted for Miss A, of them voted for Miss B, 20 voted for
3
both and 5 did not vote for either miss A or Miss B. How many judges were present there?

Aakash Educational Services Limited Regd. Office : Aakash Tower, 8, Pusa Road, New Delhi-110005 Ph.011-47623456
10 Sets Pre-Regional Mathematical Olympiad

9. In an examination, 55% of the candidates failed in English and 48% failed in Science. If 15% failed in both
English and Science. Find the percentage of candidates who passed in both the subjects.

10. If A = set of letters in the word RAJASTHAN and

B = set of letters in the word AMRITSAR.

Verify the following results.

n(A – B) = n(A) – n(A B) = n(A B) – n(B)

11. How many sets of two or more consecutive positive integers have a sum of 15?

12. To each element of the set S = {1, 2, ........., 1000} a colour is assigned. Suppose that for any two elements
a, b of S, if 15 divides (a + b) then they are both assigned the same colour. What is the maximum possible
number of distinct colours used? [Pre-RMO 2013]

13. What is the number of ordered pair (A, B) where A and B are subsets of {1, 2, 3, ........ 5} such that neither
A  B nor B  A? [Pre-RMO 2014]

14. Let S be a set of real numbers with mean M. If the means of the sets S  {15} and S  {15, 1} are M + 2,
M + 1 respectively, then how many elements does S have? [Pre-RMO 2014]

15. A subset B of the set of first 100 positive integers has the property that no two elements of B sum to 125.
What is the maximum possible number of elements in B? [Pre-RMO 2015]

  

Aakash Educational Services Limited Regd. Office : Aakash Tower, 8, Pusa Road, New Delhi-110005 Ph.011-47623456