De La Salle Lipa

Integrated School
Junior High School Community
Mathematics 7

AN INTRODUCTION TO SETS

A set is a collection of things, objects or people. For example, a set of toys, a set of notebooks, a set of shoes.
Each member of the set is called an element () of the set.
Other Examples:
1.) A = { car, bus, plane, ship }
Set A is the set of modes of transportation. It has 4 elements. These elements are car, bus, plane and
ship. We use capital letters to name a set and the elements are written inside the braces { }.
2.) B = { a, e, i, o, u }
Set B is the set of vowels. It has 5 elements. The elements are a, e, i, o and u.
3.) C = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, … }
Set C is the set of positive odd integers. It has an infinite number of elements.
1 is an element of Set C. In symbols, 1 C.
3 is an element Set C. In symbols, 3 C.
Zero (0) is not an element of Set C. In symbols, 0 C.

The following are examples of well-defined sets since there is a certainty as to which things are included in the
set and which are not.
The set of freshman students in this school.
The set of prime numbers.
The set of months in a year.
The set of whole numbers between 5 and 10.

Whereas, the following are examples of not well-defined sets because there is no agreement as to who or
what should be included in the set.
The set of responsible students.
The set of quality books.
The set of beautiful ladies.
The set of nice people.

DESCRIPTION OF SETS
There are three ways in which we can describe a set.

1. Roster Notation or Listing Method 3. Set Builder Notation

Examples: Examples:
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} A = {x|x is a counting number less than 8}
B = {i, n, t, e, r} B = {x|x is a letter in the word “internet”}
C = {10, 20, 30, 40, … } C = {x|x is a positive multiple of 10}

Note that the symbol x|x is read as

“the set of all x’s such that x”.
2. Verbal Description Method

Examples:
Set A is the set of counting numbers less than 8.
Set B is the set of letters in the word “internet”.
Set C is the set of positive multiples of 10.
 DEFINITION of TERMS

Universal Set - a set which contains all objects including itself

Subset – If every element of set A is also an element of set B, then set A is a subset of set B. ( A  B )
Proper Subset – Set A is a proper subset of Set B if A is a subset of B and A is not equal to B. ( A  B )

Ex: 1.) If R = {2, 4, 6} and S = {2, 6}, then S is a subset of R (S  R). R is not a subset of S (R  S).
2. ) Consider set A = {a, b, c}. It’s possible subsets are the following:
{a, b, c} {b, c} {a} {c}
{a, b} {a, c} {b} {}
The proper subsets of A are {a, b} , {b, c} , {a, c} , {a} , {b} , {c} , { }.
Note that “every set is a subset of itself” and “an empty set is a subset of every set”.

Unit Set – a set that contains only one element

Ex: R = { apple }
Set R is a unit set. It consists of exactly one element, that is, the word “apple”.

Empty/Null Set - a set that has no element. Symbol used: { } or 

Ex: T = {x|x is a day of the week that start with letter D}
Set T is an empty or null set. There is no day in a week that starts with letter D. Thus, T = .

Infinite Set - a set that has unlimited number of elements (a set that is not finite)
Ex: V = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, … }
Set V has an infinite number of elements. The three dots (ellipsis) which indicate “and so on” mean
that the pattern continues without end.

Finite Set – a set that has a definite number of elements. (The number of elements is a whole number.)
Ex: H = {positive integers less than 10}
Set H is a finite set. It’s elements are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

Cardinality of a Set - The cardinal number of a set is the number of elements in the set
Ex: If H = {positive integers less than 10}, then the cardinality of set H is 9. In symbols, n (H) = 9.

Equal Sets - two sets with exactly the same elements. In symbols, =
Ex: A = {3, 6, 9} and B = {9, 6, 3} Set A and set B are equal sets. A = B.

Equivalent Sets - two sets with the same number of element (same cardinality). In symbols, 
Ex: C = {1, 2, 3} and D = {a, b, c} Set C and Set D are equivalent sets. C  D.