SETS

LESSON 4

MODULE 1
GED0103 Math in the Modern World
Institute of Arts and Sciences
FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY
❑ Any group or collection of objects is called a set.
❑ A set is a clearly defined collection of objects that have something in
common.
❑ An element is a member of or an object within a set.
We have the following methods to describe the sets (and its elements).
❑ Roster method - lists the names of all elements of the set
❑ Rule method - describing a set using properties satisfied by its elements.

Roster method Rule method

𝐴 = {coat, hat, scarf, gloves, boots} - set of winter clothes
𝐵 = {thumb, index, middle, ring, little} - set of all fingers
𝐶 = {2, 3, 6, 8} - set of even numbers between 0 and 10

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✓ Set notation uses curly braces with elements separated by commas.
✓ Every object in a set is unique; the same object cannot be included in the set
more than once.
✓ Capital letters are used to denote sets
✓ Lowercase letters are used to denote elements of a set
✓ Curly braces { } denote a list of elements in a set.

Basic Notation
is an element of
is not an element of

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Set Notation Meaning

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✓ A Universal Set is the set of all elements under consideration or everything
that is relevant to the problem, denoted by capital 𝑈. All other sets are
subsets of the universal set.

Example:

𝑈 = {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9}

𝑃 = {3,6,9}

𝑄 = {2,4,6,8}

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✓ The empty set or null set, is the set that contains no elements. It is
represented by the symbol ∅ or { }.

Example:

𝐸=∅ - the set of months with 32 days

✓ A set with only one element is called a singleton.

Example:

{apple}
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✓ A finite set is a set whose number of elements in the set is a whole number.
That is, the number of elements is countable

Example:

𝐴 = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10} - the set numbers from 1 to 10

𝐵 = {1,2,3, … , 97,98,99} - the set of numbers between 0 and 100

The three dots are called an ellipsis. We use ellipsis in the middle of a set as a
shortcut for listing many elements.

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✓ An infinite set is a set the number of elements is uncountable.

Example: Basic Number Sets

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The complement of a set 𝐴, denoted by 𝐴′, is the set of all elements of the
universal set 𝑈 that are not elements of 𝐴.

Example:
𝑈 = {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9}
𝐵 = {0,1,4,5,6,7,8}
What is 𝐵’?
𝐵’ = {2,3,9}

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Set 𝐴 is a subset of set 𝐵, denoted by 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵, if and only if every element of 𝐴 is

also an element of 𝐵.

Example:

𝐴 = {1, 2, 4}

𝐵 = {1, 2, 3, 4,5}

We can say that 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵

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Venn Diagram

A diagram where sets are represented as simple geometric figures, with

overlapping and similarity of sets represented by intersections and unions of
the figures. First developed by John Venn in the 1880s. In a Venn diagram, sets
are represented usually by circles or ovals. The elements of a set are labeled
within the circle.

A set of counting numbers less than 7. The set of primary colors.

𝑆 = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7} 𝐶 = {red, yellow, blue}
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✓ The intersection of sets 𝐴 and 𝐵, denoted by 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵, is the set of elements
common to both 𝐴 and 𝐵.
𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = 𝑥 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 and 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵}

Example:

Let 𝑋 = {1,2,3} and 𝑌 = {3,4,5}.

𝑋 ∩ 𝑌 = {3}

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✓ The union of sets 𝐴 and 𝐵, denoted by 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵, is the that contains all the
elements that belong to both 𝐴 or 𝐵 or both.
𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = 𝑥 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 or 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵}

Example:

Let 𝑋 = {1,2,3} and 𝑌 = {3,4,5}.

𝑋 ∪ 𝑌 = {1,2,3,4,5}

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Example 1: In a group of 60 people, 27 like cold drinks and 42 like hot drinks and each person
likes at least one of the two drinks. How many like both coffee and tea?
Solution:
Let A = set of people who like cold drinks.
B = Set of people who like hot drinks.
Given:
𝑛(𝐴 ∪ 𝐵) = 60 number of elements in 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵, that is, group of 60 people
𝑛 𝐴 = 27 number of people of like cold drinks
𝑛 𝐵 = 42 number of people of like hot drinks
What is asked?
𝑛(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵) number of people who like both hot and cold drinks
𝑛 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = 𝑛 𝐴 + 𝑛 𝐵 − 𝑛 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = 27 + 42 − 60 = 9.
Only 9 people from the group like both hot and cold drinks.
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Example 2: In a class of 60 students, 40 students like math, 36 like science, 24 like both
the subjects. Find the number of students who like:
(i) Math only, (ii) Science only (iii) Either Math or Science (iv) Neither Math nor
science
Solution:
𝑛 𝑀 = 40 likes Math
𝑛 𝑆 = 36 likes Science
𝑛 𝑀 ∩ 𝑆 = 24 likes both Math and Science
(i) Math only = 𝑛 𝑀 − 𝑛 𝑀 ∩ 𝑆 = 40 − 24 = 16
(ii) Science only = 𝑛 𝑆 − 𝑛 𝑀 ∩ 𝑆 = 36 − 24 = 12
(iii) Either Math or Science = 𝑛 𝑀 ∪ 𝑆 = 𝑛 𝑀 + 𝑛 𝑆 − 𝑛 𝑀 ∩ 𝑆 = 40 + 36 − 24 = 52
(iv) Neither Math nor Science = 60 − 𝑛 𝑀 ∪ 𝑆 = 50 − 52 = 8
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