What is Set Theory

Set Theory is a branch of mathematics that deals with the properties of well-

defined collections of objects, which may or may not be of a mathematical
nature, such as numbers or functions. Objects in the collection are called
elements of the set.

A set is a structure, representing an unordered collection (group, plurality) of

zero or more distinct (different) objects.

Set theory deals with operations between, relations among, and statements
about sets.

Set theory, using as primitives the notions of set (as a synonym for
“collection”), atom (i.e., an object that is not subdivisible, not a collection),
and the relation belongs to (∈), has sufficient expressive power to serve as
the foundation of all mathematics. Mathematicians use notation and results
from set theory in their everyday practice. We call the sets that
mathematicians use the “real sets” of our mathematical intuition.

Set theory is the study of collections of “mathematical

objects”, such objects are either

(1) atomic – an object that is not a collection of other objects – such as a

number or a point on a Euclidean line, or
(2) collections of mathematical objects.
Atoms are very often called “urelements”, pronounced “¯ ur-´ elements” – an anglicized form of the German word
Urelemente – “primeval elements”.

 Types of Sets

1. Empty Sets - A set that contains no members is called the empty set or
null set. The empty set is written as { } or ᴓ .
2. Finite Sets - A set is it finite if it consists of a definite number of different
elements. If W be the set of people living in a town, then W is finite.
3. Infinite Sets - are a set that is not a finite set. Infinite sets may be
countable or uncountable.
4. Subsets - Sets which are the part of another set are called subsets of the
original set.
5. Power Sets - The set of all set or group off all subset for any given set,
including the empty set. A set that has ‘n’ elements has 2 n subsets in all.
6. Singleton Sets - A set that have only one element.
7. Super Sets - A set of another smaller set if almost all elements of that
smaller set are elements of the set.
8. Equal Sets - Are sets which have the same members.
9. Universal Sets - A set which contains all objects, including itself.

 Set Operations
Given sets A and B we define their

Union - is the set of elements that are members of A or B, or both too.

A ∪ B={x ∨x ∈ A∨x ∈ B }
Intersection - is the set of elements that are in A and B.
A ∩ B={ x∨x ∈ A∧x ∈ B }
Complements - is the set of elements of universal set (U) that are not
elements of A.

 The Laws of Set Theory

Law of Double Complement A=A

Demorgan’s Laws A ∪B= A ∩ B
A ∩ B= A ∪ B