LESSON FIVE

SET THEORY AND VENN DIAGRAMS

5.1 What is a Set ?.

 Set is a collection of related elements in a particular area or topic, it can be stated or listed

Example of Sets:

 A set of all positive integers A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 }

 A set of all the planets in the solar system

 A set of all the states in India

 A set of all the lowercase letters of the alphabet

5.2 Terms used in a Set.

Elements
An element refers to members of a particular set
A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 }
Eg
2 is an element of the set A which is rep as 2 E A
5 is an element of the set A which is rep as 5 E A
9 is an element of the set A which is rep as 9 E A

Universal Set
 It is a collection of all elements in a particular context or application. All the sets in that
context or application are essentially subsets of this universal set. Universal sets are
represented as U.
Example − We may define U as the set of all animals on earth. In this case, set of all
mammals is a subset of U, set of all fishes is a subset of U, set of all insects is a subset
of U, and so on.

BY: MR. KEVIN NJAGI (LECTURER - MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY) @ SEP - DEC 2021 1
Empty Set or Null Set
 An empty set contains no elements. It is denoted by ∅ or {}. As the number of elements in
an empty set is finite, empty set is a finite set. The cardinality of empty set or null set is
zero.

Subsets.
 This is a sample set of the main set.it represents elements that are in the main set
Example 1 − Let, X={1,2,3,4,5,6}X={1,2,3,4,5,6} and Y={1,2}Y={1,2}. Here set Y is a
subset of set X as all the elements of set Y is in set X. Hence, we can write Y⊆XY⊆X.

Finite Set
 A set which contains a definite number of elements is called a finite set.

Infinite Set
 A set which contains infinite number of elements is called an infinite set.

Proper Subset
 The term “proper subset” can be defined as “subset of but not equal to”. A Set X is a
proper subset of set Y (Written as X⊂YX⊂Y) if every element of X is an element of set Y
and |X|<|Y||X|<|Y|.
Example –
Let, X={1,2,3,4,5,6}X={1,2,3,4,5,6} and Y={1,2}Y={1,2}.Here set Y⊂XY⊂Xsince all
elements in YY are contained in XX too and XX has at least one element is more than
set YY.

Disjoint Set
 Two sets A and B are called disjoint sets if they do not have even one element in common.

BY: MR. KEVIN NJAGI (LECTURER - MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY) @ SEP - DEC 2021 2
OPERATION IN SETS
Intersection of sets
 It refers to where the elements appear in both sets i.e elements that are similar in the set
represented
 its represented by ∩
A={0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7}
B={2, 4, 6, 8, 10}
C={a, b, c, d, e}
D={b, c, d, e, f, g, h, I, j,}

Example Find
1) A∩B ={2,4,6}
2) A ∩ C={}
3) A ∩ B ∩ C={ }

Union of sets
 It refers to the combination of elements of more than one set the elements should be listed in
order either ascending or descending
 Its represented as U
Eg
A={0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7}
B={2,4,6,8,10}
C={a,b,c,d,e}
D={b,c,d,e,f,g,h,I,j,}
Find
i. AUB ={0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10} (list in order without repetition)
ii. AUBUC={0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10, a,b,c,d,e }

BY: MR. KEVIN NJAGI (LECTURER - MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY) @ SEP - DEC 2021 3
Exercise
1. BUC
2. CUD
3. AUBUCUD
Compliments
Refer to elements in universal set that are not in the particular set. Set A complement represented
with AC

Example: Given the universal set U={0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10} and the set

A={0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 10}
B={2, 4, 6, 8, 10}
C={0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
D={a, b, c, d }
E={a, b, d}

Find
AC ={2,4,7,8,7,9}

BC ={0,1,3,5,7,9}

Exercise
Find
i. CC
ii. DC
iii. EC

BY: MR. KEVIN NJAGI (LECTURER - MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY) @ SEP - DEC 2021 4
CLASS EXERCISE
Given the universal set U={0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15} and the set
A={0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10,12}
B={2, 4, 6, 8,10, 15}
C={a, b, c, d, e}
D={b, c, d, e, f, g, h, I, j}
Find
i. A∩B

ii. B∩C

iii. A∩B∩C∩D

iv. AUB

v. BUC

vi. AUBUCUD

vii. AC

viii. BC

ix. ACUBC

x. ACUBCUCC

xi. (AUB)UCC

xii. (AUB)C

BY: MR. KEVIN NJAGI (LECTURER - MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY) @ SEP - DEC 2021 5
VENN DIAGRAM.
A set is a diagrammatic representation of a set.

Symbols used in VENN Diagrams;

Rectangle represents universal set

Circle represents a set

Shaded region represents elements of a set

Union of a set:
The union of sets A and B (denoted by A∪B) is the set of elements which are in A, in B, or in
both A and B.

Example
AUB

A B

Intersection of a set:
This represents where the regions meet or overlap
Example
The intersection of sets A and B (denoted by A∩B) is the set of elements which are in both A and
B. Hence, A∩B
Example If A={11,12,13} and B={13,14,15} then A∩B={13}A∩B={13}.

BY: MR. KEVIN NJAGI (LECTURER - MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY) @ SEP - DEC 2021 6
Compliments
This represents the region outside a particular set but within the universal set. they are elements
of the universal set that are not represented in a given set.
Example

AC

Exercise
i. AUBUC

ii. A∩B

iii. A∩B∩C

iv. (A∩B)UA

v. (A∩B)UC

vi. (A∩B)U(A∩C)

BY: MR. KEVIN NJAGI (LECTURER - MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY) @ SEP - DEC 2021 7