CHAPTER I

An Introduction to Sets

The study of sets is needed in the study of the real numbers. Some set concepts
are used in describing the relationships among the natural numbers, the integers, the
rationals, the irrationals and the real numbers. Sets, in particular truth sets, are used in
the in the study of solutions to equations or systems of equations. This chapter presents
the basic set concepts needed in the succeeding chapters.

1.1 BASIC TERMINOLOGIES AND SYMBOLS

 Set – a well-defined collection of distinct objects.

Example: We write 𝐷 = {1, 0} for the set of digits in the number 1000.

 Methods of Writing a Set

 Roster or Listing Method – a method that lists down all the elements of
the set. This is also called enumeration method.
Example: We write the set of vowels in the English alphabet as:
𝐴 = {𝑎, 𝑒, 𝑖, 𝑜, 𝑢}.

 Descriptive or Rule Method uses the Set-Builder Notation – describing

every element of the set, using a variable or giving a specific rule for
determining the elements of a set.
Example: 𝐴 = {𝑥: 𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑣𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑡}.

 Element – member or object of the set. If x is an element of A, we write “𝑥 ∈ 𝐴”,

if x is not an element of A we write “𝑥 ∉ 𝐴”,
Example: 𝐴 = {1, 2, 3}, 1 ∈ 𝐴, 3 ∈ 𝐴, 4 ∉ 𝐴.

 Cardinality of a Set – numbers of elements of a set. We denote by n(A) or C(A)

the cardinality of a set A.
Example: 𝐴 = {0, 1, 2, 3}, n(A) = 4

 Empty or Null Set – a set contains no elements, denoted by ∅ or { }.

Example: 𝐵 = {𝑏: 𝑏 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 }

 Finite Set – a non-empty set whose cardinality is a counting number. A counting

number is a number such as 1, 2, 3, …, the numbers we use in counting.
Example: 𝐵 = {1, 2, 3}

 Infinite Set – a non-empty set which is not finite.

Example: 𝑆 = {𝑠: 𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒}
  Universal Set – a set of the totality of all elements in a certain discussion or
discourse and is denoted by U.
Example: 𝑈 = {𝑥: 𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠}

 Set Relations
 Subset – A set A is a subset of B, written 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵, if and only if (iff) every
element of a set A is an element of set B. In addition, if there is atleast
one element of B that is not an element of B, then A is a proper subset of
B, 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵.
Example: 𝐴 = {1, 2, 3} 𝐵 = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4} 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵

 Power Set – set of all subsets of set A, denoted by 𝑆𝐴 has 2𝑛 elements.

Example: 𝐷 = {1, 2} 𝑆𝐷 = {∅, {1}, {2}, {1,2}}

Since D has 2 elements, 𝑆𝐷 has 22 = 4 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠

 Equal Sets – two or more sets having exactly the same elements.
Example: 𝐴 = {1, 2, 3}, 𝐵 = {2, 3, 1}, 𝐴=𝐵

 Equivalent Finite Sets – two finite sets A and B are said to be

equivalent, denoted by 𝐴~𝐵, if there is a function 𝑓: 𝐴 → 𝐵 which defines a
one-to-one correspondence between sets A and B.
Example: Let 𝐴 = {𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐 }, 𝐵 = {𝑅𝑦𝑙𝑒, 𝐽𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠, 𝑁𝑎𝑡ℎ}. Let the
diagram below define the function from A to B.

A f B

a Ryle

b James

c Nath

𝐴~𝐵

Note: A and B have the same cardinality.

 Disjoint Sets – two or more sets having no common elements.

Example: 𝐹 = {0, 1, 2, 3}, 𝐺 = {−1, 4, 5, −2}, F and G are disjoint.

1.2 SET OPERATIONS

  Set Union
 The union of two sets, A and B, denoted by 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵, is the set containing of
all elements that belong to either set A or set B or both A and B.
Example: 𝐴 = {0, 1, 2, 3}, 𝐵 = {0, −1, −2, −3}, 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = {−3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3}

 Set Intersection
 The intersection of two sets A and B, denoted by 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵, is the set
consisting of all the common elements of sets A and B.
Example: 𝐴 = {0, 1, 2, 3}, 𝐵 = {0, −1, −2, −3}, 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = {0}

 Set Complement
 The complement of a set A, denoted by 𝐴′ (or 𝐴𝑐 or 𝐴̅), is the set
containing all elements of the Universal Set which are not in set A.
Example: Let 𝑈 = {−2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, 𝐴 = {1, 2, 3, −1}, 𝐵 = {0, 2}

𝐴𝑐 = {−2, 0, 4, 5}, 𝐵𝑐 = {−2, −1, 1, 3, 4, 5}

1.3 VENN DIAGRAM

 A Venn diagram is a pictogram of sets and their relationships.

 Symbol Used: The Universal Set U is represented by a rectangle, and its
subsets by circles placed inside the rectangle.
 The circles overlap when the subsets of U have common elements and
place the elements in their respective circles. If the sets are disjoint, the
circles do not overlap. If a set is a subset of the other, its circle placed
inside the bigger circle.
Example: 𝑈 = {−2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

𝐴 = {1, 2, 3, −1} U -2 A
𝐵 = {0, 2}
𝐶 = {−1, 3} 1

3 -1

B
4 5