The Development of Mathematics:

A Historical Overview:
Modern Period
 Reporter

Advincula, Fernandez,
Moira Hanny
BIRTH OF SET THEORY
 Background
Georg Cantor - Georg Ferdinand Ludwig Philipp Cantor, (born March
3, 1845, St. Petersburg, Russia—died January 6, 1918, Halle,
Germany), German mathematician who founded set theory and
introduced the mathematically meaningful concept of transfinite
numbers, indefinitely large but distinct from one another.Cantor’s
parents were Danish. His artistic mother, a Roman Catholic, came
from a family of musicians, and his father, a Protestant, was a
prosperous merchant.
 Background
When his father became ill in 1856, the family moved to Frankfurt.
Cantor’s mathematical talents emerged prior to his 15th birthday
while he was studying in private schools and at gymnasien at
Darmstadt first and then at Wiesbaden; eventually, he overcame
the objections of his father, who wanted him to become an
engineer. After briefly attending the University of Zürich, Cantor in
1863 transferred to the University of Berlin to specialize in physics,
philosophy, and mathematics.
 Background
There he was taught by the mathematicians Karl Weierstrass,
whose specialization of analysis probably had the greatest
influence on him; Ernst Eduard Kummer, in higher arithmetic; and
Leopold Kronecker, a specialist on the theory of numbers who later
opposed him. In a series of 10 papers from 1869 to 1873, Cantor
dealt first with the theory of numbers; this article reflected his own
fascination with the subject, his studies of Gauss, and the influence
of Kronecker.
 Background
On the suggestion of Heinrich Eduard Heine, a colleague at Halle
who recognized his ability, Cantor then turned to the theory of
trigonometric series, in which he extended the concept of real
numbers. Starting from the work on trigonometric series and on the
function of a complex variable done by the German mathematician
Bernhard Riemann in 1854, Cantor in 1870 showed that such a
function can be represented in only one way by a trigonometric
series.
 Background
Consideration of the collection of numbers (points) that would not
conflict with such a representation led him, first, in 1872, to define
irrational numbers in terms of convergent sequences of rational
numbers (quotients of integers) and then to begin his major
lifework, the theory of sets and the concept of transfinite numbers.
 Set Theory
Set Theory is a branch of mathematics that investigates
sets and their properties. The basic concepts of set theory
are fairly easy to understand and appear to be self-
evident.set theory turns out to be a very sophisticated
subject. In particular, mathematicians have shown that
virtually all mathematical concepts and results can be
formalized within the theory of sets. This is considered to be
one of the greatest achievements of modern mathematics.
Given this achievement, one can claim that set theory
provides a foundation for mathematics.
 Set Theory
Sets are considered as fundamental objects, and the main
focus is on their properties and relationships. The theory
defines basic concepts, such as membership, union,
intersection, subset, power set, and complement. It also
introduces foundational principles, such as the axioms of set
theory, which provide a logical foundation for all the
mathematical reasoning.It has a broad scope and finds
applications in various areas of mathematics, including
algebra, analysis, topology, and logic.
 Set Theory
It also serves as a foundation for many branches of
mathematics, including number theory, combinatorics, and
geometry.Set theory plays a crucial role in formalizing
mathematical arguments, defining mathematical structures,
and providing a rigorous foundation for the development of
other mathematical disciplines. These objects are often
called elements or members of a set. For example, While
going to school from home, Nivy decided to note down the
names of restaurants which come in between. The list of the
restaurants, in the order they came, was:
 Set Theory
List1: RA,RB,RC,RD,RE.
The above-mentioned list is a collection of objects. Also, it is
well-defined. By well-defined, it is meant that anyone should
be able to tell whether the object belongs to the particular
collection or not. E. g. a stationary shop can’t come in the
category of the restaurants. If the collection of objects is
well-defined, it is known as a set.
The objects in a set are referred to as elements of the set. A
set can have finite or infinite elements.
 Set Theory
While coming back from the school, Nivy wanted to confirm
the list what she had made earlier. This time again, she wrote
the list in the order in which restaurants came. The new list
was:
List2: RE,RD,RB,RA,RC.
The order of elements has no significance in sets so it is still
the same set.
 Type of Sets
The sets are further categorised into different types, based on elements or types of elements.
These different types of sets in basic set theory are:
Finite set: The number of elements is finite
Infinite set: The number of elements are infinite
Empty set: It has no elements
Singleton set: It has one only element
Equal set: Two sets are equal if they have same elements
Equivalent set: Two sets are equivalent if they have same number of elements
Power set: A set of every possible subset.
Universal set: Any set that contains all the sets under consideration.
Subset: When all the elements of set A belong to set B, then A is subset of B
 Set Theory Symbols
There are several symbols that are adopted for common sets. They are given in the table below:
Table 1: Symbols denoting common sets

Symbol Corresponding Set

Represents the set of all Natural numbers i.e.

all the positive integers.
N
This can also be represented by Z+.
Examples: 9, 13, 906, 607, etc.

Represents the set of all integers

The symbol is derived from the German word
Zahl, which means number.
Z
Positive and negative integers are denoted by
Z+ and Z– respectively.
Examples: -12, 0, 23045, etc.
 Set Theory Symbols
Represents the set of Rational numbers
The symbol is derived from the word
Quotient. It is defined as the quotient of two
Q integers (with non-zero denominator)
Positive and negative rational numbers are
denoted by Q+ and Q– respectively.
Examples: 13/9. -6/7, 14/3, etc.

Represents the Real numbers i.e. all the

numbers located on the number line.
R Positive and negative real numbers are
denoted by R+ and R– respectively.
Examples: 4.3, π, 4√ 3, etc.
 Set Theory Symbols

Represents the set of Complex numbers.

C
Examples: 4 + 3i, i, etc.
 Other Notations
Symbol Symbol Name

{} set

A∪B A union B

A∩B A intersection B

A⊆B A is subset of B
 Other Notations
A ⊄B A is not subset B

A ⊂B proper subset / strict

subset

A ⊃B proper superset / strict

superset

A ⊇B superset
 Other Notations
A ⊅B not superset

Ø empty set

P (C) power set

A=B equal set

 Other Notations
Ac complement of A

∈
a B a element of B

x∉A x not element of A

 Set Theory Formulas
n( A ∪ B ) = n(A) +n(B) – n (A ∩ B)
n(A∪B)=n(A)+n(B) {when A and B are disjoint sets}
n(U)=n(A)+n(B)–n(A∩B)+n((A∪B)c)
n(A∪B)=n(A−B)+n(B−A)+n(A∩B)
n(A−B)=n(A∩B)−n(B)
n(A−B)=n(A)−n(A∩B)
n(Ac)=n(U)−n(A)
n(PUQUR)=n(P)+n(Q)+n(R)–n(P⋂Q)–n(Q⋂R)–
n(R⋂P)+n(P⋂Q⋂R)
 Set Operations
The four important set operations that are widely used
are:
Union of sets
Intersection of sets
Complement of sets
Difference of sets
 Union of Set Definition
The union of two sets X and Y is equal to the set of elements
that are present in set X, in set Y, or in both the sets X and Y.
This operation can be represented as;

X ∪ Y = {a: a ∈ X or a ∈ Y}
Let us consider an example, say; set A = {1, 3, 5} and set B =
{1, 2, 4} then;

A ∪ B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
 Complement of a Set Definition
If U is a universal set and A be any subset of U then the
complement of A is the set of all members of the universal
set U which are not the elements of A.

Thus we can see that A = {{2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19}}

Now the complement of this set A consists of all those

elements which is present in the universal set but not in A.
Therefore, A’ is given by:

A’={{1,4,6,8,9,10,12,14,15,16,18,20}}
 Complement of a Set Definition
Intersection and difference of two sets are two different set
operations. In set theory, we perform different types of set
operations. Such as the intersection of sets, a difference of
sets, the complement of sets and the union of sets. It is very
easy to differentiate between intersection and union
operations.
 Intersection of Sets
The intersection of two sets, A and B, which are subsets of
the universal set U, is the set which consists of all those
elements which are common to both A and B.
∩
It is denoted by the “ ’ symbol. All those elements which
belong to both A and B represent the intersection of A and
B. Thus we can say that,

A ∩ B = {x : x ∈ A and x ∈ B}
 Intersection of Sets
For n sets A1, A2, A3, …, An, where all these sets are the
subset of universal set U, the intersection is the set of all
the elements which are common to all these n sets.
Example: Let U be the universal set consisting of all the n –
sided regular polygons where 5 ≤ n ≤ 9. If set A, B and C
are defined as:
A = {pentagon, hexagon, octagon}
B = {hexagon, nonagon, heptagon}
C = {nonagon}
 Intersection of Sets
Find the intersection of the sets:
i) A and B
ii) A and C

Solution: U = {pentagon , hexagon , heptagon , octagon ,

nonagon}

The intersection is given by all the elements which are

common to A and B.
A ∩ B = {hexagon}
Properties of Intersection of a Set
Commutative Law: The intersection of two sets A and
B follow the commutative law, i.e., A∩ B=B∩ A
Associative Law: The intersection operation follows
the associative law, i.e., If we have three sets A , B
and C then (A ∩ ∩B) C=A ∩ ∩ (B C)
Identity Law: The intersection of an empty set with
∩
any set A gives the empty set itself i.e., A ∅=∅
Properties of Intersection of a Set
Idempotent Law: The intersection of any set A with
∩
itself gives the set A i.e., A A=A
Law of U: The intersection of a universal set U with its
∩
subset A gives the set A itself. A U=A
Distributive Law: According to this law: A∩ ∪(B C) =
(A ∩ ∪ ∩
B) (A C)
 Difference of Sets
The difference of the two sets A and B is the set of
elements which are present in A but not in B. It is denoted
as A-B. In the following diagram, the region shaded in
green represents the difference of sets A and B (A-B). And
the region shaded in yellow represents the difference of B
and A (B-A).
 Difference of Sets
Example:Let A = {3 , 4 , 8 , 9 , 11 , 12 } and B = {1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5
}. Find A – B and B – A.
Solution: We can say that A – B = { 8, 9, 11, 12} as these
elements belong to A but not to B
B – A ={1, 2, 5} as these elements belong to B but not to A.
Quiz
Time
 Solve for the following

1. If U = {a, b, c, d, e, f}, A = {a, b, c}, B = {c, d,

e, f}, C = {c, d, e}, find (A ∩ ∪ ∩
B) (A C).

2.
If U = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}, A = {3, 5, 7, 9, 11}
and B = {7, 8, 9, 10, 11}, Then find (A – B)′.
Solution:
∩
1. A ∩
B = {a, b, c} {c, d, e, f}
A∩ B={c}
A∩ ∩
C = { a, b, c } { c, d, e }
A∩ C={c}
∴ ∩ ∪ ∩
(A B) (A C) = { c }
Solution:

2. A – B is a set of member which

belong to A but do not belong to B
∴ A – B = {3, 5, 7, 9, 11} – {7, 8, 9, 10, 11}
A – B = {3, 5}
Solution:

According to formula,
(A − B)′ = U – (A – B)
∴ (A − B)′ = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11} – {3, 5}
(A − B)′ = {2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}.