Section 2.

2
Set Operations and
its Applications
Objectives of the day:
At the end of the lession, the students will be able to:

a. define the universal set and find the complement of a set;

b. construct the Venn diagram of the universal set and its
subsets;
d. find the intersection, union, and difference of two sets;
e. define disjoint sets; and
f. solve problems that are applications of sets.

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Definition 2.2.1 The set of all elements that are
being considered is called the universal set.
We will use the letter to denote the universal
set.

Definition 2.2.2 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 set A.

Note: a. b.

3
Example 2.2.1 Let =
= {1, 3, 5, 7},
and = {2, 4, 6, 8}.
Find
a. b.

4
4
Solution
a. The elements of the universal set are 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. From these elements, we
wish to exclude the elements of , which are 1,
3, 5 and 7. Therefore, = {2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10}

b. = {2, 4, 6, 8}. Excluding the elements of

from gives us = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10}

5
5
What is a Venn Diagram?

Venn diagram, also known as Euler-Venn

diagram is a simple representation of sets
by diagrams. The usual depiction makes
use of a rectangle as the universal set and
circles for the sets under consideration.

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Venn Diagram with two sets

where;
x = number of elements that belong to set A only
y = number of elements that belong to set B only
z = number of elements that belong to set A and B both
(A B)
w = number of elements that belong to none of the sets A
or B

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Venn Diagram with three sets

where,
w = number of elements that belong to none of the sets A,
B or C
Tip: Always start filling values in the Venn diagram from the
innermost value.

8
Set Operations
 Intersection of Sets

Definition 2.2.3 The intersection of sets A and

B, denoted by , is the set of elements
common to both A and B.

and

10
The shaded region below represents the
intersection of sets A and B.

11
Definition 2.2.4 Two sets A and B are
disjoint if = .

The Venn diagram below illustrates two

disjoint sets.

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 Union of Sets

Definition 2.2.5 The union of sets A and B,

denoted by is the set that contains all
elements that belong to A or B or to both.
or

13
In the figure below, the shaded region represents
the union of sets A and B.

14
 Difference of Sets

Definition 2.2.6 The difference of sets A

and B, denoted by is the set that
contains all elements that belong to A
minus the elements that belong to B..
and

15
In the figure below, the shaded region represents
the difference of sets A and B.

A B

A-B
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Example 2.2.2

Let A = {1, 2, 5, 6, 8} , B = {1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7},

and C = {3, 4, 7, 10}.

Find
a. b. c. B - C

17
Solution:
a. The elements common to A and B are 1, 5 and 6.
Thus
= {1, 5, 6}

b. The combination of the elements of B and C are

1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10.

Thus, . = {1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} {3, 4, 7, 10}.

= {1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10}

c. The elements of B that are not in C are 1, 5 and 6.

Thus, B – C = {1, 5, 6}

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APPLICATIONS OF
SETS
Example 2.2.3 In a university, 200 students are
randomly selected. 140 like tea, 120 like coffee and 80
like both tea and coffee.
a. How many students like only tea?
b. How many students like only coffee?
c. How many students like neither tea nor coffee?
d. How many students like only one of tea or coffee?
e. How many students like at least one of the
beverages?

20
20
Solution: The given information may be
represented by the following Venn diagram, where
T = tea and C = coffee.

T C
C

80 40
60

20

21
a. Number of students who like only tea = 60
b. Number of students who like only coffee = 40
c. Number of students who like neither tea nor coffee = 20
d. Number of students who like only one of tea or coffee
= 60 + 40 = 100
e. Number of students who like at least one of tea or
coffee = n (only tea) + n (only coffee) + n (both tea and
coffee) = 60 + 40 + 80 = 180

22
Example 2.2.4 In a class of 50 students, 27 like
Math, 44 like English and every single student has at
least one like subject.

a. How many students like both Math and English?

b. How many students like Math alone?

c. How many students like English alone?

23
23
Solution
The 27 students who like Math is composed of the students
who like Math alone (M) and the students who like both
Math and English (B). Hence, M + B = 27

Also, the 44 students who like English is composed of the

students who like English (E) and the students who like both
English and Math (B). Hence, E + B = 44

Lastly, the total number of students in the class is 50 which

is composed of students who like Math alone (M), those who
like English alone (E) and those who like both Math and
English (B). Hence, M + B + E = 50

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a. Solving for the number of students who like both
Math and English (B):

Note that M + B = 27 and E + B = 44

Then (M + B) + ( E + B) = 27 + 44
M + B + E + B = 71

But M + B + E = 50

So (M + B + E) + B = 71
50 + B = 71
B = 21

Therefore, 21 students like both Math and English

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b. Solving for the number of students who like Math
alone (M):

Note that M + B = 27

But B = 21

So M + B = 27
M + 21 = 27
M = 27 – 21
M=6

Therefore, only 6 students like Math alone

26
c. Solving for the number of students who like
English alone (E):

Note that E + B = 44

But B = 21

So E + B = 44
E + 21 = 44
E = 44 – 21
E = 23

Therefore, only 23 students like English alone

27
Example 2.2.5
In a survey of university students, 64 had taken
mathematics course, 94 had taken chemistry course,
58 had taken physics course, 28 had taken
mathematics and physics, 26 had taken
mathematics and chemistry, 22 had
taken chemistry and physics course, and 14 had
taken all the three courses. Find how many had
taken one course only.

28
Solution :
Step 1 :
Let M, C and P represent the courses Mathematics,
Chemistry and Physics respectively.
Venn diagram related to the information given in the
question:

29
Step 2 :
From the venn diagram above, we have
No. of students who had taken only math = 24
No. of students who had taken only chemistry = 60
No. of students who had taken only physics = 22
Step 3 :
Total no. of students who had taken only one course :
= 24 + 60 + 22
= 106
So, the total number of students who had taken only
one course is 106.

30
REFERENCES

1. Aufmann, R.N.(2018). Mathematics in the Modern World.

Rex Book Store, Inc.
2. Daligdig, R.M. (2019). Mathematics in the Modern
World.Free Lorimar Publishing,
templates Inc. presentation needs
for all your
3. Carpio, J.N. and Peralta, B.D. (2018). Mathematics
in the Modern World. Books Atbp. Publishing Corp.
4. Olejan, R.O., Veloria, E.V., Bonghanoy, G.B.,
Ondaro,andJ.E.,and
For PowerPoint Sumalinog,
100% free for personal J.D. (2018).
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Blow your audience
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in the Modern orWorld.
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MUTYA Publishing
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