Set Operations

When sets are equal

A  B  x[ x  A  x  B ]
A equals B iff for all x, x is in A iff x is in B

A  B  x[( x  A  x  B)  ( x  B  x  A)]

or

A B  A BB A

… and this is what we do to prove sets equal

Note: remember all that stuff about implication?

pq p  q  q  p biconditional
q p converse
p   q inverse
q   p pq contrapositive
Union of two sets

Give me the set of elements, x where x is in A or x is in B

A  B  {x | x  A  x  B}
Example
A  {1,2,3,4,5} B  {4,5,6,7,8}
A membership table
A  B  {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8}

A B A B
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 1 OR
Union of two sets
A  B  {x | x  A  x  B}
 Note:
we are using set builder notation and the
laws of logical equivalence (propositional equivalence)
Intersection of two sets

Give me the set of elements, x where x is in A and x is in B

A  B  {x | x  A  x  B}
Example
A  {1,2,3,4,5} B  {4,5,6,7,8}
A  B  {4,5}

A B A B
0 0 0
0 1 0
1 0 0 AND
1 1 1
A  B  {x | x  A  x  B}
Disjoint sets

A  B  {}  disjoint ( A, B)

x[ x  A  x  B ]
Difference of two sets

Give me the set of elements, x

where x is in A and x is not in B
A  B  {x | x  A  x  B}
Example
A  {1,2,3,4,5} B  {4,5,6,7,8}
A  B  {1,2,3} A B  A B

A B A B
0 0 0
0 1 0
1 0 1
1 1 0 A  B
A  B  {x | x  A  x  B}
Note: Compliment of a set

A  {x | x  U  x  A}
Symmetric Difference of two sets

Give me the set of elements, x

where x is in A and x is not in B OR
x is in B and x is not in A

A  B  ( A  B )  ( B  A)
Example
A  {1,2,3,4,5} B  {4,5,6,7,8}
A  B  {1,2,3,6,7,8}

A B A B
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1 XOR
1 1 0
A  B  ( A  B )  ( B  A)
Complement of a set

Give me the set of elements, x where x is not in A

A  {x | x  A}
Example
A  {1,2,3,4,5}
U  {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10} U is the “universal set”

A U  A

A  {0,6,7,8,9,10}
Not
Cardinality of a Set

In claire

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

• |A u B| ?
• |A u C|
• |B u C|
• |A u B u C|
Cardinality of a Set

| A B || A || B|| A B|

The principle of inclusion-exclusion

Cardinality of a Set The principle of inclusion-exclusion

| A B || A || B|| A B|

Potentially counted twice (“over counted”)

Set Identities Note similarity to logical equivalences!

A  {}  A
Identity
A U  A
A U  U Domination
A  {}  {}
A A  A
Indempotent
A A  A
•Think of
• U as true (universal)
• {} as false (empty)
• Union as OR
• Intersection as AND
• Complement as NOT
Set Identities Note similarity to logical equivalences!

A B  B  A
Commutative
A B  B  A
A  ( B  C )  ( A  B)  C
Associative
A  ( B  C )  ( A  B)  C
A  ( B  C )  ( A  B)  ( A  C ) Distributive
A  ( B  C )  ( A  B)  ( A  C )

A B  A  B
De Morgan
A B  A  B
Equivalence Name
p T  p
identity law
p F  p
p T  T
domination law
pF  F
p p  p
indempotent laws
p p  p
(p)  p double negation law
pq  q p
commutative laws
pq  q p
( p  q)  r  p  (q  r )
associative laws
( p  q)  r  p  (q  r )
p  (q  r )  ( p  q)  ( p  r )
distributive law
p  (q  r )  ( p  q)  ( p  r )
( p  q )  p  q
De Morgan's laws
( p  q )  p  q
p  ( p  q)  p
absorption laws
p  ( p  q)  p
p  p  T
negation laws
p  p  F
Four ways to prove two sets A and B equal

• a membership table
• a containment proof
• show that A is a subset of B
• show that B is a subset of A
• set builder notation and logical equivalences
• Venn diagrams
RTP : A  B  A  B

Prove lhs is a subset of rhs

Prove rhs is a subset of lhs

RTP : A  B  A  B

… set builder notation and logical equivalences

{x | x  A  B}
{x | ( x  A  B )} Defn of complement

{x | ( x  A  x  B)} Defn of intersection

De Morgan law
{x | ( x  A)  ( x  B)}
Defn of complement
{x | x  A  x  B }
{x | x  A  B } Defn of union
Class

RTP : A  B  A  B

prove using membership table

Me
RTP : A  B  A  B
A B A B A B A B A B
0 0 0 1 1 1 1
0 1 0 1 1 0 1
1 0 0 1 0 1 1
1 1 1 0 0 0 0

They are the same

Class

RTP : A  B  A  B

prove using set builder and logical equivalence

Me
RTP : A  B  A  B
A  B  {x | x  A  B}
 {x | ( x  A  B)}
 {x | ( x  A  x  B}
 {x | ( x  A)  ( x  B))}
 {x | ( x  A)  ( x  B)}
 {x | ( x  A)  ( x  B)}
 {x | x  A  B}
 A B
Defn of 
Defn of  (union)
De Morgan law
Defn of 
Defn of complement
Defn of  (intersection)
Meaning of set builder notation
RTP : A  ( B  A)  {} Prove using set builder and logical equivalences

A  ( B  A)
 {x | x  A  x  ( B  A)}
 {x | x  A  ( x  B  x  A)}
 {x | x  A  x  A  x  B}
 {x | x  {}  x  B}
 {}
A containment proof

See the text book 

That’s a cop out if ever I saw one!

A containment proof Guilt kicks in

To do a containment proof of A = B do as follows

1. Argue that an arbitrary element in A is in B

i.e. that A is an improper subset of B

2. Argue that an arbitrary element in B is in A

i.e. that B is an improper subset of A

3. Conclude by saying that since A is a subset of B, and vice versa

then the two sets must be equal
Collections of sets

A i  A1  A2  ...  An
i 1

A i  A1  A2  ...  An
i 1