Set Operations

Union and Intersection of Sets

 Activity
Use Venn Diagram to represent the relationship between sets.
Group 1: Let X = {4, 5, 6} and Y = {6, 7, 8}. What elements do X
and Y have in common?
Group 2: Let U = {counting numbers less than 20},
P = {multiples of 4 less than 20} and
Q = {even numbers less than 20}. What are the common
elements of the two sets?
Group 3: Let U = {fishes, birds, mammals, reptiles},
A = {fishes} and B = {birds}. What are the common elements
to both sets?
Group 4: Let C = {a, n, g, l, e}, D = {t, r, i, a, n, g, l, e}. What is the
intersection of these sets?
Group 5: Given Set A = {3, 4} and Set B = {3, 4, 5, 6}. Shade the
intersection of the two sets.
 Analysis
• What relationship exists between the two
sets?
• How did you represents the sets?
• What are the elements common in the two
sets?
• What is the combination of the two sets?
 Intersection of Sets
Solution 1: X = {4, 5, 6} and Y = {6, 7, 8}
X Y
4 8
6
5 7

X  Y = {6} read as “X intersect Y”

 Solution 2:
Let U = {counting numbers less than 20}
P = {multiples of 4 less than 20}
Q = {even numbers less than 20}
U P Q 19
1 4 10 2 15 13
3 8 12 6 11
5 16 14 18 9
7 17
P  Q = {4, 8, 12, 16}
 Solution 3
Let U = {fishes, birds, mammals, reptiles}
A = {fishes} and B = {birds}
U A B

fishes birds

mammals reptiles
AB=
 Solution 4
Let C = {a, n, g, l, e}, D = {t, r, i, a, n, g, l, e}.
U D
C t
n g l r
a e i

CD
CD=C
Given Set A = {3, 4} and Set B = {3, 4, 5, 6}.
B
A 5
3
4
6
AB=A
The notation also applies to three or more
sets.
A = {2, 3, 4} B = {3, 4, 5, 6}
C = {4, 5, 6, 7}
A 3 B
2
4 5
6

7 C

A  B  C = {4}
 Union of Sets
The union of two sets A and B, is the set of
elements which are in A or in B or in both. It is
denoted by A  B, and is read “A union B”.
 Difference of Two Sets

• The difference of two sets, written as A – B, is

the set of all elements of A that are not
elements of B.
Given: A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} and B = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
10}. Find: A – B and B – A.
To find the difference A – B, we begin by
taking away every element of A that is also an
element of B. Since A shares the elements 4, 5
and 6 with B, this gives us the set difference
A – B = {1, 2, 3}.
The difference B – A, consists of elements of B
that are not in A. There-fore, B – A = {7, 8, 9, 10}.
 Cardinality of Set
• The cardinality of a set is a measure of a set's
size, meaning the number of elements in the
set. For instance, the set A = { 1 , 2 , 4}
A={1,2,4} has a cardinality of 3 for the three
elements that are in it.
Examples
Answers:
We use the symbol “U” to denote the union of sets and
“∩” to denote the intersection of sets.
1. Since A = {2, 4, 6, 11, 14, 20} and B = {4, 5, 7, 14, 20, 21,
23}
Thus, A U B = {2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 14, 20, 21, 23}.
2. There are 10 elements found in the union of set A and B.
3. A ∩ B = {4, 14, 20}
4. The intersection of sets A and B has 3 elements.
5. A’ = {5, 7, 21, 23}, B’ = {2, 6, 11}.
Comparison of Union and Intersection of Sets

Union Intersection
Written as AB AB
Read as A union B A intersect B
Meaning A or B or both A and B
Look for the Combination of Elements in
all elements in common to both
the given sets given sets
 Example 1
Let U = {counting numbers less than 20},
P = {multiples of 3 less than 20} and
Q = {even numbers less than 20}
U P Q 19 7
1 3 9 12 10 4 17
5 15 6 2 16
18 14 8 11
13

P  Q = {2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18}

 Example 2
Let U = {counting numbers less than 10},
X = {1, 6, 9} and Y = {1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9}
U Y 7
3 9 X
2 8 1 6
5 4

X  Y = {1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9} or X  Y = Y
 Application
Answer Learning Task 2C on p. 9
 Let’s Sum it up!
• Intersection of sets is ____________________
_____________________________________.

• Union of sets is _________________________

_____________________________________
 Quiz
U = {a, b, c, d, e, f}
A = {a, c, e, f}
B = {c, d, e}
C = {e, f}
Find each of the following:
1. n(
2. n (A)
3. n
4. n
5. n
 Assignment
If A = {2, 3, 4, 5}, B ={c, d, e, f} and C = {4, 5, 6, 7};
Find:
(i) A ∪ B
(ii) A ∪ C
(iii) (A ∪ B) ∩ (A ∪ C)
(iv) A ∪ (B ∩ C)
(v) Is (A ∪ B) ∩ (A ∪ C) = A ∪ (B ∩ C)?