Contents

1. Why Study Set Theory

2. Definitions
3. Symbols
4. Notations
5. Subset
6. Equality
7. Cardinality
8. Types of Set
9. Examples via venn diagram
10. Properties
11. Algebra of Sets
Understanding set theory helps people
to :
 see things in terms of
systems

 organize things into groups

 begin to understand logic

2
 Basic Set Theory Definitions
 A set is a collection of elements
 An element is an object contained in a set
 If every element of Set A is also contained
in Set B, then Set A is a subset of Set B
– A is a proper subset of B if B has more
elements than A does
 The universal set contains all of the
elements relevant to a given discussion

3
 Set Theory Symbol
Symbol Meanin
g
Upper case designates set name
Lower designates set
case elements
{ or}  enclose elements in
 set is (or is not) an element of
 is a subset of (includes
equal sets)

is a proper

subset of is not a
| or :
subset of
| |
is a
superset of 4
 Set Theory Symbol
Symbol Meanin
∩ g intersection
∪ union
A or A the compliment of A”; all elements not in A
A– B all elements in A but not in B
n(A) the number of elements in A
A= B (A is equal to B )A and B contain the same
A≅ B (A is equivalent to B)

5
 Set Notation: Defining Sets
 a set is a collection of objects

 sets can be defined two ways:

– by listing each element
– by defining the rules for membership

 Examples:
– A = {2,4,6,8,10}
– A = {x | x is a positive even integer
<12}
6
 Set Notation Elements
 an element is a member of a
 set
notation:  means “is an element of”
 means “is not an element
 Examples: of”

– A = {1, 2, 3, 4}
1 A

6 A
2 A

z A 7

– B = {x | x is an even number 
 Subsets
 a subset exists when a set’s members are
also contained in another set
 notation:

 means “is a subset of”

 means “is a proper subset of”

 means “is not a subset of”

8
 Subset Relationships
 A = {x | x is a positive integer  8}
set A contains: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8
 B = {x | x is a positive even integer 
10} set B contains: 2, 4, 6, 8
 C = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}
set C contains: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10
 Subset
A  A Relationships A B A C
B A B B B C
C A C B C C

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 Set Equality
 Two sets are equal if and only if they contain
precisely the same elements.
 The order in which the elements are listed
is unimportant.
 Elements may be repeated in set definitions
without increasing the size of the sets.
 Examples:

A = {1, 2, 3, 4} B = {1, 4, 2, 3}
A  B and B  A; therefore, A = B and B = A
A = {1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2} B = {1, 2, 3, 4}
A  B and B  A; therefore, A = B and B = A
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 Cardinality of Sets
 Cardinality refers to the number
of elements in a set
 A finite set has a countable number
of elements
 An infinite set has at least as many
elements as the set of natural
numbers
 notation: |A| represents the cardinality of
Set A

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 Finite Set Cardinality
Set Definition
Cardinality

A = {x | x is a lower case letter} |A| =

26 B = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} |B| = 6

C = {x | x is an even number  10} |C|= 4

D = {x | x is an even number  10} |D| = 5 12

 Infinite Set Cardinality
Set Definition
Cardinality
A = {1, 2, 3, …} |A| 
0

=

0

B = {x | x is a point on a line} |B|

= 1

C = {x| x is a point in a plane} |C| =

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 Universal Sets
 The universal set is the set of all things
pertinent to a given discussion
and is designated by the symbol U
Example:
U = {all students at IVM}
Some Subsets:
A = {all Computer Technology students}
B = {freshmen students}
C = {sophomore students}
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 The Empty Set
 Any set that contains no elements is called
the
empty set
 the empty set is a subset of every set
including itself
 notation: { } or 

Examples ~ both A and B are

empty A = {x | x is a Chevrolet
Mustang} B = {x | x is a positive 15
number  0}
 The Power Set ( P )
 The power set is the set of all subsets that
can be created from a given set
 The cardinality of the power set is 2 to
the power of the given set’s cardinality
 notation: P (set name)
Example:
A = {a, b, c} where |A| = 3
P (A) = {{a, b}, {a, c}, {b, c}, {a}, {b}, {c}, A, }
and |P (A)| = 8
In general, if |A| = n, then |P (A) | = 2n
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 Special Sets
 Z represents the set of integers
– Z+ is the set of positive integers and
– Z- is the set of negative integers

 N represents the set of natural numbers

 ℝ represents the set of real numbers

 Q represents the set of rational numbers

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 Venn Diagrams
 Venn diagrams show relationships between
sets and their elements
Sets A & B

Universal Set

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 Example 1
Set Definition Elements
A = {x | x  Z+ and x  8} 1234567
B = {x | x  Z+; x is even and  10} 82 4 6 8
10 A  B
B A

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 Example 2
Set Definition Elements
A = {x | x  Z+ and x  9} 12345678
B = {x | x  Z+ ; x is even and9 8} 2 4 6
8

A B
B 
A A
B
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 Example 3
Set Definition Elements
A = {x | x  Z+ ; x is even and  2468
10} B = x  Z+ ; x is odd and x  10
10 } 13579
A B
B
A

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 Example 4
Set Definition
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8}
A = {1, 2, 6, 7}
B = {2, 3, 4, 7}
C = {4, 5, 6, 7}

A = {1, 2, 6, 7}

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 Example 5
Set Definition
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8}

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

B = {2, 3, 4, 7}
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 Operations On Sets Example
 If U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
 A = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}

 B = (1, 3, 6, 7, 8}

 C = {3, 7}

(a) Illustrate the sets U, A, B and C in a Venn diagram, marking all

the elements in the appropriate places.
(b) Using your Venn diagram, list the elements in each of the
following sets:
 A ∩ B = {6, 8}

 A ∪ B = {1,2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10}

 A′ = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}

 B′ = {2, 4, 5, 9, 10}

 B ∩ A′ = {1, 3, 7}

 B ∩ C′ = {1, 6, 8}

 A – B = {2, 4, 10}

 A Δ B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10} 24
 Some Properties
 A  AB and B  AB
 AB  A and AB  B

 |AB| = |A| + |B| - |AB|

 AB  BcAc

 A B = ABc

 If AB =  then we say ‘A’ and

‘B’ are disjoint.
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 Algebra of Sets
 Idempotent laws
–A  A = A
–A  A = A
 Associative laws

–(A  B)  C = A  (B 
C)
–(A  B)  C = A  (B 
C) 26
 Algebra of Sets ctd…
 Commutative laws
–A  B = B  A
–A  B = B  A
 Distributive laws

–A  (B  C) = (A  B)  (A 
C)
–A  (B  C) = (A  B)  (A 
C) 27
 Algebra of Sets ctd…
 Identity laws
–A   = A
–A  U = A
–A  U = U
–A   = 
 Involution
laws
–(Ac)c = A 28
 Algebra of Sets ctd…
 Complement
laws
–A  Ac = U
–A  Ac = 
–Uc = 
–c = U

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