Basic Structures: Sets, Functions,

Sequences, Sums, and Matrices

Set Operations
Set Operations

 Union
 Intersection
 Disjoint
 Difference
 Complement
Union of Sets

An element x belongs to the union of the sets A and B if and only if x belongs to A
or x belongs to B.
Example

 The union of the sets {1, 3, 5} and {1, 2, 3} is the set {1, 2, 3, 5}; that is,
{1, 3, 5} ∪ {1, 2, 3}={1, 2, 3, 5}.

 A={a,b,c}, B={k,l,m}. The union of the two sets is given by

A ∪ B={a,b,c}∪{k,l,m}={a,b,c,k,l,m}.

 C={1,2,3,4}, D={2,4,6,7}. The union of the sets is given by

C ∪ D={1,2,3,4}∪{2,4,6,7}={1,2,3,4,6,7}.

Note that elements are not repeated in a set

Intersection of the sets

An element x belongs to the intersection of the sets A and B if and only if x belongs to A
and x belongs to B. This tells us that
Example

 The intersection of the sets {1, 3, 5} and {1, 2, 3} is the set {1, 3}; that is,
{1, 3, 5} ∩ {1, 2, 3}={1, 3}.
 If A={1,2,3}, B={1,4,5} then A ∩ B = {1}
 If A={1,2,3}, B={4,5} then A ∩ B = ∅
 Disjoint

Let A = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9} and B = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}. Because A ∩ B = ∅, A and B are disjoint

If A={1,2,3}, B={4,5} then A ∩ B = ∅ --- A and B are disjoint

Difference of Sets
Example
 The difference of {1, 3, 5} and {1, 2, 3} is the set {5}; that is,
{1, 3, 5} − {1, 2, 3}= {5}.
 This is different from the difference of {1, 2, 3} and {1, 3, 5}
{1, 2, 3} - {1, 3, 5} = {2}.
 If A={1,2,3}, B={1,2,4,5} then A - B = {3}
 If A={1,2,3}, B={1,2,4,5} then B - A = {4,5}
  If A = { 10, 11, 12, 13 } and B = { 13, 14, 15 }, then
(A - B) = { 10, 11, 12 } and (B - A) = { 14, 15 }. Here, we can see (A - B) ≠ (B - A)
Complement of a Set

The complement of A is the set of everything that is not in A

Example
Exercises
 Let A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} and B = {0, 3, 6}. Find
 A∪B =
 A∩B=
 A− B=
 B−A=
 Let A = {a, b, c, d, e} and B = {a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h}. Find
 A∪B =
 A∩B=
 A− B=
 B−A=
Generalized Unions and Intersections
 Let A = {0, 2, 4, 6, 8}, B = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}, and C = {0, 3, 6, 9}.
 What are A ∪ B ∪ C and A ∩ B ∩ C?
 Answer:
 The set A ∪ B ∪ C contains those elements in at least one of A, B, and C. Hence, A ∪ B ∪
C = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9}.
 The set A ∩ B ∩ C contains those elements in all three of A, B, and C.
Thus, A ∩ B ∩ C = {0}.
Exercises

 Let A = {0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10}, B = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, and C = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}. Find

 A ∩ B ∩ C = {4,6}
 A ∪ B ∪ C = {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
 (A ∪ B) ∩ C
 A ∪ B = {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,8,10}, C = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
 (A ∪ B) ∩ C = {4, 5, 6, 8, 10}
 (A ∩ B) ∪ C
 (A ∩ B) = {0,2,4,6}, C = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
 (A ∩ B) ∪ C = {0,2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
 Creating a Venn Diagram

 A={1,3,5,7,9}
B = { 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 }
 The two large circles represent the two sets.
 The numbers which appear in both sets are 7 and 9. These will
go in the central section, because this is part of both circles.
 The numbers 1, 3 and 5 still need to be put in Set A, but not in
Set B, so these go in the left section of the diagram.
 Similarly, the numbers 6, 8 and 10 are in Set B, but not in Set
A, so will go in the right section of the diagram.
 The numbers 2 and 4 are not in either set, so will go outside
the two circles.
 A ∪ B = {1,3,5,6,7,8,9,10}
 A ∩ B = {7,9}
Exercises

U = All the whole numbers from 1 to 10

Set A = { 1 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 }
Set B = { 2 , 6 , 8 , 10 }
Exercises

U = All the whole numbers from 1 to 10

Set A = { 1 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 }
Set B = { 2 , 6 , 8 , 10 }
Exercises

 U= The whole numbers from 1 to 12 

 List set B.
 List set A.
 Which set contains all the even numbers?
  Which set contains only the multiples of 4?
Exercises

 U= The whole numbers from 1 to 12 

 List set B. = 4,8,12
 List set A. = 2,4,6,8,10,12
 Which set contains all the even numbers? = Set A
  Which set contains only the multiples of 4? = Set B
Exercises

 U= The whole numbers from 1 to 20 

 List set E.
  List set S.
 What is the intersection of E and S?
Exercises

 U= The whole numbers from 1 to 20 

 List set E. = 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20
  List set S. = 1,4,9,16
 What is the intersection of E and S? = 4,16
Creating a Venn Diagram
 Given that U = {1, 2, ..., 9, 10}, A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, B = {2, 4, 6, 8, 9}, and C = {3, 5, 6,
7, 9}, populate a Venn diagram and use this to find [(A – C) ∪ B].
Exercises

 U= {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
 Given that A = {0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10}, B = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, and C = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
populate a Venn diagram.
References

 Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications by Rosen, K.

 https://www.purplemath.com/modules/venndiag3.htm
 https://www.cimt.org.uk/projects/mepres/book7/bk7i1/bk7_1i3.htm
 https://www.math24.net/set-operations-venn-diagrams
 http://amsi.org.au/teacher_modules/Sets_and_venn_diagrams.html
 https://www.cs.odu.edu/~toida/nerzic/level-a/set/set_operations.html
 https://www.tutorialspoint.com/set-operations