C HA P TE R 1 :

SET T H EO RY PART 1

E M ATHEM ATI CS
CMPE 104: DISCRET
SET THEORY
A WELL DEFINED COLLECTION OF OBJECTS OF ANY KIND. TO
SPECIFY A SET, WE MUST DESCRIBE ITS MEMBERS AND THIS IS
USUALLY DONE IN ONE OF TWO WAYS.

A.) ROSTER METHOD – OR LISTING, ENCLOSING THE LIST BY A

PAIR OF BRACES { }

B.) RULE METHOD – GIVING A PROPERTY W/C DISTINGUISHES

MEMBERS OF SET FROM OBJECTS IN THE SET.
SET THEORY
SETS ARE DENOTED BY CAPITAL LETTERS A, B, C …, X, Y, Z.
THE ELEMENTS OF A SET ARE REPRESENTED BY LOWER CASE
LETTERS.

IF AN OBJECT X IS A MEMBER OF A SET A, WE WRITE X ∈ A,

WHICH READS “X BELONGS TO A” OR “X IS IN A” OR “X IS AN
ELEMENT OF A”, OTHERWISE WE WRITE X ∉ A, WHICH READS
“X DOES NOT BELONG TO A” OR “X IS NOT IN A” OR “X IS NOT
AN ELEMENT OF A”.
 EXAMPLE

1. A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
A = {| IS A COUNTING NUMBER LESS THAN 6}
2. B = {A, E, I, O, U}
B = {| IS THE VOWELS IN THE ENGLISH ALPHABET}
FINITE AND INFINITE SET
A SET IS CALLED FINITE IF IT CONTAINS A DISTINCT
ELEMENTS. OTHERWISE, IT IS INFINITE.
SUBSET ()
LET A AND B BE SETS. A B IFF EVERY ELEMENT OF A IS IN B.
EXAMPLE:
LET:
A={1, 3, 5} B={1, 2, 3, 4, 5} C={1, 2, 3, 4} D={3, 1, 5}
THEN A B, C B, A D
PROPER SUBSET ()
LET A AND B BE SETS. A B IFF EVERY ELEMENT OF A IS IN B BUT
THERE IS A LEAST ONE ELEMENT OF B THAT IS NOT IN A.
EXAMPLE:
LET: A={1, 3, 5} B={1, 2, 3, 5}
THEN A B.
EQUAL SETS
TWO SETS A AND B ARE EQUAL IF AND ONLY IF EVERY
ELEMENT OF A IS IN B AND EVERY ELEMENT OF B IS IN A AND IS
DENOTED A = B.
SYMBOLICALLY: A = B IFF A ⊆ B AND B ⊆ A
EXAMPLE:
LET A = {1, 2, 3, 6} B = THE SET OF POSITIVE DIVISORS OF 6
C = {3, 1, 6, 2} D = {1, 2, 2, 3, 6, 6, 6}
THEN A, B, C, AND D ARE ALL EQUAL SETS.

EMPTY SET
DENOTED BY , A SET W/C CONTAINS NOTHING
EXAMPLE:
A = { | IS A PERSON TALLER THAN 10 FEET} = ∅
B = { , X IS ODD} = ∅
UNIVERSAL SET ( U )
THE SET OF ALL ELEMENTS UNDER CONSIDERATION IS
CALLED THE UNIVERSAL SET. THE UNIVERSAL SET IS USUALLY
DENOTED BY U.
VENN DIAGRAM
A GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF SETS BY REGIONS OF
PLANE.
SET OPERATIONS
UNION ( ∪ )
LET A AND B BE SUBSETS OF A UNIVERSAL SET U. THE UNION
OF SETS A AND B IS THE SET OF ALL ELEMENTS IN U THAT
BELONG TO A OR TO B OR TO BOTH, AND IS DENOTED A ∪ B.
SYMBOLICALLY: A ∪ B = {X ∈U | X ∈A OR X ∈ B}
SET OPERATIONS
INTERSECTION ( ∩ )
LET A AND B SUBSETS OF A UNIVERSAL SET U. THE
INTERSECTION OF SETS A AND B IS THE SET OF ALL ELEMENTS IN
U THAT BELONG TO BOTH A AND B AND IS DENOTED A ∩ B.
SYMBOLICALLY: A ∩ B = {X ∈U | X ∈ A AND X ∈B}
SET OPERATIONS
SET DIFFERENCE
LET A AND B BE SUBSETS OF A UNIVERSAL SET U. THE
DIFFERENCE OF “A AND B” IS THE SET OF ALL ELEMENTS IN U
THAT BELONG TO A BUT NOT TO B, AND IS DENOTED A – B OR A \
B. SYMBOLICALLY: A – B = {X ∈U | X ∈ A AND X∉B}
SET OPERATIONS
COMPLEMENT
LET A BE A SUBSET OF UNIVERSAL SET U. THE COMPLEMENT
OF A IS THE SET OF ALL ELEMENT IN U THAT DO NOT BELONG
TO A, AND IS DENOTED , OR . SYMBOLICALLY: = {X ∈U | X ∉A}
SET OPERATIONS
REMARKS:
1. A ⊆ A ∪ B AND B ⊆ A ∪ B
2. A ∩ B ⊆ A AND A ∩ B ⊆ B
3. IF A ∩ B = ∅, THEN A & B ARE CALLED DISJOINT SETS.
4. A – B ≠ B – A THAT IS SET DIFFERENCE IS NOT COMMUTATIVE.
5. A – B ⊆ A
6. A – B, A ∩ B AND B – A ARE MUTUALLY DISJOINT SETS.
7. = U – A
8. A ∩ = ∅ AND A ∪ = U
EXAMPLE 1
1. USE A VENN DIAGRAM TO REPRESENT THE FOLLOWING:
A.) ∩ ∩
B.) ∪
C.)
SOLUTION
 EXAMPLE 2
2. LET U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10} X = {1, 3, 4, 6, 8}
Y = {} Z = {}
ENUMERATE:
A.) ∩ C.)
B.) ∪ D.)
SOLUTION
EXAMPLE 3
3. GIVEN THE FOLLOWING UNIVERSAL SET U AND ITS TWO
SUBSETS P AND Q WHERE
U = { | ∈ Z, 0 ≤ ≤ 10}
P = { | IS A PRIME NUMBER}
Q = { | < 70}

A.) DRAW THE VENN DIAGRAM OF THE GIVEN PROBLEM.

B.) LIST THE ELEMENTS IN ∩ Q.
SOLUTION
EXAMPLE 4
4. LET U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, C = {1, 3} AND A AND B ARE NON EMPTY
SETS.
FIND A IN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING:

A.) A ∪ B = U, A ∩ B = ∅ AND B = {1}

B.) A ⊂ B AND A ∪ B = {4, 5}
C.) A ∩ B = {3}, A ∪ B = {2, 3, 4} AND B ∪ C = {1,2,3}
D.) A AND B ARE DISJOINT, B AND C ARE DISJOINT, AND THE
UNION OF A AND B IS THE SET {1, 2}.
SOLUTION
EXAMPLE 5
5. CONSTRUCT A VENN DIAGRAM THAT INDICATES THE BEST
RELATION OF THE FOLLOWING:
A.) PAGE, CHAPTER, AND BOOK
B.) PARENTS, MOTHER, AND FATHER
C.) TRAVELERS, TRAIN, AND BUS
D.) EARTH, SEA, AND SUN
E.) TEACHER, WRITER, AND MUSICIAN
F.) WOMEN, MOTHERS AND ENGINEERS
SOLUTION
SOLUTION