PROBLEM SOLVING

INVOLVING
SETS
 PROBLEM #1
A group of 25 high school students was asked
whether they use either Facebook or Twitter or both.
Fifteen of these students use Facebook, and twelve
use Twitter.
a. How many use Facebook only?
b. How many use Twitter only?
c. How many use both social networking sites?
 NOTE:
In solving problem involving sets we need
to be familiar with these cue words:
“AND/BOTH” signifies “Intersection set”
“OR” signifies “Union set”
“ONLY” signifies only 1 set.
“NEITHER/NOR” signifies Complement Set.
 PROBLEM #1
A group of 25 high school students was asked
whether they use either Facebook or Twitter or both.
Fifteen of these students use Facebook, and twelve
use Twitter.
a. How many use Facebook only?
b. How many use Twitter only?
c. How many use both social networking sites?
 STEPS:
1. WRITE DOWN THE GIVEN.
The given is 25 high school students this will
represent the UNIVERSAL SET.
15 students who uses FACEBOOK. Denote it as Set A.
12 students who uses TWITTER. Denote it as Set B.
 STEPS:
U=25
Set A = FACEBOOK (15)
Set B = TWITTER (12)
 STEPS:
2. INTERSECTION OF THE SETS.
Add the number of elements of Set A and B.
(15 + 12=27)
Subtract the universal set.
(27-25)
The result will be the intersection set.
(2) = students who uses Facebook and Twitter
 STEPS:
NOTE: You need to add the number of elements inside the circles. It needs
to be equal to the universal set. If not, subtract the number of elements to
the universal set and put the answer inside the box not on the circle.

3. CREATE A VENN DIAGRAM. U

A B

13 2 10
 STEPS:
4. ANSWER THE QUESTION
a. How many use Facebook only? 13
b. How many use Twitter only? 10
c. How many use both social networking sites? 2
A B U
13 2 10
 PROBLEM #2 SOLUTION:
Fifty students were asked to bring in-kind
donations for the victims of the recent natural GIVEN:
calamity. These students brought the following: U = 50 (total students)
35 students brought canned goods A = 35 (canned goods)
24 students brought noodles B = 24 (noodles)
15 students brought canned goods and noodles. A ∩ B = 15 (canned good & noodles)
How many students brought:
a. Canned goods only? 20 students A B U
b. Noodles only? 9 students
c. Canned goods and noodles? 15 students 20 15 9
d. Canned Goods? 35 students
e. Noodles? 24 students
f. Neither canned goods nor noodles? 6 6
g. Canned good or Noodles? 44 students
 PROBLEM #3 SOLUTION:
The movie genre preferences of a group of 150 GIVEN:
respondents were recorded as follows: U = 150 (total respondents)
75 prefer comedy A = 75 (comedy)
B = 60 (action)
60 prefer action C = 75 (horror)
75 prefer horror A ∩ B = 30 (comedy & action)
B ∩ C = 35 (action & horror)
30 prefer comedy and action
A ∩ C = 58 (comedy & horror)
35 prefer action and horror A ∩ B ∩ C = 18 (all genre)
U
58 prefer comedy and horror
A B
18 prefer all three genres.
5 12 13
1. How many respondents prefer exactly two 18
movie genres? 69 Respondents 40 17
2. How many respondents do not like horror?
75 Respondents 0 45
C
 In a group of 60 people, 27 like cold drinks
and 42 like hot drinks and each person likes at
least one of the two drinks. How many like
both coffee and tea?
In a group of 100 persons, 72 people can
speak English and 43 can speak French.
How many can speak English only? How
many can speak French only and how
many can speak both English and
French?