MODULE 3

THE LANGUAGE OF SETS

WHAT IS A SET? - The empty set or null set is a special set.

- Set is a collection of related and - It contains no elements.
well-defined objects. - It usually denoted as { } or ⊘
- Georg Cantor (1845-1918) introduced the - The empty set is always considered a subset
word set in 1879. of any set.

* Do not be confused by this question:

Is this set {0} empty?
- It is not empty. It contains the element
zero.

Element - is the object in the set. It is denoted by the

symbol ∈. the elements can be numbers, letters, etc. SET NOTATIONS

Braces { } - are used to enclose the elements of the Roster notation - is the method of describing a set by
set. listing each element of the set.
Ex. Let set A equal to the set of odd numbers
Upper case letters A,B,C,... - are used to name a set greater than zero, and less than 10.
The roster notation of A is:
Lower case letters a,b,c,... - sometimes used as A = {1,3,5,7,9}
elements of the set.
Set-builder notation - is used when it is not
WHAT IS A SUBSET? convenient to list all the elements of a set, we use a
notation that employs the rules in which an element
is a member of the set.
Ex.
V = {people|citizens registered to vote in
- The universal set is the largest possible set for Maricopa County}
a given scenario. For this example, 𝐴 is the A = {x|x > 5} = This is the set A that has all real
universal set. numbers greater than 5.
- 𝐴𝑒is a subset of all the possible outcomes, 𝐴, * Note: The symbol ‘|’ is read as such that.
because it contains some of the elements of
𝐴.
- Subsets are denoted using the ⊆ symbol.
Thus, 𝐴𝑒 ⊆ 𝐴.

WHAT IS AN EMPTY SET? COMPLEMENT OF A SET

 - The complement of a set is all of the - A is a proper subset of A (𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵), if and only
elements in the universal set but not in the if, every element of A is in B but there is at
set of interest. least one element of B that is not in A.
- Complements of sets are denoted using a Let A = {1,4,3} and B = {1,2,3,4,5}
prime symbol (‘). a. 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵 ✓
b. 𝐵 ⊃ 𝐴 ✗

MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE SETS

- We say two sets A and B are mutually
exclusive if 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = ⊘
- Think of this as two events that cannot

UNION OF A SET happen at the same time.

- The union of two or more sets contains all the

elements in all the sets. CARDINAL NUMBER OF A SET

- The union of sets 𝐴 and 𝐵 is the elements in - The cardinal number of a set is the number

either set 𝐴 or 𝐵 or both. of elements in the set and is denoted by 𝑛(𝐴)

- Union of sets are denoted by the symbol (∪)

CARTESIAN PRODUCT

INTERSECTION OF A SET - Given sets A and B. The Cartesian product of

- The intersection of two or more sets contains A and B, denoted AxB and read “A cross B”

all the elements that are in all sets. is the set of all ordered pairs (a,b), where a is

- For example, all the elements in set 𝐴 and 𝐵 in A and b is in B.

- Intersections of sets are denoted by the - Symbolically, 𝐴𝑥𝐵 = {𝑎, 𝑏) 𝑎 ∈ 𝐴 and 𝑏 ∈ 𝐵

symbol (∩).

WHAT IS A VENN DIAGRAM?

- A venn diagram is an illustration that uses
DISJOINT SETS circles to show the relationships among
- Disjoint sets are two or more sets that have things or finite groups of things.
no elements in common, therefore, the
intersection is an empty set.

PROPER SUBSET OF A SET EXERCISES:

 1. What are the subsets of A = {1,2,3} ?
A = {1}, {2}, {3}, {1,2}, {2,3}, {1,3}, {1,2,3}, { }

2. Using the figure below, find the elements

found in the indicated sets.

a. {0,2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,17,25,28}
b. {0,2,10}
c. {4,6,7,8,9,11,12}
d. {5,17,25,28}
e. {4,6,7,8,9,11,12}
f. {5,17,25,28}
g. {4,5,6,7,8,9,11,12,17,25,28}

3.

A = {a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,z}
B = {a,e,i,o,u}
C = {e,r,i,z,z,a,l,i,l,a,j,a,v,i,e,r}