Sets

Assylbek Issakhov,
Ph.D., professor
 SETS AND THEIR ELEMENTS

▪ A set may be viewed as any well-defined

collection of objects, called the elements or
members of the set.
▪ One usually uses capital letters, 𝐴, 𝐵, 𝑋, 𝑌, . . ., to
denote sets, and lowercase letters, 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑥, 𝑦, . . .,
to denote elements of sets.
▪ Synonyms for “set” are
“class”, “collection”, and “family”.
 SETS AND THEIR ELEMENTS

Membership in a set is denoted as follows:

▪ 𝑎 ∈ 𝑆 denotes that 𝒂 belongs to a set 𝑆
▪ 𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ 𝑆 denotes that 𝒂 and 𝒃 belong to a set 𝑆
Here ∈ is the symbol meaning “is an element of.”

▪ We use ∉ to mean “is not an element of.”

 Specifying Sets
▪ There are essentially two ways to specify a
particular set:
▪ One way, if possible, is to list its members
separated by commas and contained in braces { }.
▪ A second way is to state those properties which
characterized the elements in the set.
▪ Example.
𝐴 = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}, and
𝐵 = {𝑥 | 𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑟, 𝑥 > 0}
 Specifying Sets
Example.
𝐴 = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}, and
𝐵 = {𝑥 | 𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑟, 𝑥 > 0}
That is, 𝐴 consists of the numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9. The
second set, which reads: 𝐵 is the set of 𝑥 such that
𝑥 is an even integer and 𝑥 is greater than 0, denotes
the set 𝐵 whose elements are the positive integers.
Note that a letter, usually 𝑥, is used to denote a
typical member of the set; and the vertical line | is
read as “such that” and the comma as “and.”
 Subsets

Suppose every element in a set 𝐴 is also an element of a

set 𝐵, that is, suppose 𝒂 ∈ 𝐴 implies 𝒂 ∈ 𝐵. Then 𝐴 is
called a subset of 𝐵. We also say that 𝐴 is contained in 𝐵
or that 𝐵 contains 𝐴. This relationship is written:
𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 or 𝐵 ⊇ 𝐴
Two sets are equal if they both have the same elements
or, equivalently, if each is contained in the other. That is:
𝐴 = 𝐵 if and only if 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 and 𝐵 ⊆ 𝐴
If 𝐴 is not a subset of 𝐵, that is, if at least one element of
𝐴 does not belong to 𝐵, we write 𝐴 ⊈ 𝐵.
 Subsets

▪ Theorem 1. Let 𝐴, 𝐵, 𝐶 be any sets. Then:

(i) 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐴
(ii) If 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 and 𝐵 ⊆ 𝐴, then 𝐴 = 𝐵
(iii) If 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 and 𝐵 ⊆ 𝐶, then 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐶
 Special symbols
▪ ℕ – the set of natural numbers or positive
integers: 1, 2, 3, . . .
▪ ℤ – the set of all integers: . . . ,−2,−1, 0, 1, 2, . . .
▪ ℚ – the set of rational numbers
▪ ℝ – the set of real numbers
▪ ℂ – the set of complex numbers

▪ Observe that ℕ ⊆ ℤ ⊆ ℚ ⊆ ℝ ⊆ ℂ.
 Universal Set, Empty Set
▪ All sets under investigation in any application of set
theory are assumed to belong to some fixed large set
called the universal set which we denote by 𝑈, unless
otherwise stated or implied.
▪ Given a universal set 𝑈 and a property 𝑃, there may
not be any elements of 𝑈 which have property 𝑃. For
example, the following set has no elements:
𝑆 = {𝑥 | 𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑒𝑟, 𝑥 2 = 3}
Such a set with no elements is called the empty set or
null set and is denoted by ∅.
 Universal Set, Empty Set

▪ Theorem 2. For any set 𝐴, we have

∅ ⊆ 𝐴 ⊆ 𝑈.
 Disjoint Sets
▪ Two sets 𝐴 and 𝐵 are said to be disjoint if they have
no elements in common. For example, suppose
𝐴 = {1, 2}, 𝐵 = {4, 5, 6}, and 𝐶 = {5, 6, 7, 8}
Then 𝐴 and 𝐵 are disjoint, and 𝐴 and 𝐶 are disjoint.
But 𝐵 and 𝐶 are not disjoint since 𝐵 and 𝐶 have
elements in common, e.g., 5 and 6.
▪ We note that if 𝐴 and 𝐵 are disjoint, then neither is
a subset of the other (unless one is the empty set).
 VENN DIAGRAMS

▪ A Venn diagram is a pictorial representation of

sets in which sets are represented by enclosed
areas in the plane.
▪ The universal set 𝑈 is represented by the
interior of a rectangle, and the other sets are
represented by disks lying within the
rectangle.
 VENN DIAGRAMS

▪ If 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵, then the disk representing 𝐴 will be

entirely within the disk representing 𝐵 as in
Fig. (a)
 VENN DIAGRAMS

▪ If 𝐴 and 𝐵 are disjoint, then the disk

representing 𝐴 will be separated from the disk
representing 𝐵 as in Fig. (b)
 VENN DIAGRAMS
▪ However, if 𝐴 and 𝐵 are two arbitrary sets, it is possible
that some objects are in 𝐴 but not in 𝐵, some are in 𝐵 but
not in 𝐴, some are in both 𝐴 and 𝐵, and some are in
neither 𝐴 nor 𝐵; hence in general we represent 𝐴 and 𝐵 as
in Fig. (c).
 SET OPERATIONS
▪ The union of two sets 𝐴 and 𝐵, denoted by 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵, is the
set of all elements which belong to 𝐴 or to 𝐵; that is,
𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = {𝑥 | 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵}
Here “or” is used in the sense of and/or. Figure (a) is a
Venn diagram in which 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 is shaded.
 SET OPERATIONS
▪ The intersection of two sets 𝐴 and 𝐵, denoted by 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵,
is the set of elements which belong to both 𝐴 and 𝐵:
𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = {𝑥 | 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵}.
▪ Figure (b) is a Venn diagram in which 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 is shaded.
 SET OPERATIONS

▪ Recall that sets 𝐴 and 𝐵 are said to be disjoint or

nonintersecting if they have no elements in
common or, using the definition of intersection,
if 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = ∅, the empty set. Suppose
𝑆 = 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 and 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = ∅
Then 𝑆 is called the disjoint union of 𝐴 and 𝐵.
 SET OPERATIONS

▪ Theorem 3. For any sets 𝐴 and 𝐵, we have:

(i) 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 ⊆ 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 and
(ii) 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 ⊆ 𝐵 ⊆ 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵.
▪ Theorem 4. The following are equivalent:
(i) 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵,
(ii) 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = 𝐴,
(iii) 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = 𝐵.
 Complements, Differences,
Symmetric Differences
▪ Recall that all sets under consideration at a particular time
are subsets of a fixed universal set 𝑈. The absolute
complement or, simply, complement of a set 𝐴, denoted by
𝐴𝐶 (or 𝐴), is the set of elements which belong to 𝑈 but
which do not belong to 𝐴. That is,
𝐴𝐶 = 𝑥 𝑥 ∈ 𝑈, 𝑥 ∉ 𝐴}.
 Complements, Differences,
Symmetric Differences
▪ The relative complement of a set 𝐵 with respect to a set 𝐴
or, simply, the difference of 𝐴 and 𝐵, denoted by 𝐴\B, is
the set of elements which belong to 𝐴 but which do not
belong to 𝐵; that is 𝐴\B = 𝑥 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴, 𝑥 ∉ 𝐵}.
▪ The set 𝐴\B is read “𝐴 minus 𝐵.” Sometimes 𝐴\B is
denoted by 𝐴 − 𝐵.
 Complements, Differences,
Symmetric Differences
▪ The symmetric difference of sets 𝐴 and 𝐵, denoted by
𝐴 ⊕ 𝐵, consists of those elements which belong to 𝐴 or
𝐵 but not to both. That is,
𝐴 ⊕ 𝐵 = (𝐴 ∪ 𝐵)\(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵) 𝑜𝑟 𝐴 ⊕ 𝐵 = (𝐴\B) ∪ (𝐵\A).
 Fundamental Products
▪ Consider 𝑛 distinct sets 𝐴1 , 𝐴2 , … , 𝐴𝑛 . A
fundamental product of the sets is a set of the
form
𝐴1∗ ∩ 𝐴∗2 ∩ ⋯ ∩ 𝐴∗𝑛 , 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐴∗𝑖 = 𝐴𝑖 𝑜𝑟 𝐴∗𝑖 = 𝐴𝐶𝑖
▪ We note that:
(i) There are 2𝑛 such fundamental products,
(ii) Any two such fundamental products are disjoint,
(iii) The universal set 𝑈 is the union of all
fundamental products.
 ALGEBRA OF SETS, DUALITY
▪ Sets under the operations of union, intersection,
and complement satisfy various laws (identities)
which are listed in the Table:
 FINITE SETS, COUNTING PRINCIPLE
▪ Sets can be finite or infinite. A set 𝑆 is said to be
finite if 𝑆 is empty or if 𝑆 contains exactly 𝑚
elements where 𝑚 is a positive integer;
otherwise 𝑆 is infinite.
▪ A set 𝑆 is countable if 𝑆 is finite or if the elements
of 𝑆 can be arranged as a sequence, in which
case 𝑆 is said to be countably infinite; otherwise
𝑆 is said to be uncountable. The set 𝐸 of even
integers is countably infinite, whereas one can
prove that the unit interval 𝐻 = [0, 1] of real
numbers is uncountable.
 Counting Elements in Finite Sets

▪ The notation 𝑛(𝑆) or |𝑆| will denote the

number of elements in a set 𝑆. (Sometimes we
use 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑(𝑆) instead of 𝑛(𝑆).)
▪ Thus 𝑛(𝐴) = 26, where 𝐴 is the set of letters in
the English alphabet, and 𝑛(𝐷) = 7, where 𝐷 is
the set of days of the week.
▪ Also 𝑛(∅) = 0 since the empty set has no
elements.
 Counting Elements in Finite Sets
▪ Lemma 6: Suppose 𝐴 and 𝐵 are finite disjoint
sets. Then 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 is finite and
𝑛(𝐴 ∪ 𝐵) = 𝑛(𝐴) + 𝑛(𝐵)
▪ Corollary 7: Let 𝐴 and 𝐵 be finite sets. Then
𝑛(𝐴\B) = 𝑛(𝐴) − 𝑛(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵)
▪ Corollary 8: Let 𝐴 be a subset of a finite
universal set 𝑈. Then
𝑛 𝐴𝐶 = 𝑛 𝑈 − 𝑛(𝐴)
 Inclusion-Exclusion Principle
▪ Theorem (Inclusion-Exclusion Principle) 9:
Suppose 𝐴 and 𝐵 are finite sets. Then 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵
and 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 are finite and
𝑛(𝐴 ∪ 𝐵) = 𝑛(𝐴) + 𝑛(𝐵) − 𝑛(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵)
▪ Corollary 10: Suppose 𝐴, 𝐵, 𝐶 are finite sets.
Then 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 ∪ 𝐶 is finite and
𝑛 𝐴∪𝐵∪𝐶 =
=𝑛 𝐴 +𝑛 𝐵 +𝑛 𝐶 −𝑛 𝐴∩𝐵 −
−𝑛 𝐴 ∩ 𝐶 − 𝑛(𝐵 ∩ 𝐶) + 𝑛(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 ∩ 𝐶)
 CLASSES OF SETS

▪ Given a set 𝑆, we might wish to talk about some

of its subsets. Thus we would be considering a
set of sets.
▪ Whenever such a situation occurs, to avoid
confusion, we will speak of a class of sets or
collection of sets rather than a set of sets. If we
wish to consider some of the sets in a given
class of sets, then we speak of subclass or
subcollection.
 Power Sets

▪ For a given set 𝑆 , we may speak of the class of

all subsets of 𝑆. This class is called the power
set of 𝑆, and will be denoted by 𝑃(𝑆).
▪ If 𝑆 is finite, then so is 𝑃(𝑆). In fact, the
number of elements in 𝑃(𝑆) is 2 raised to the
power 𝑛 𝑆 = 𝑘. That is,
𝑛 𝑃 𝑆 = 2𝑘
 Partitions

▪ Let 𝑆 be a nonempty set. A partition of 𝑆 is a

subdivision of 𝑆 into non-overlapping,
nonempty subsets. Precisely, a partition of 𝑆 is a
collection {𝐴𝑖 } of nonempty subsets of 𝑆 such
that:
(i) Each 𝑎 in 𝑆 belongs to one of the 𝐴𝑖 .
(ii) The sets of {𝐴𝑖 } are mutually disjoint; that is,
𝑖𝑓 𝐴𝑗 ≠ 𝐴𝑘 , 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐴𝑗 ∩ 𝐴𝑘 = ∅
(iii) 𝑆 = ⋃𝑖 𝐴𝑖
 MATHEMATICAL INDUCTION

▪ Principle of Mathematical Induction I:

Let 𝑃 be a proposition defined on the positive
integers ℕ; that is, 𝑃(𝑛) is either true or false for
each 𝑛 ∈ ℕ. Suppose 𝑃 has the following two
properties:
(i) 𝑃(1) is true.
(ii) 𝑃(𝑘 + 1) is true whenever 𝑃(𝑘) is true.
Then 𝑃 is true for every positive integer 𝑛 ∈ ℕ.
 MATHEMATICAL INDUCTION

▪ Principle of Mathematical Induction II:

Let 𝑃 be a proposition defined on the positive
integers ℕ such that:
(i) 𝑃(1) is true.
(ii) 𝑃(𝑘 + 1) is true whenever 𝑃(𝑖) is true
for all 1 ≤ 𝑖 ≤ 𝑘.
Then 𝑃 is true for every positive integer 𝑛 ∈ ℕ.
HOMEWORK: Problems 1.1 – 1.25 on
pp. 13-18