Department of Industrial and

Information Technology

INTRODUCTION
TO
SET THEORY

Presented by: Ms. Minveluz P. Ramirez

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Information Technology

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:
1. Understand what Set Theory is,
2. Describe sets, elements, subsets, and distinguish between
different types of sets (e.g. finite, infinite, empty, universal),
3. Demonstrate understanding of the fundamental set
operations, and
4. Use Venn diagrams to visually represent and solve problems
involving set operations and relationships.
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SET THEORY
What is Set Theory?
Set Theory is a branch of mathematics that studies sets.

What is Set?
A set may be viewed as any well-defined collection of objects, called
elements or members of the set.
• One usually uses Capital letters, A, B, X, Y, …, to denote sets.
• Lower case letters a, b, x, y, …, to denote elements of sets.
• Synonyms of sets are “class”, “collection”, and “family”.
• Sets can contain number, letters, and special symbols.
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EXAMPLE OF SETS
• Number Set
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
• Letter Set
B = {a, b, c, d, e, f , g, h, i, j}
• Word Set
E = {apple, mango, orange, grapes, watermelon}

• Special Symbols Set

N = The set of natural numbers or positive integers: 1, 2, 3,…
C = The set of complex number
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MEMBERSHIP IN A SET

• a ∈ S denotes that a belongs to a set S.

• a, b ∈ S denotes that a and b belong to a set S.
• NOTE: Here ∈ is the symbol meaning “is an element
of”. We use ∈ to mean “is not an element”.
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TWO WAYS OF SPECIFYING SET

There are two (2) ways to specify a particular set.
• Roster Notation - is a way of describing a set by listing all its elements
explicitly, enclosed in curly braces. Each element is separated by commas.

For Example: A = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}

• Set-Builder Notation - is a concise way to describe a set by specifying a

property that its members share, rather than listing each element explicitly.

For Example: B = {x | x is an even integer, x > 0}

“B is the set of x such that x is an even integer and x is greater than 0.”
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EXAMPLES | SPECIFYING SET

• The Set A above can also be written as:
A = {x | x is an odd positive number, x < 10}
“A is the set of x such that x is an odd positive number and x is less than 10.”
• The Set B can also be written as:
B = {2,4,6,8,10,…}
• A set does not depend on the way which the elements are displayed. A set remains the
same if its elements are repeated or re-arranged.
❖ Set with Repeated Elements ❖ Set with Different Order
A={2,4,4,6} B={5,1,3}
This set is equivalent to A={2,4,6} because the This set is also equivalent to B={1,3,5} since the
element 4 is repeated. order of elements doesn’t affect the identity of
the set.
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TYPES OF SET
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FINITE AND INFINITE SET

• Finite Set – a finite set contains a limited number of elements. The set
has a countable number of elements.

For Example: A = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}

• Infinite Set – an infinite set contains an unlimited number of elements,

meaning the set’s elements cannot be fully listed or counted.

For Example: B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,….}

B = The set of all natural numbers
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SUBSET
A subset is a set where every element in it is also an element of another set. If set A is
a subset of set B, it means that all elements of A are contained within B.

For Example:
A={1,2} B={1,2,3,4}
In this case, A is a subset of B (written as A ⊆ B) because all elements of A (1 and 2) are also in B.

• We also say that A is contained B or B contains A. This relationship is written:

A ⊆ B or B ⊆ A
• Two sets are equal if they have both the same elements, or equivalently, if each is contained
in the other. That is:
A = B if and only if A ⊆ B or B ⊆ A
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EXAMPLES | SUBSET
Consider the Sets:

A = {1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9} B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} C = {1, 3}

• C is a subset of A and C is also a subset of B.

• B is not a subset of A.
• Similarly, A is not a subset of B.
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UNIVERSAL SET
Universal Set – is the set that contains all the elements
under consideration for a particular discussion or problem.
It is often denoted by 𝑈.

For Example: Set of all natural number less than or equal to 10.

𝑈 = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 }
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EMPTY SET OR NULL SET

Empty Set – is a set containing no objects. It is written
as a pair of curly braces with nothing inside.

For Example:

A={}
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DISJOINT SET
Disjoint – A pair of sets which does not have any common
elements.

For Example:

A = {1, 2} B = {4, 5, 6,} C = {5, 6, 7, 8}

• Set A and B are said to be disjoint because they don’t have any common
elements. A ∩ B=∅
• Set B and C are not disjoint since they have common elements, which is {5,
6}.
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CARDINALITY OF A SET
The Cardinality of a set is its size. For a finite set, the
cardinality of a set is the number of members it contains.

For Example:
A = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
|A| which means “Cardinality of Set A”
|A| = 5
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SET
OPERATIONS
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SET OPERATION | UNION

• The union of two given sets is the set that contains all the elements present in
one/both sets.
• The union is denoted by the “∪”

For Example:

S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} T = {1, 3, 5} U = {2, 3, 4, 5}

a. S ∪ T = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 3, 5} or S ∪ T = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
b. T ∪ U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
c. S ∪ U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
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OPERATION ON SET | INTERSECTION

• The intersection of two set S and T is the collection of all objects that are in
both sets.
• It is written as S ∩ T and read as “S intersection T”

For Example:

S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} T = {1, 3, 4, 5} U = {2, 3, 4, 5}

a. S ∩ T = {1, 3, 4, 5}
b. T ∩ U = {3, 4, 5}
c. S ∩ U = {2, 3, 4, 5}
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OPERATION ON SET | DIFFERENCE

• Difference - refers to the set of elements that are present in one set but not in
another. It is a way to compare two sets and determine which elements belong to the
first set but not to the second.
• It is written as 𝐴−𝐵 or 𝐴∖𝐵

For Example:
Let’s say we have two sets:
𝐶= {𝑎,𝑏,𝑐,𝑑}
𝐷= {𝑏,𝑐,𝑒,𝑓}
Now, the difference C−D is:
𝐶−𝐷 = {𝑎,𝑑}
The difference between C and D are {a, d}
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OPERATION ON SET | COMPLEMENT

• Complement - refers to the set of all elements in the universal set that are not in the
given set. In other words, the complement of a set 𝐴 consists of all the elements in
the universal set 𝑈 that are not in 𝐴.
• The complement of a set 𝐴 is denoted as 𝐴′.

For Example:
Let the universal set 𝑈 be:
𝑈 = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
And let 𝐴 = {2,4,6,8}

𝐴′ = {1,3,5,7,9,10}
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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SET OPERATIONS

Venn Diagram - are an excellent tool for visually understanding set
operations like union, intersection, difference, and complement.
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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SET OPERATIONS

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THANK YOU