Sets and Relations

SETS
SET
A set is a collection of well defined objects which are distinct from each other. Set are generally denoted by
capital letters A, B, C, ........ etc. and the elements of the set by small letters a, b, c ....... etc.
If a is an element of a set A, then we write a A and say a belongs to A.
If a does not belong to A then we write a A,
e.g. the collection of first five prime natural numbers is a set containing the elements 2, 3, 5, 7, 11.

METHODS TO WRITE A SET :

(i) Roster Method or Tabular Method : In this method a set is described by listing elements, separated by
commas and enclose then by curly brackets. Note that while writing the set in roster form, an element is not
generally repeated e.g. the set of letters of word SCHOOL may be written as {S, C, H, O, L}.
(ii) Set builder form (Property Method) : In this we write down a property or rule which gives us all the
element of the set.
A = {x : P(x)} where P(x) is the property by which x A and colon ( : ) stands for such that
Example # 1 : Express set A = {x : x N and x = 2n for n N} in roster form
Solution :
A = {2, 4, 6,.........}
Example # 2 : Express set B = {x2 : x < 4, x W} in roster form
Solution :
B = {0, 1, 4, 9}
Example # 3 : Express set A = {2, 5, 10, 17, 26} in set builder form
Solution :
A = {x : x = n2 + 1, nN, 1 n 5}

TYPES OF SETS
Null set or empty set : A set having no element in it is called an empty set or a null set or void set, it is
denoted by or { }. A set consisting of at least one element is called a non-empty set or a non-void set.
Singleton set : A set consisting of a single element is called a singleton set.
Finite set : A set which has only finite number of elements is called a finite set.
Order of a finite set : The number of elements in a finite set A is called the order of this set and
denoted by O(A) or n(A). It is also called cardinal number of the set.
e.g.
A = {a, b, c, d}

n(A) = 4
Infinite set : A set which has an infinite number of elements is called an infinite set.
Equal sets : Two sets A and B are said to be equal if every element of A is member of B, and every element
of B is a member of A. If sets A and B are equal, we write A = B and if A and B are not equal then
AB
Equivalent sets : Two finite sets A and B are equivalent if their number of elements are same
i.e. n(A) = n(B)
e.g.
A = {1, 3, 5, 7}, B = {a, b, c, d}
n(A) = 4 and n(B) = 4

A and B are equivalent sets

Note - Equal sets are always equivalent but equivalent sets may not be equal
SETS AND RELATIONS # 1

Example # 4 : Identify the type of set :

(i)
A = {x N : 5 < x < 6}
(iii)
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, .......}
(v)
A = {0}
Solution :
(i)
Null set
(ii)
finite set
(iii)
infinite set
(iv)
equal sets
(v)
singleton set

(ii)
(iv)

A = {a, b, c}
A = {1, 2, 6, 7} and B = {6, 1, 2, 7, 7}

Self Practice Problem :

(1)
Write the set of all integers 'x' such that |x 3| < 8.
(2)
Write the set {1, 2, 3, 6} in set builder form.
(3)
If A = {x : |x| < 2, x Z} and B = {1, 1} then find whether sets A and B are equal or not.
Answers

(1)
(2)
(3)

[4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
{x : x is a natural number and a divisor of 6}
Not equal sets

SUBSET AND SUPERSET :

Let A and B be two sets. If every element of A is an element B then A is called a subset of B and B is called
superset of A. We write it as A B.
e.g.

A = {1, 2, 3, 4} and B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}

If A is not a subset of B then we write A / B

A B

PROPER SUBSET :
If A is a subset of B but A B then A is a proper subset of B and we write A B. Set A is not proper subset
of A so this is improper subset of A
Note : (i)

Every set is a subset of itself

(ii)

Empty set is a subset of every set

(iii)

A B and B A A = B

(iv)
(v)
(vi)

The total number of subsets of a finite set containing n elements is 2n.

Number of proper subsets of a set having n elements is 2n 1.
Empty set is proper subset of every set except itself.

POWER SET :
Let A be any set. The set of all subsets of A is called power set of A and is denoted by P(A)
Example # 5 : Examine whether the following statements are true or false :
(i)
{a, b} / {b, c, a}
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
Solution :

{a, e} / {x : x is a vowel in the English alphabet}

{1, 2, 3} {1, 3, 5}
{a} {a, b, c}
(i)
False as {a, b} is subset of {b, c, a}
(ii)
True as a, e are vowels
(iii)
False as element 2 is not in the set {1, 3, 5}
(iv)
False as a {a, b, c} and {a} {a, b, c}

SETS AND RELATIONS # 2

Example # 6 : Find power set of set A = {1, 2}

Solution :
P(A) = {, {1}, {2}, {1, 2}}
Example # 7 : If denotes null set then find P(P(P()))
Solution :
Let P() = {}
P(P()) = {,{}}
P(P(P())) = {, {}, {{}}, {, {}}}
Self Practice Problem :
(4)
State true/false : A = {1, 3, 4, 5}, B = {1, 3, 5} then A B.
(5)

State true/false : A = {1, 3, 7, 5}, B = {1, 3, 5, 7} then A B.

(6)

State true/false : [3, 7] (2, 10)

Answers

(4)

False

(5)

False

(6)

True

UNIVERSAL SET :
A set consisting of all possible elements which occur in the discussion is called a universal set and is
denoted by U.
e.g. if A = {1, 2, 3}, B = {2, 4, 5, 6}, C = {1, 3, 5, 7} then U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} can be taken as the universal
set.

SOME OPERATION ON SETS :

(i) Union of two sets : A B = {x : x A or x B}
e.g. A = {1, 2, 3}, B = {2, 3, 4} then A B = {1, 2, 3, 4}
(ii) Intersection of two sets : A B = {x : x A and x B}
e.g. A = {1, 2, 3}, B = {2, 3, 4} then A B = {2, 3}
(iii) Difference of two sets : A B = {x : x A and x B}. It is also written as AB'.
Similarly B A = B A'
e.g. A = {1, 2, 3}, B = {2, 3, 4} ; A B = {1}
(iv) Symmetric difference of sets : It is denoted by A B and A B = (A B) (B A)
(v) Complement of a set : A' = {x : x A but x U} = U A
e.g. U = {1, 2,........, 10}, A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} then A' = {6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
(vi) Disjoint sets : If A B = , then A, B are disjoint
e.g. If A = {1, 2, 3}, B = {7, 8, 9} then A B =

VENN DIAGRAM :
Most of the relationships between sets can be represented by means of diagrams which are known as venn
diagrams.These diagrams consist of a rectangle for universal set and circles in the rectangle for subsets of
universal set. The elements of the sets are written in respective circles.
For example If A = {1, 2, 3}, B = {3, 4, 5}, U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8} then their venn diagram is

AB

AB

AB

BA
SETS AND RELATIONS # 3

A'

(A B) = (A B) (B A)

Disjoint

LAWS OF ALGEBRA OF SETS (PROPERTIES OF SETS):

(i) Commutative law : (A B) = B A ; A B = B A
(ii) Associative law : (A B) C = A (B C) ; (A B) C = A (B C)
(iii) Distributive law : A (B C) = (A B) (A C) ; A (B C) = (A B) (A C)
(iv) De-morgan law : (A B)' = A' B' ; (A B)' = A' B'
(v) Identity law : A U = A ; A = A
(vi) Complement law : A A' = U, A A' = , (A')' = A
(vii) Idempotent law : A A = A, A A = A
NOTE :
(i)
(ii)

A (B C) = (A B) (A C) ; A (B C) = (A B) (A C)
A = , A U = U

Example # 8 : Let A = {2, 4, 6, 8} and B = {6, 8, 10, 12} then find A B

Solution :
A B = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12}
Example # 9 : Let A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, B = {2, 4, 6, 8}. Find A B and B A.
Solution :

A B = {x : x A and x B} = {1, 3, 5}
similarly B A = {8}

Example # 10 : State true or false :

(i) A A =
(ii) A = A
Solution :
(i) false because A A' = U
(ii) true as A = U A = A
Example # 11 : Use Venn diagram to prove that A B B A.

Solution :

From venn diagram we can conclude that B A.

Example # 12
Solution :
Now

Let

: Prove that if A B = C and A B = then A = C B.

Let x A
xAB
xC
( AB = C)
AB =
xB
( x A)
x C B
( x C and x B)
ACB
xCB
x C and x B
xAB
and x B
xA

C B A
A=CB

Self Practice Problem :

(7)
Find A B if A = {x : x = 2n + 1, n 5, n N} and B = {x : x = 3n 2, n 4, n N}.
SETS AND RELATIONS # 4

(8)

Find A (A B) if A = {5, 9, 13, 17, 21} and B = {3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24}

Answers

(7)

{1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11}

(8)

{9, 21}

SOME IMPORTANT RESULTS ON NUMBER OF ELEMENTS IN SETS :

If A, B, C are finite sets and U be the finite universal set then
(i)
n(A B) = n(A) + n(B) n(A B)
(iii)

n(A B) = n(A) n(A B)

(v)

n(A B C) = n(A) + n(B) + n(C) n(A B) n(B C) n(A C) + n(A B C)

(vi)

Number of elements in exactly two of the sets A, B, C

= n(A B) + n(B C) + n(C A) 3n(A B C)

(vii)

Number of elements in exactly one of the sets A, B, C

= n(A) + n(B) + n(C) 2n(A B) 2n(A B) 2n(B C) 2n(A C) + 3n(A B C)

Example # 13 : In a group of 40 students, 26 take tea, 18 take coffee and 8 take neither of the two. How many take
both tea and coffee ?
Solution n(U) = 40, n(T) = 26, n(C) = 18
n(T C) = 8 n(T C) = 8
n(U) n(T C) = 8
n(T C) = 32
n(T) + n(C) n(T C) = 32
n(T C) = 12
Example # 14 : In a group of 50 persons, 14 drink tea but not coffee and 30 drink tea. Find
(i) How many drink tea and coffee both ?
(ii) How many drink coffee but not tea ?
Solution T : people drinking tea
C : people drinking coffee
(i) n(T) = n(T C) + n(T C)
30 = 14 + n(T C)

n(T C) = 16

(ii) n(C T) = n(T C) n(T) = 50 30 = 20

Self Practice Problem :
(9)
Let A and B be two finite sets such that n(A B) = 15, n(A B) = 90, n(A B) = 30. Find n(B)
(10)
A market research group conducted a survey of 1000 consumers and reported that 720 consumers
liked product A and 450 consumers liked product B. What is the least number that must
have liked
both products ?
Answers
(9)
75
(10)
170

RELATIONS
ORDERED PAIR :
A pair of objects listed in a specific order is called an ordered pair. It is written by listing the two objects in
specific order separating them by a comma abd enclosing the pair in parantheses.
In the ordered pair (a, b), a is called the first element and b is called the second element.
SETS AND RELATIONS # 5

Two ordered pairs are set to be equal if their corresponding elements are equal. i.e.
(a, b) = (c, d) if a = c and b = d.

CARTESIAN PRODUCT :
The set of all possible ordered pairs (a, b), where a A and b B i.e. {(a, b) ; a A and b B} is called
the cartesian product of A to B and is denoted by A B. Usually A B B A.
Similarly A B C = {(a, b, c) : a A, b B, c C} is called ordered triplet.

RELATION:
Let A and B be two sets. Then a relation R from A to B is a subset of A B. Thus, R is a relation from A to B
R A B. The subsets is derived by describing a relationship between the first element and the second
element of ordered pairs in A B e.g. if A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8} and B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} and
R = {(a, b) : a = b2, a A, b B} then R = {(1, 1), (4, 2), (9, 3)}. Here a R b 1 R 1, 4 R 2, 9 R 3.

NOTE :
(i)

(ii)

Let A and B be two non-empty finite sets consisting of m and n elements respectively. Then A B
consists of mn ordered pairs. So total number of subsets of A B i.e. number of relations from A to
B is 2mn.
A relation R from A to A is called a relation on A.

DOMAIN AND RANGE OF A RELATION :

Let R be a relation from a set A to a set B. Then the set of all first components of coordinates of the ordered pairs belonging to R is called to domain of R, while the set of all
second components of
corrdinates of the ordered pairs in R is called the range of R.
Thus, Dom (R) = {a : (a, b) R}
and
Range (R) = {b : (a, b) R}
It is evident from the definition that the domain of a relation from A to B is a subset of A and its range is a
subset of B.
Example # 1 : If A = {1, 2} and B = {3, 4}, then find A B.
Solution :
A B = {(1, 3), (1, 4), (2, 3), (2, 4)}
Example # 2 : Let A = {1, 3, 5, 7} and B = {2, 4, 6, 8} be two sets and let R be a relation from A to B defined by the
phrase "(x, y) R x > y". Find relation R and its domain and range.
Solution :
Under relation R, we have 3R2, 5R2, 5R4, 7R4 and 7R6
i.e.
R = {(3, 2), (5, 2), (5, 4), (7, 2), (7, 4), (7, 6)}

Dom (R) = {3, 5, 7} and range (R) = {2, 4, 6}

Example # 3 : Let A = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}. Let R be the relation on A defined by
{(x, y) : x A, y A and x divides y}.
Find domain and range of R.
Solution:
The relation R is
R = {(2, 2), (2, 4), (2, 6), (2, 8), (3, 3), (3, 6), (3, 9), (4, 4), (4, 8), (5, 5), (6, 6), (7, 7), (8, 8), (9,
9)}
Domain of R = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} = A
Range of R = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} = A
Self Practice Problem :
(1)

If (2x + y, 7) = (5, y 3) then find x and y.

(2)

If A B = {(1, 2), (1, 3), (1, 6), (7, 2), (7, 3), (7, 6)} then find sets A and B.

SETS AND RELATIONS # 6

(3)

If A = {x, y, z} and B = {1, 2} then find number of relations from A to B.

(4)

Write R = {(4x + 3, 1 x) : x 2, x N}

Answers

5
, y = 10
2

(1)

x=

(2)
(3)
(4)

A = {1, 7}, B = {2, 3, 6}

64
{(7, 0), (11, 1)}

TYPES OF RELATIONS :
In this section we intend to define various types of relations on a given set A.
(i)

Void relation : Let A be a set. Then A A and so it is a relation on A. This relation is called
the void or empty relation on A.

(ii)

Universal relation : Let A be a set. Then A A A A and so it is a relation on A. This relation

is called the universal relation on A.

(iii)

Identity relation : Let A be a set. Then the relation IA = {(a, a) : a A} on A is called the identity
relation on A. In other words, a relation IA on A is called the identity relation if every element of A
is related to itself only.

(iv)

(v)

Reflexive relation : A relation R on a set A is said to be reflexive if every element of A is related

to itself. Thus, R on a set A is not reflexive if there exists an element a A such that (a, a) R.
Note : Every identity relation is reflexive but every reflexive relation in not identity.
Symmetric relation : A relation R on a set A is said to be a symmetric relation
iff (a, b) R (b ,a) R for all a, b A.
i.e. a R b b R a for all a, b A.

(vi)

Transitive relation : Let A be any set. A relation R on A is said to be a transitive relation

iff (a, b) R and (b, c) R (a, c) R for all a, b, c A
i.e. a R b and b R c a R c
for all a, b, c A

(vii)

Equivalence relation : A relation R on a set A is said to be an equivalence relation on A iff

(i) it is reflexive i.e. (a, a) R for all a A
(ii) it is symmetric i.e. (a, b) R (b, a) R for all a, b A
(iii) it is transitive i.e. (a, b) R and (b, c) R (a, c) R for all a, b A

Example # 4 : Which of the following are identity relations on set A = {1, 2, 3}.
R1 = {(1, 1), (2, 2)}, R2 = {(1, 1), (2, 2), (3, 3), (1, 3)}, R3 = {(1, 1), (2, 2), (3, 3)}.
Solution:
The relation R3 is idenity relation on set A.
R1 is not identity relation on set A as (3, 3) R1.
R2 is not identity relation on set A as (1, 3) R2
Example # 5 : Which of the following are reflexive relations on set A = {1, 2, 3}.
R1 = {(1, 1), (2, 2), (3, 3), (1, 3), (2, 1)}, R2 = {(1, 1), (3, 3), (2, 1), (3, 2)}..
Solution :
R1 is a reflexive relation on set A.
R2 is not a reflexive relation on A because 2 A but (2, 2) R2.
Example # 6 : Prove that on the set N of natural numbers, the relation R defined by x R y x is less than y is
transitive.
Solution :
Because for any x, y, z N
x < y and y < z x < z x R y and y R z x R z. so R is
transitive.
Example # 7 : Let T be the set of all triangles in a plane with R a relation in T given by R = {(T1 , T2) : T1 is
congruent to T2}. Show that R is an equivalence relation.
SETS AND RELATIONS # 7

Solution :

Since a relation R in T is said to be an equivalenece relation if R is reflexive, symmetric and

transitive.
(i) Since every triangle is congruent to itself
R is reflexive
(ii) (T1 , T2) R T1 is congruent to T2
T2 is congruent to T1
(T2, T1) R
Hence R is symmetric
(iii) Let (T1, T2) R and (T2, T3) R
T1 is congruent to T2
and T2 is congruent to T3
T1 is congruent to T3
(T1, T3) R
R is transitive
Hence R is an equivalence relation.

Example # 8 : Show that the relation R in R defined as R = {(a, b) : a b} is transitive.

Solution :
Let (a, b) R and (b, c) R
(a b) and b c a c
(a, c) R
Hence R is transitive.
Example # 9 : Show that the relation R in the set {1, 2, 3} given by R = {(1, 2), (2, 1)} is symmetric.
Solution :
Let (a, b) R
[ (1, 2) R]
(b, a) R
[ (2, 1) R]
Hence R is symmetric.
Self Practice Problem :
(5)
Let L be the set of all lines in a plane and let R be a relation defined on L by the rule (x ,y) R
x is perpendicular to y. Then prove that R is a symmetric relation on L.
(6)

Let R be a relation on the set of all lines in a plane defined by (1, 2) R line 1 is parallel to
line 2. Prove that R is an equivalence relation.

SETS AND RELATIONS # 8