Sets

Sets in mathematics, are simply a collection of distinct objects forming a group. A

set can have any group of items, be it a collection of numbers, days of a week,
types of vehicles, and so on. Every item in the set is called an element of the set.
Curly brackets are used while writing a set. A very simple example of a set would be
like this. Set A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}. In set theory, there are various notations to
represent elements of a set. Sets are usually represented using a roster form or a
set builder form. Let us discuss each of these terms in detail.
Sets Definition
In mathematics, a set is defined as a well-defined collection of objects. Sets are
named and represented using capital letters. In the set theory, the elements that a
set comprises can be any kind of thing: people, letters of the alphabet, numbers,
shapes, variables, etc.
Sets in Maths Examples
Some standard sets in maths are:

 Set of natural numbers, ℕ = {1, 2, 3, ...}

 Set of whole numbers, W = {0, 1, 2, 3, ...}

 Set of integers, ℤ = {..., -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...}

 Set of rational numbers, ℚ = {p/q | q is an integer and q ≠ 0}

 Set of irrational numbers, ℚ' = {x | x is not rational}

 Set of real numbers, ℝ = ℚ ∪ ℚ'

All these are infinite sets. But there can be finite sets as well. For example, the
collection of even natural numbers less than 10 can be represented in the form of a
set, A = {2, 4, 6, 8}, which is a finite set.
Let us use this example to understand the basic terminology associated with sets in
math.
Elements of a Set
The items present in a set are called either elements or members of a set. The
elements of a set are enclosed in curly brackets separated by commas. To denote

2 ∈ A. If an element is not a member of a set, then it is denoted using the symbol

that an element is contained in a set, the symbol '∈' is used. In the above example,

'∉'. For example, 3 ∉ A.

Cardinal Number of a Set
The cardinal number, cardinality, or order of a set denotes the total number of
elements in the set. For natural even numbers less than 10, n(A) = 4. Sets are
defined as a collection of unique elements. One important condition to define a set
is that all the elements of a set should be related to each other and share a
common property. For example, if we define a set with the elements as the names
of months in a year, then we can say that all the elements of the set are the months
of the year.
Representation of Sets in Set Theory
There are different set notations used for the representation of sets in set theory.
They differ in the way in which the elements are listed. The three set notations used
for representing sets are:
 Semantic form
 Roster form
 Set builder form
Let us understand each of these forms with an example.

Set of first five even natural numbers

Roster
Semantic Form Set Builder Form
Form

A set of first five even {2, 4, 6, {x ∈ ℕ | x ≤ 10

natural numbers 8, 10} and x is even}

Semantic Form
Semantic notation describes a statement to show what are the elements of a set.
For example, a set of the first five odd numbers.
Roster Form
The most common form used to represent sets is the roster notation in which the
elements of the sets are enclosed in curly brackets separated by commas. For
example, Set B = {2,4,6,8,10}, which is the collection of the first five even
numbers. In a roster form, the order of the elements of the set does not matter, for
example, the set of the first five even numbers can also be defined as {2,6,8,10,4}.
Also, if there is an endless list of elements in a set, then they are defined using a
series of dots at the end of the last element. For example, infinite sets are
represented as, X = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ...}, where X is the set of natural numbers. To sum
up the notation of the roster form, please take a look at the examples below.
Finite Roster Notation of Sets : Set A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} (The first five natural
numbers)
Infinite Roster Notation of Sets : Set B = {5, 10, 15, 20 ....} (The multiples of 5)
Set Builder Form
The set builder notation has a certain rule or a statement that specifically describes
the common feature of all the elements of a set. The set builder form uses a vertical
bar in its representation, with a text describing the character of the elements of the
set. For example, A = { k | k is an even number, k ≤ 20}. The statement says, all
the elements of set A are even numbers that are less than or equal to 20.
Sometimes a ":" is used in the place of the "|".
Visual Representation of Sets Using Venn Diagram
Venn Diagram is a pictorial representation of sets, with each set represented as a
circle. The elements of a set are present inside the circles. Sometimes a rectangle
encloses the circles, which represents the universal set. The Venn diagram
represents how the given sets are related to each other.
Sets Symbols
Set symbols are used to define the elements of a given set. The following table
shows the set theory symbols and their meaning.

Symbols Meaning

{} Symbol of set

U Universal set

n(X) Cardinal number of set X

b∈A 'b' is an element of set A

a∉B 'a' is not an element of set B

∅ Null or empty set

AUB Set A union set B

A∩B Set A intersection set B

A⊆B Set A is a subset of set B

B⊇A Set B is the superset of set A

Types of Sets
There are different types of sets in set theory. Some of these are singleton, finite,
infinite, empty, etc.
Singleton Sets
A set that has only one element is called a singleton set or also called a unit set.
Example, Set A = { k | k is an integer between 3 and 5} which is A = {4}.
Finite Sets
As the name implies, a set with a finite or countable number of elements is called
a finite set. Example, Set B = {k | k is a prime number less than 20}, which is B =
{2,3,5,7,11,13,17,19}
Infinite Sets
A set with an infinite number of elements is called an infinite set. Example: Set C =
{Multiples of 3}.
Empty or Null Sets
A set that does not contain any element is called an empty set or a null set. An
empty set is denoted using the symbol '∅'. It is read as 'phi'. Example: Set X = { }.
Equal Sets
If two sets have the same elements in them, then they are called equal sets.
Example: A = {1,2,3} and B = {1,2,3}. Here, set A and set B are equal sets. This
can be represented as A = B.
Unequal Sets
If two sets have at least one different element, then they are unequal sets.
Example: A = {1,2,3} and B = {2,3,4}. Here, set A and set B are unequal sets. This
can be represented as A ≠ B.
Equivalent Sets
Two sets are said to be equivalent sets when they have the same number of
elements, though the elements are different. Example: A = {1,2,3,4} and B =
{a,b,c,d}. Here, set A and set B are equivalent sets since n(A) = n(B)
Overlapping Sets
Two sets are said to be overlapping if at least one element from set A is present in
set B. Example: A = {2,4,6} B = {4,8,10}. Here, element 4 is present in set A as
well as in set B. Therefore, A and B are overlapping sets.
Disjoint Sets
Two sets are disjoint if there are no common elements in both sets. Example: A =
{1,2,3,4} B = {5,6,7,8}. Here, set A and set B are disjoint sets.
Subset and Superset

subset of set B(A ⊆ B) and in this case, B is the superset of set A(B ⊇ A).
For two sets A and B, if every element in set A is present in set B, then set A is a

Example: Consider the sets A = {1,2,3} and B = {1,2,3,4,5,6}. Here:

 A ⊆ B, since all the elements in set A are present in set B.

 B ⊇ A denotes that set B is the superset of set A.

Universal Set
A universal set is the collection of all the elements regarding a particular subject.
The universal set is denoted by the letter 'U'. Example: Let U = {The list of all road
transport vehicles}. Here, a set of cars is a subset for this universal set, the set of
cycles, trains are all subsets of this universal set.
Power Sets
Power set is the set of all subsets that a set could contain. Example: Set A =
{1,2,3}. Power set of A is = {∅, {1}, {2}, {3}, {1,2}, {2,3}, {1,3}, {1,2,3}}.
Operations on Sets
Some important operations on sets in set theory include union, intersection,
difference, the complement of a set, and the cartesian product of a set. A brief
explanation of set operations is as follows.
Union of Sets

elements in both set A and set B. For example, {1, 3} ∪ {1, 4} = {1, 3, 4}
Union of sets, which is denoted as A U B, lists the elements in set A and set B or the

Intersection of Sets
The intersection of sets which is denoted by A ∩ B lists the elements that are
common to both set A and set B. For example, {1, 2} ∩ {2, 4} = {2}
Set Difference
Set difference which is denoted by A - B, lists the elements in set A that are not
present in set B. For example, A = {2, 3, 4} and B = {4, 5, 6}. A - B = {2, 3}.
Set Complement
Set complement which is denoted by A', is the set of all elements in the universal
set that are not present in set A. In other words, A' is denoted as U - A, which is the
difference in the elements of the universal set and set A.
Cartesian Product of Sets
The cartesian product of two sets which is denoted by A × B, is the product of two
non-empty sets, wherein ordered pairs of elements are obtained. For example, {1,
3} × {1, 3} = {(1, 1), (1, 3), (3, 1), (3, 3)}.
In the above figure, the shaded portions in "blue" show the set that they are
labelled with.
Sets Formulas in Set Theory
Sets find their application in the field of algebra, statistics, and probability. There
are some important set theory formulas in set theory as listed below.
For any two overlapping sets A and B,
 n(A U B) = n(A) + n(B) - n(A ∩ B)
 n (A ∩ B) = n(A) + n(B) - n(A U B)
 n(A) = n(A U B) + n(A ∩ B) - n(B)
 n(B) = n(A U B) + n(A ∩ B) - n(A)
 n(A - B) = n(A U B) - n(B)
 n(A - B) = n(A) - n(A ∩ B)
For any two sets A and B that are disjoint,
 n(A U B) = n(A) + n(B)

 A∩B=∅
 n(A - B) = n(A)
Properties of Sets
Similar to numbers, sets also have properties like associative property,
commutative property, and so on. There are six important properties of sets. Given,
three sets A, B, and C, the properties for these sets are as follows.

Property of Set Example

AUB=BUA
Commutative Property
A∩B=B∩A

(A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ (B ∩ C)
Associative Property
(A U B) U C = A U (B U C)

A U (B ∩ C) = (A U B) ∩ (A U C)
Distributive Property
A ∩ (B U C) = (A ∩ B) U (A ∩ C)

AU∅=A
Identity Property
A∩U=A

Complement Property A U A' = U

Property of Set Example

A∩A=A
Idempotent Property
AUA=A