LANGUAGE OF SETS

SET
• is a collection of well-defined distinct objects.
• Usually represented capital letters.
• The objects of a set are separated by commas.
• Can be represented by listing its elements between braces { }.
• Well-defined means that the elements in a set are specifically listed.

Example 1. Identify the following as set or not a set.

a. Vowel letters in the English alphabet.

Solution: The set of vowels in the English alphabet are a,e,i,o,u.
• For you to tell if it is a set or not a set, let us go back to the definition
of a set.
• Is it a collection of objects? Yes. A collection of vowels.
• Is the collection well-defined? Observe that for you to say that the
collection is well-defined when you can identify clearly the members
and not members of the collection.
• Yes, it is well-defined because we can easily identify the members of
this collection as letters a,e,i,o,u.
• Therefore, it is a set.
b. All beautiful people.
• Solution. This is not a set.
• Why? For a collection of objects to be a set it should be that the
collection is distinct and well-defined.
• Observe that the word “beautiful” connotes different meanings
dependent on who is the beholder of the beauty. Beauty is
relative. It can be beautiful to you but it may not hold true for
others.
• Hence, the members of this collection are not well- defined. You
cannot precisely identify who will be part or members of this
collection.
• Therefore, it is not a set.
c. The set of counting numbers less than 10.
• Solution. For this given collection to be a set, it should be that
we can clearly identify distinct members of this group of
objects.
• Of course, this is a group of objects such that it is a counting
number less than 10.
• Hence, numbers like 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 are members of this
group.
• While, numbers from 10,11,12,13,14,15,… are not members
of this collection.
• Thus, this is a set.
 As we define set and give some examples and a counter
example, observe that a set has members or elements.

The objects that make up a set are called elements or

members of the set. The symbol ∈ is used to denote that an
object is an element of a set and the symbol ∉ denotes that
an object is not an element of a set.
We also have the following conventions used in set theory.
 Uppercase letters are used to name sets.
 Lowercase letters are used to name elements of sets.
 Braces { } are used denote a set or a list of elements of a set.
 𝜙 – empty set
 U – universal set
 s.t. or / or : such that
  - there exists, for some
  - for all, for any
  - set of Real Numbers
  - set of Natural Numbers
 ℤ - set of Integers
 ℤ+- set of Positive Integers
 ℤ−- set of Negative Integers
 ℚ - set of Rational Numbers
• For instance, let 𝐺 be set of vowel letters. We write the set as
G = {a, e, i, o, u}. The elements of set G are a, e, i, o, and u.
• So, we write 𝑎 ∈ 𝐺, 𝑒 ∈ 𝐺, 𝑖 ∈ 𝐺, 𝑜 ∈ 𝐺, and 𝑢 ∈ 𝐺.
• However, if b and c are not elements of G, we write it as 𝑏
∉ 𝐺 and 𝑐 ∉ 𝐺.
 METHODS OF DESCRIBING/NAMING A SET

Roster Method or Tabulation Method

- the elements of a set are listed and separated by commas
and enclosed in braces.
• Example 2: M is the set of whole numbers less than eight
Solution: M = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}
• Example 3: X is the set of all days in a week.
Solution: X = {Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday}
Rule method or Set-builder notation
- is another way of describing a set. It indicates a set by enclosing in braces a
descriptive phrase, and agreeing that those objects, and only those, which have
described property are the elements of the set.
• Example 4: N = {2, 4, 6, 8}

Solution: N = {x | x is an even number less than 10}

This is read as, the set N contains the element x such that x is an even number
less than 10.

• Example 5: M = {January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August,

September, October, November, December}
Solution: M = {x | x is a month in a year}
This is read as the set of x’s such that x is a month in a year.
 Kinds of Sets, Unit Set, Universal Set, Empty Set and Cardinal Number of a Set

A set is said to be finite if it is possible to write down a complete list of all

elements of the set. For instance, the set of counting number less than or
equal to 20 is a finite set.

On the contrary, a set is said to be infinite if it is impossible to write down

all elements of the set. For example, the set of all positive integers is an
infinite set.
 A unit set is a set with only one element. On the other hand, the
unique set with no elements is called the empty set (or null set), and is
denoted by 𝜙 or { }. In addition, all sets under investigation are assumed to
be contained in some large fixed set called the universal set, denoted by the
symbol U.
• Example 6: Given sets J and K where:
J = {x| x is a positive integer between 11 and 13} K = {5}.
Using the roster method, set J = {12}
The number of elements of J and K is one (1). Hence, J and K are
unit sets.
• Example 7: Let the set A = {x|x is a positive integer less than 1}
U = {x| x is a month with 33 days}
Since there is no positive integer that is less than 1 and also there is
no month that has 33 days, therefore sets A and U has no elements. It
implies that A and U are empty sets.
 The cardinal number of a set is the number of elements or
members in the set. The cardinality of set A is denoted by n(A).
• Example 8. For instance, given the sets A = {a, b, c, d, e} and B = {x | x
is an even number less than 20}
The cardinal number of A is 5 or n(A) = 5.
While set B has a cardinal number of 9 or n(B) = 9.
 SUBSET, PROPER SUBSET, EQUAL SET AND EQUIVALENT SET

If A and B are sets, A is called a subset of B, written as 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵, if and

only if, every element of A is also an element of B. Symbolically: 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 ↔
∀𝑥, 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 → 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵. The number of subsets that can be formed from any set is
dependent on the number of elements in the set. Given a set A of n elements,
we can form 2𝑛 subsets of A. Any set is a subset of itself, as well as the empty
set as a subset of any set.
A is a proper subset of B, written as 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵, if and only if every
element of A is in B but there is at least one element of B that is not in A. In
contrary, the symbol ⊄ denoted that it is not a proper subset.
• Example 9: Suppose we have the following sets:
A = { 2, 4, 6, 8, 10}
B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
o Is 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵?
Yes, since all elements of A is in B. That is 2 ∈ B, 4 ∈ B, 6 ∈ B, 8 ∈ B,
10 ∈ B.
o Is 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵?
 Yes, since all elements of A is in B but there are elements of B that
are not in A. Like 1 ∈ B but 1 Ï A, the same with 3,4,7 and 9.
• Example: Let the following sets be:
M = {a, e, i, o, u}
N = {o, u, i, a, e}
o Is 𝑀 ⊆ 𝑁?
 Yes , since all the elements in M are also found in N.
o Is 𝑀 ⊂ 𝑁?
 No , since all the elements in M are in N, However there is no element
that is N which are not in M.
Equal sets
 are sets with exactly the same elements and cardinality.

Equivalent sets
 are set with the same number of elements or cardinality.
 A equals B, written as A = B, if and only if every element of A is in B and every element
of B is in A. Symbolically: 𝐴 = 𝐵 ↔ (𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵) ∧ (𝐵 ⊆ 𝐴). On the other hand, A is equivalent to B,
written as A ~ B, if they have the same number of elements.
• Example10: We have the following sets: P = {1, 2, 3}; Q = {2, 3, 1}; R = {a, b, c}.
o Is P = Q?
 Yes! They have the same elements.
o Is Q = R?
 No. They don’t have the same elements.
o Is P = R?
 No. They don’t have the same elements.
o Is P ~ Q?
 Yes! They have the same number of elements
o Is Q ~ R?
 Yes! They have the same number of elements
o Is P ~ R?
 Given a set S from universe U, the power set of S denoted by
𝓅(𝑆), is the set of all subsets of S.
For example, we have A = {2, 4} so n(A) = 2. There are 2 n = 22 =
4 subsets of A. The subsets of A are {2}, {4}, {2,4}, and 𝜙. The power
set of A is 𝓅(𝐴) = { {2}, {4}, {2,4}, 𝜙 }.
 OPERATIONS ON
SETS
The operations on sets are union of sets, intersection of sets,
complement of a set, difference of two sets, and symmetric difference
of sets.

The union of sets A and B, denoted by 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵, is the set of all

elements which belong either to A or to B, or to both A and B.
Symbolically, 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = {𝑥|𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 ∨ 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵}.
The intersection of set A and B, denoted by 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵, is the set of all
elements which belong to both A and B. Symbolically, 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = { 𝑥| 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 ∧
𝑥 ∈ 𝐵}.
 UNION AND INTERSECTION OF A
SETS
Example 11. We have the following sets: A = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10} and B = {1,
2, 3, 4, 5}.
What is 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵?
• Solution:
 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10}

What is 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵?
Solution:
 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = {2, 4}
 COMPLEMENT OF A SET

The complement of A (or absolute complement of A), denoted by

A’, is the set of all elements which belongs to the universal set U but not
in A. Symbolically, 𝐴′ = {𝑥|𝑥 ∈ 𝑼 ∧ 𝑥 ∉ 𝐴}.

Suppose we have the universal set 𝑼 = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10} and 𝐴

= {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}.

 The complement of A is denoted by 𝐴′ = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}.

 DIFFERENCE OF TWO
SETS
The difference of A and B (or relative complement of B with
respect to A), denoted by A – B, is the set of all elements that are in A but
not in B.
 Symbolically, 𝐴 −𝐵 = {𝑥|𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 ∧ 𝑥 ∉ 𝐵}.
 Suppose we have the sets A = {a, b, c, d, e} and B = {a, e, i, o, u}.
The difference of A and B is given by 𝐴 − 𝐵 = {𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑}
 while the difference between B and A is given by 𝐵 − 𝐴 = {𝑖, 𝑜, 𝑢}.
Note that A – B is not equal to B – A.
• The symmetric difference of A and B, denoted by A ⊕ B, is the set
consisting of all elements that belong to A or to B, but not both A and B.
Symbolically, 𝐴 ⊕ 𝐵 = {𝑥|𝑥 ∈ (𝐴 ∪ 𝐵) ∧ 𝑥 ∉ (𝐴 ∩ 𝐵)}.
 Suppose we have the sets A = {a, b, c, d, e} and B = {a, e, i, o, u}. The
symmetric difference of A and B is given by
𝐴 ⊕ 𝐵 = {𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑, 𝑖, 𝑜, 𝑢}.
 Two sets are called disjoint (or non-intersecting) if and only if
they have no elements in common.
 Symbolically, 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑗𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 ↔ 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = 𝜙.
 Let A and B be subsets of the universal set U.
 For instance, A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {4, 5, 6}. Since 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = 𝜙, then A
and B are disjoint sets.
 Let U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
A = {1, 3, 5, 7}
B = {3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10}
C= {3, 4, 5, 7}

1. A’
2. B’
3. A∩B
4. AUB
5. A’ ∩ B
6. A ∩ (B U C)
7. A U (B ∩ C)
8. A ∩ (B U C’)