Set Theory - 01

Sets & Basic Operations

Sets and Elements
A set is a well-defined collection of objects, each of which is called an element or member of the set.
Sets can either be defined by (i) listing out its members (such as the set of vowels a, e, i, o, u), or (ii) by stating out
rules or properties (such as the set of the names of the capital cities of Indian states).
Notations

A set is normally denoted by a capital letter, such as A, X etc., while the elements might be denoted generically by
lowercase letters like a, b etc. The elements of a set are enclosed within curly braces '{' and '}', and are separated
from each other by commas.
Sets can be specified in two ways:
1.

Tabular form:

The elements are listed explicitly. e.g., .

2.

Set-builder notation or property method:

The set is defined by stating the properties which characterize the elements of the set. e.g., B={x:x
odd integer, x>0}

is an

The above reads as is a set of such that is an odd integer and . x stands for any element of the
set, the colon is read as such that and the comma as and. In explicit form, the above set
is .
The symbolic way of writing the statement that an element is an element of set or, equivalently,
belongs to set , ispA
When specifying two elements, like and , we writep,qA
The statement does not belong to is written asaA
The set

of vowels can be defined as:A={x:x

is a letter of the English alphabet, and

In the above set, note that a,uA, while bA

is a vowel}

Two sets and are equal if both have the same elements. This is denoted as . If they areunequal, it is
expressed as AB
Note that changing the arrangement of the elements of a set does not change the set . Also, repetition of elements
of a set does not change the set.
Three sets are defined as follows:

, and
,

since both contain the same elements, even though in different

order. , since both contain the same elements, even though has the
element repeated.

Universal Set and Empty Set

The universal set, or the universe, is a larger set assumed to contain all sets under consideration for a particular
study. The universal set is denoted by . Thus, for a study on car models, the universal set could consist of all the
car models in the world ever made.
An empty set, or a null set, is a set with no elements. It is denoted by or . Evidently, there can be only one
null set.

Subsets
If every element of a set is also an element of set , then is called a subset of . This is also expressed
as: is contained in , or contains . This is expressed symbolically asAB
Inversely, B is called a superset of . Symbolically, this is expressed asBA
The statement A is not a subset of B implies that at least one element of A does not belong to B. This is
expressed as AB or BA.
From the definition of subset, if , is still a subset of , and vice versa.
Three sets are defined as follows:

, and
We can see that CA and CB, as the elements and of are also elements
of and . However, AB, since some elements of are not elements of .
Based on what we have learned till now, some properties of sets are
1.

Every set is a subset of the universal set , since by definition, every element of a set belongs to .

2.

The empty set is a subset of any set .

3.

Every set A is a subset of itself. Thus, AA

4.

Two set are equal if and only if both are subsets of each other. In other words, if and only
ifAB and BA

5.

If every element of a set belongs to a set , and every element of set belongs to a set , then
clearly every element of set belongs to set . Thus, if AB and BC, then AC.

Proper Subset

If AB and AB, then is a proper subset of . This is expressed asAB

Thus, all proper subsets are subsets, but not all subsets are proper subsets.
Disjoints sets

Fig 1: Venn diagram denoting

disjoint sets and

If two sets have no elements in common, they are said to be disjoint. Two sets which are disjoint can never have
a superset-subset relationship, unless one is a null set.

Venn Diagrams
A venn diagram is a pictorial representation of sets, wherein they are shown as enclosed areas. Typically, the
universal set is represented by the area within a rectangle, and the other sets as circles placed within the
rectangle.

Fig 2: Venn diagram depicting as

subset of : AB
Fig. 1 represents a universal set and disjoint sets and , while Fig. 2represents a universal set with
sets and having subset-superset relationship.

Set Operations

The three common operations on sets are the operations of union, intersection and difference.
Union

Fig 3: AB
The union of two sets, and , denoted by AB, is the set of all elements which belong to either or ; i.e.
AB={x:xA or xB}
The venn diagram depicting the union relationship is shown in Fig. 3.
Intersection

Fig 4: AB
The intersection of two sets, and , denoted by AB, is the set of all elements which belong to both and ;
i.e.
AB={x:xA and xB}
The venn diagram depicting the union relationship is shown in Fig. 4.
Three sets are defined as follows:

, and
AB={1,2,4,6,7,8,10,12}
BC={1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10,12}
AC={1,3,4,5,7,10}

AB={4,10}
BC=
AC={1,7}

Let

denote the set of students in a class. Let set and set denote the collection of boys and girls

respectively in the class.

We have,
BG=U, as each student in is either in set or set .
BG=, as there is no student belonging to both sets and .
Properties of unions and intersections
Some of the properties of the union and intersections of sets are as follows:
1.

(AB)A and (AB)B, since every element of AB belongs to , as well as . This is also clear from
the venn diagram of Fig. 4.

2.

A(AB) and B(AB), since every element of belongs to AB, and similarly every element
of belongs to AB. This is also clear from the venn diagram of Fig. 3.

Combining the above two properties leads to:(AB)A(AB) and (AB)B(AB)

Fig 5: The complement of

set , is shown shaded

Complement
The complement, or absolute complement, of a set , denoted by or , is the set of all elements which
belong to (the universal set) but does not belong to .A'={x:xU and xA}(see Fig. 5)

Fig 6: A~B

Difference

The difference of two sets, A and B, denoted by , or , is the set of all elements which belong
to but do not belong to , i.e.A~B={x:xA,xB}(see Fig. 6)

Which of the following is the set of all suits in a

standard deck of playing cards?
R = [ace, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
jack, queen, king]
S = {hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades}
T = {jokers}
None of the above.

2. Which of the following is the set of odd whole numbers

less than 10?
C = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}
D = {0, 2, 4, 6, 8}
E = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
None of the above.

3.Which of the following is the set of all oceans on earth?

G = {Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, Indian, Antarctic}
E = {Amazon, Nile, Mississippi, Rio Grande, Niagara}
F = {Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica,
Europe, Australia}
All of the above.

4. Which of the following is the set of all types of

matter?
X = {iron, aluminum, nickel, copper, gold, silver}
Y = {hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide}
Z = {liquids, solids, gases, plasmas}
None of the above.

5. Jennifer listed the set of all letters in the word library as

shown below. What is wrong with this set?
A = {l, i, b, r, a, r, y}
A capital letter is used to represent this set.
It uses curly braces.
It uses commas.
The objects in this set are not unique.