Section 1

1.

Check the distributive laws for ∪ and ∩ and DeMorgan’s laws.

To show that two sets M and N are equal, we need to show that for any x , x∈M iff x∈N .
1. Distributive laws:
1. x∈A∩(B∪C) iff x∈A and x∈B∪C iff x∈A and (x∈B or x∈C ) iff (x∈A and x∈B ) or
(x∈A and x∈C ) iff x∈A∩B or x∈A∩C iff x∈(A∩B)∪(A∩C) .
2. Similarly, for the second distributive law, x∈A∪(B∩C) iff x∈A or x∈B∩C iff x∈A or
(x∈B and x∈C ) iff (x∈A or x∈B ) and (x∈A or x∈C )
iff x∈A∪B and x∈A∪C iff x∈(A∪B)∩(A∪C) .
2. DeMorgan’s laws:
1. x∈A−(B∪C) iff x∈A and x∉B∪C iff x∈A and x∉B and x∉C iff x∈A−B and x∈A−C iff x∈(A
−B)∩(A−C) .
2. Similarly, for the second DeMorgan’s
law, x∈A−(B∩C) iff x∈A and x∉B∩C iff x∈A and (x∉B or x∉C) iff x∈A−B or x∈A−C iff x∈
(A−B)∪(A−C) .

2.
Determine which of the following statements are true for all sets A , B , C , and D . If a double
implication fails, determine whether one or the other of the possible implications holds. If an equality
fails, determine whether the statement becomes true if the "equals" symbol is replaced by one or the
other of the inclusion symbols ⊂ or ⊃ .
(a) A⊂B and A⊂C ⇔ A⊂(B∪C) .
(b) A⊂B or A⊂C ⇔ A⊂(B∪C) .
(c) A⊂B and A⊂C ⇔ A⊂(B∩C) .
(d) A⊂B or A⊂C ⇔ A⊂(B∩C) .
(e) A−(A−B)=B .
(f) A−(B−A)=A−B .
(g) A∩(B−C)=(A∩B)−(A∩C) ,
(h) A∪(B−C)=(A∪B)−(A∪C) ,
(i) (A∩B)∪(A−B)=A .
(j) A⊂C and B⊂D ⇒ (A×B)⊂(C×D) .
(k) The converse of (j).
(l) The converse of (j), assuming that A and B are nonempty.
(m) (A×B)∪(C×D)=(A∪C)×(B∪D) .
(n) (A×B)∩(C×D)=(A∩C)×(B∩D) .
(o) A×(B−C)=(A×B)−(A×C) .
(p) (A−B)×(C−D)=(A×C−B×C)−A×D .
(q) (A×B)−(C×D)=(A−C)×(B−D) .
The following table summarizes the correct symbol (implication, equality or inclusion) for each
statement:
⇒ ⇔ ⇐ ⊂ ⊃ = neither
 abj c dl em fhq ginop k
Most of these can be easily shown using diagrams similar to those on pages 10-11. However, points
including cartesian product might be trickier for the case when one of the sets is empty.
(j) The right implication holds regardless of whether any set is empty (in fact, if A×B is non-empty,
then all four sets A , B , C and D are non-empty).
(k), (l) Here is where the empty set can mess things up. We are asked about whether the left implication
holds in (j). Assume (A×B)⊂(C×D) , and suppose we try to show that A⊂C . If a∈A then, if we knew
that there is some b∈B , we could argue that (a,b)∈A×B , hence, (a,b)∈C×D , and a∈C . But the
problem is that B can be empty, in which case, A×B=∅⊂C×D for any C and D , regardless of
whether A⊂C or not.
Overall from (j)-(l) we get the following statement: for any non-
empty sets A , B , C and D , A⊂Cand B⊂D iff (A×B)⊂(C×D) .

3.
(a) Write the contrapositive and converse of the following statement: "If x<0 , then x2−x>0 ," and
determine which (if any) of the three statements are true,
(b) Do the same for the statement "If x>0 , then x2−x>0 ."
Statement Contrapositive Converse
x<0⇒x2−x>0 (true) x2−x≤0⇒x≥0 (true) x2−x>0⇒x<0 (false)
x>0⇒x2−x>0 (false) x2−x≤0⇒x≤0 (false) x2−x>0⇒x>0 (false)

4.

Let A and B be sets of real numbers. Write the negation of each of the following statements:
(a) For every a∈A , it is true that a2∈B .
(b) For at least one a∈A , it is true that a2∈B .
(c) For every a∈A , it is true that a2∉B .
(d) For at least one a∉A , it is true that a2∈B .
Negation for (a): ∃a∈A s.t. a2∉B . (b) and (c) are negations of each other. (d): ∀a∉A:a2∉B .

5.

Let A be a nonempty collection of sets. Determine the truth of each of the following statements and of
their converses:
(a) x∈∪A∈AA ⇒ x∈A for at least one A∈A .
(b) x∈∪A∈AA ⇒ x∈A for every A∈A .
(c) x∈∩A∈AA ⇒ x∈A for at least one A∈A .
(d) x∈∩A∈AA ⇒ x∈A for every A∈A .
(a) and (d): ⇔ (by definition). (b): ⇐ . (c): ⇒ .

6.
Write the contrapositive of each of the statements of Exercise 5.
The three true contrapositive statements are
(a) ∀A∈A:x∉A⇒ x∉∪A∈AA ,
(c) ∀A∈A:x∉A⇒ x∉∩A∈AA , and
(d) ∃A∈A:x∉A⇒ x∉∩A∈AA .
The other one is false,
(b) ∃A∈A:x∉A⇒ x∉∪A∈AA .
7.

Given sets A , B , and C , express each of the following sets in terms of A , B , and C , using the
symbols ∪ , ∩ , and − .
D={x|x∈A and (x∈B or x∈C)},
E={x|(x∈A and x∈B) or c∈C},
F={x|x∈A and (x∈B⇒x∈С)}.
D=A∩(B∪C) , E=(A∩B)∪C , F=A−(B−C) . In the last set, {x|x∈B⇒x∈C} is the set of all points such
that if x happens to be in B then it must also be in C , but if x∉B , then x can be any point. In other
words, the set is the set of all points except those that are in B−C . Hence, the intersection of this set
with A is the set of all points in A that are not in B−C .

8.

f a set A has two elements, show that P(A) has four elements. How many elements does P(A) have
if A has one element? Three elements? No elements? Why is P(A) called the power set of A ?
It is called the "power set" of A because for any set A with n elements P(A) has 2n elements. By
induction. If A has 1 element, then there are two subsets of A : the empty set and the set itself.
Suppose that for any set with n−1 elements its power set has 2n−1 elements. Take a
set A with nelements, and let x be an element in A . Each of its subset either contains x or it does not.
We can construct all subsets of A by taking each subset of A−{x} (which has n−1 elements) and by
optionally adding x to it. Therefore, the number of subsets of A is twice the number of subsets
of A−{x} , which, by the inductive hypothesis, is 2n−1 . So, we get 2n subsets of A . (Since we based
the induction on the case n=1 , there is one more case to consider, namely, n=0 , but
obviously P(∅)=1 as there is only one subset of the empty set — the empty set itself.)

9.
Formulate and prove DeMorgan’s laws for arbitrary unions and intersections.
The first law: A−∪B∈BB=∩B∈B(A−B) . The second law: A−∩B∈BB=∪B∈B(A−B) . The proof is similar
to the first problem.

10.

Let R denote the set of real numbers. For each of the following subsets of R×R , determine whether it
is equal to the cartesian product of two subsets of R .
(a) {(x,y)|x is an integer} .
(b) {(x,y)|0<y≤1} .
(c) {(x,y)|y>x} .
(d) {(x,y)|x is not an integer and y is an integer} .
(e) {(x,y)|x2+y2<1} .
A set C in R×R is the cartesian product of two sets in R iff ∀x∈R the set Y(x) of y ’s such
that (x,y)∈C is either the empty set or does not depend on x . So, we get the positive answer in (a),
(b) and (d).

Another way to look at it is that the cartesian product of any two sets A and B is a set
containing all possible pairings, (a, b), where a ∊ A, b ∊ B. This fails for (c) and (e). For
example, in (c), the set is every element of ℝ² that lies "above" the line y=x. This set
excludes, for example, the pair (2,1). If this were a cartesian product, the element 𝚡 = 2
would have a pairing with every y ∊ ℝ¹. The disc D of radius 1 fails for the same reason: We
can find x∊D, e.g., x = 0.9, and y ∊ D, say, y = 0.9, but the element (0.9, 0.9) ∉ D.

Yes, and this is what is actually said in the solution but in more formal terms. Y(x) is either
empty (meaning that there is no pair (x,y) in the set for any y), or non-empty (meaning there
is such a pair) but then Y(x) does not depend on x (meaning, as you say, that if y is in one
such set then it is in all for all x for which Y(x) is not empty).

Y(a) is actually the section of the set by the vertical line x=a. And it is fairly easy to verify
whether such a section does not depend on the choice of x. And in most cases it provides
the immediate answer to whether a set is a cartesian product. In particular, in (c) and (e) it
is almost immediate that such non-empty vertical sections change as x varies. While in (a),
(b) and (d) it is again immediate that the non-empty sections are all the same.

So, basically, the provided solution is your observation put at the next level of formalization,
where instead of searching for specific points we consider certain sets of points and see
how they behave. But the idea is exactly the same.

Another example which I encountered recently is whether the complement of a cartesian

product is a cartesian product. The Y(x)-approach tells you immediately that it is not unless
at least one of the sets is empty or the whole space.

Section 2: Functions
The way Munkres defines functions.
 A rule of assignment is a subset of the cartesian product C×D such that
if (c,d)∈r and (c,d′)∈r then d=d′ .
 o The domain of r is the set {x∈C|(x,y)∈r for some y} .
o The image set of r is the set {y∈D|(x,y)∈r for some x} .
 A function is a rule of assignment r together with a set B that contains the image set of r as
a subset.
o The range of f is the set B .
 f:A→B is used to indicate that A is the domain of f and B is the range of f .
Let f:A→B , g:B→C , h:D→A .
1. f preserves inclusions and
unions: A′⊂A"⇒f(A′)⊂f(A") , f(∪)=∪f , f(∩)⊂∩f , f(A′−A")⊃f(A′)−f(A") .
1. The last two are equalities if f is injective, i.e. in this case it preserves all four
operations.
2. f−1 preserves inclusions, unions, intersections and
differences: B′⊂B"⇒f−1(B′)⊂f−1(B") , f−1(∪)=∪f−1 , f−1(∩)=∩f−1 , f−1(A′−A")=f−1(A′)−−1f(A")
.
3. A′⊂f−1(f(A′)) (= if f is injective), f(f−1(B′))⊂B′ (= if f is surjective).
4. If g∘f is injective then f in injective and g is injective on f(A) .
1. If f has a left inverse then f is injective.
5. If f∘h is surjective then f is surjective, moreover, it is surjective on h(D)⊂A .
1. If f has a right inverse then f is surjective.
6. In general, a function f may have more than one left inverse or more than one right inverse,
but if it has both a left inverse and a right inverse then f is bijective and both inverse
functions are equal, therefore, the inverse is unique.

1.
Let f:A→B . Let A0⊂A and B0⊂B .
(a) Show that A0⊂f−1(f(A0)) and that equality holds if f is injective.
(b) Show that f(f−1(B0))⊂B0 and that equality holds if f is surjective.
To show that for some sets X and Y , X⊂Y , we need to show that ∀x∈X , x∈Y , or, equivalently,
show that ∀x∉Y , x∉X .
(a) a∈A0⇒ f(a)∈f(A0)⇒ a∈f−1(f(A0)) . If f is injective, then a∉A0⇒ f(a)∉f(A0)(otherwise, there
exists b∈A0 such that b≠a and f(a)=f(b) ) ⇒ a∉f−1(f(A0)) .
(b) y∉B0⇒ f−1(y)∩f−1(B0)=∅⇒ y∉f(f−1(B0)) . If f is surjective, then f−1(y)≠∅ ,
and y∈B0⇒ ∃x∈f−1(y)⊂f−1(B0)⇒ y∈f(f−1(B0)) .

2.
Let f:A→B and let Ai⊂A and Bi⊂B for i=0 and i=1 . Show that f−1 preserves inclusions, unions,
intersections, and differences of sets:
(a) B0⊂B1⇒f−1(B0)⊂f−1(B1) .
(b) f−1(B0∪B1)=f−1(B0)∪f−1(B1) .
(c) f−1(B0∩B1)=f−1(B0)∩f−1(B1) .
(d) f−1(B0−B1)=f−1(B0)−f−1(B1) .
Show that f preserves inclusions and unions only:
(e) A0⊂A1⇒f(A0)⊂f(A1) .
(f) f(A0∪A1)=f(A0)∪f(A1) .
(g) f(A0∩A1)⊂f(A0)∩f(A1) ; show that equality holds if f is injective.
(h) f(A0−A1)⊃f(A0)−f(A1) ; show that equality holds if f is injective.
(a) x∈f−1(B0)⇒ f(x)∈B0⇒ f(x)∈B1⇒ x∈f−1(B1) .
(b) Using (a), f−1(Bi)⊂f−1(B0∪B1) , and, therefore, f−1(B0)∪f−1(B1)⊂f−1(B0∪B1) . The other
direction: x∈f−1(B0∪B1)⇒ f(x)∈B0 or f(x)∈B1⇒ x∈f−1(B0)∪f−1(B1) .
(c) Using (a), f−1(B0∩B1)⊂f−1(Bi) , and, therefore, f−1(B0∩B1)⊂f−1(B0)∩f−1(B1) . The other
direction: x∈f−1(B0)∩f−1(B1)⇒ f(x)∈B0 and f(x)∈B1⇒ x∈f−1(B0∩B1) .
(d) x∈f−1(B0−B1) iff f(x)∈B0−B1 iff f(x)∈B0 and f(x)∉B1 iff x∈f−1(B0) and x∉f−1(B1) iff x∈f−1(B0)−f−1(
B1) .
(e) y∈f(A0)⇒ ∃x∈A0⊂A1 : f(x)=y⇒ y∈f(A1) .
(f) Using (e), f(Ai)⊂f(A0∪A1)⇒ f(A0)∪f(A1)⊂f(A0∪A1) . The other
direction: y∈f(A0∪A1)⇒ ∃x∈A0∪A1 : f(x)=y⇒ ∃x∈A0 : f(x)=y or ∃x∈A1 : f(x)=y⇒ y∈f(A0)∪f(A1) .
(g) The "⊂ " part follows from (e). If f is injective
then y∈f(A0)∩f(A1)⇒ ∃x∈A0 : f(x)=y and ∃x′∈A1 : f(x′)=y . Since f is
injective, x=x′∈A0∩A1⇒ y∈f(A0∩A1) .
(h) If y∈f(A0)−f(A1) , then ∃x∈A0 : f(x)=y and, hence, x∉A1 . Therefore, y∈f(A0−A1) . If f is injective
then y∈f(A0−A1)⇒ ∃x∈A0−A1 : f(x)=y⇒ y∈f(A0) and y∉f(A1)(otherwise, y=f(x′) for some x′∈A1 ,
and, since f is injective, x=x′∈A1 ) ⇒ y∈f(A0)−f(A1) .

3.
Show that (b), (c), (f), and (g) of Exercise 2 hold for arbitrary unions and intersections.
The proofs are almost identical to those in 2 (b), (c), (f) and (g). One just needs to replace pairwise
unions and intersection (as well as some wording) with arbitrary unions and intersections.