Set Theory

Sets
It is common for sets to be denoted using uppercase letters.

Lowercase letters are usually used to denote elements of
sets.
There are several ways to describe a set.
One way is to list all the members of a set, when this is possible. We use a notation
where all members of the set are listed between braces. For example, the notation
{a, b, c, d} represents the set with the four elements a, b, c, and d. This way of
describing a set is known as the roster method.
EXAMPLE 1 :The set V of all vowels in the English alphabet can be written as
V = {a, e, i, o, u}.
EXAMPLE 2 The set O of odd positive integers less than 10 can be expressed by
O = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}.
EXAMPLE 4 The set of positive integers less than 100 can be denoted by {1, 2, 3,..., 99}.
Another way to describe a set is to use set builder notation. We characterize all those
elements in the set by stating the property or properties they must have to be
members. For instance, the set O of all odd positive integers less than 10 can be
written as O = {x | x is an odd positive integer less than 10}, or, specifying the
universe as the set of positive integers, as O = {x ∈ Z+ | x is odd and x < 10}
• THE EMPTY SET There is a special set that has no elements. This set is
called the empty set, or null set, and is denoted by ∅. The empty set
can also be denoted by { }
• A set with one element is called a singleton set

Subsets
DEFINITION 3
The set A is a subset of B if and only if every element of A is also an
element of B. We use the notation A ⊆ B to indicate that A is a subset
of the set B.
We see that A ⊆ B if and only if the quantification ∀x(x ∈ A → x ∈ B)
is true
The Size of a Set
DEFINITION 4
Let S be a set. If there are exactly n distinct elements in S where n is a
nonnegative integer, we say that S is a finite set and that n is the
cardinality of S. The cardinality of S is denoted by |S|
EXAMPLE 10
Let A be the set of odd positive integers less than 10. Then |A| = 5.
EXAMPLE 11
Let S be the set of letters in the English alphabet. Then |S| = 26.
EXAMPLE 12
Because the null set has no elements, it follows that |∅| = 0
DEFINITION 5 A set is said to be infinite if it is not finite .
EXAMPLE 13 The set of positive integers is infinite
Power Sets
DEFINITION 6 Given a set S, the power set of S is the set of all subsets of
the set S. The power set of S is denoted by P(S)
EXAMPLE : What is the power set of the set {0, 1, 2}?
Solution: The power set P({0, 1, 2}) is the set of all subsets of {0, 1, 2}.
Hence, P({0, 1, 2}) = {∅,{0},{1},{2},{0, 1},{0, 2},{1, 2},{0, 1, 2}}.
Note that the empty set and the set itself are members of this set of subsets.
EXAMPLE 15 What is the power set of the empty set? What is the power set of the set {∅}?
Solution: The empty set has exactly one subset, namely, itself. Consequently, P(∅) = {∅}.
The set {∅} has exactly two subsets, namely, ∅ and the set {∅} itself.
Therefore, P({∅}) = {∅,{∅}}. If a set has n elements, then its power set has 2 raise to n elements
EXAMPLE :Let A represent the set of all students at a university, and let B represent the set of all
courses offered at the university. What is the Cartesian product A × B and how can it be used?
Solution: The Cartesian product A × B consists of all the ordered pairs of the form (a, b), where a
is a student at the university and b is a course offered at the university. One way to use the set A
× B is to represent all possible enrollments of students in courses at the university.
EXAMPLE : What is the Cartesian product of A = {1, 2} and B = {a, b, c}?
Solution: The Cartesian product A × B is A × B = {(1, a), (1, b), (1, c), (2, a), (2, b), (2, c)}.
Note that the Cartesian products A × B and B × A are not equal, unless A = ∅ or B = ∅ (so that A ×
B = ∅) or A = B .
EXAMPLE : Show that the Cartesian product B × A is not equal to the Cartesian
product.
A = {1, 2} and B = {a, b, c}
A × B, where A and B are as in previous example.

Solution: The Cartesian product B × A is B × A = {(a, 1), (a, 2), (b, 1), (b, 2), (c, 1), (c, 2)}.
Set Operations
DEFINITION 1 Let A and B be sets. The union of the sets A and B,
denoted by A ∪ B, is the set that contains those elements that are
either in A or in B, or in both
An element x belongs to the union of the sets A and B if and only if x belongs to A or x
belongs to B. This tells us that A ∪ B = {x | x ∈ A ∨ x ∈ B}
EXAMPLE 1 The union of the sets {1, 3, 5} and {1, 2, 3} is the set {1, 2, 3, 5};
that is, {1, 3, 5}∪{1, 2, 3}={1, 2, 3, 5}.
EXAMPLE 2 The union of the set of all computer science majors at your school and the
set of all mathematics majors at your school is the set of students at your school who
are majoring either in mathematics or in computer science (or in both).
DEFINITION 2 Let A and B be sets. The intersection of the sets A and B, denoted by
A ∩ B, is the set containing those elements in both A and B. An element x belongs to
the intersection of the sets A and B if and only if x belongs to A and x belongs to B. This
tells us that A ∩ B = {x | x ∈ A ∧ x ∈ B}
DEFINITION 3 Two sets are called disjoint if their intersection is the empty set
EXAMPLE 5 Let A = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9} and B = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}. Because A ∩ B = ∅, A and B are
disjoint.
We are often interested in finding the cardinality of a union of two finite sets A and B. Note
that |A|+|B| counts each element that is in A but not in B or in B but not in A exactly once,
Be careful not to overcount! and each element that is in both A and B exactly twice. Thus, if
the number of elements that are in both A and B is subtracted from |A|+|B|, elements in A
∩ B will be counted only once. Hence, |A ∪ B|=|A|+|B|−|A ∩ B|
EXAMPLE 6 The difference of {1, 3, 5} and {1, 2, 3} is the set {5}; that is, {1, 3, 5}−{1, 2,
3}={5}. This is different from the difference of {1, 2, 3} and {1, 3, 5}, which is the set {2}
EXAMPLE 8 Let A = {a, e, i, o, u} (where the universal set is the set of letters of the
English alphabet). Then A = {b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y,z}.
EXAMPLE 9 Let A be the set of positive integers greater than 10 (with universal set the
set of all positive integers). Then A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}.

Set Theory

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Set Theory

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Sets

It is common for sets to be denoted using uppercase letters.

• A set with one element is called a singleton set

EXAMPLE : What is the Cartesian product of A = {1, 2} and B = {a, b, c}?

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

A × B, where A and B are as in previous example.

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