INTRODUCTION TO SETS

Basic Ideas of Sets

EXPLORATION

A.In the following collection of objects, find the

one that is out place.

1. boat, kalesa, car, bus, airplane kalesa

2. carabao, cow, chicken, pig, goat chicken
3. hexagon, quadrilateral, rectangle, rhombus,
square hexagon
4. meter, centimeter, kilometer, square meter,
decimeter square meter
5. 2, 12, 24, 11, 30 11
6. ½, 0.5, 4/8, 1.5, 50% 1.5
DEFINITIONS
 A set is a collection of objects.
 A set is a well-defined group of objects, called
elements that share a common characteristic.
 Objects in the collection are called elements of
the set.
EXAMPLES - SET
The collection of counting numbers is a set.
Each counting number is an element of the set.

The collection of pencils in your briefcase is

a set.
Each pencil in your briefcase is an element of the
set.
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SETS ARE
WELL-DEFINED?
a. The set of all large numbers
Solution: The set is not well-defined. Some
people will have different opinions on which
numbers are large.

b. Theset of all multiples of 5

Solution: The set is well-defined. Numbers that
are multiples of 5 can easily be differentiated
form the others.
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SETS
ARE WELL-DEFINED?
c. The set of good writers
Solution: The set is not well-defined. Some people may
include different writers in the set.

d. The set nice people in your class

Solution: The set is not well-defined because there is no
common agreement as to what is meant by “nice
people.”
PRACTICE AND
APPLICATION
I. State whether each of the following sets is well-
defined or not. Explain.

1. The set of happy people.

2. The set of enjoyable subjects in high school.
3. The set of good teachers.
4. The set of even counting numbers.
5. The set of prime numbers.
6. The set of all factors of 24
7. The set of big people.
NOTATION
 Sets are usually designated with capital letters.

 Elements of a set are usually designated with lower

case letters.
NOTATION
Note: It is also a common practice to list the elements of a set in
braces { } and separate these elements in commas.

Example:
A={5, 10, 15, 20} means “ A set consisting of the elements 5, 10, 15,
20.”

To indicate 5 is an element of set A, we write “ 5 ϵ A” and is read “ 5

is an element of” or “5 is a member A”

Symbols:
1. ϵ - read as “is an element of”
2. ϵ - read as “ is not an element of”
3. Ф – empty set
4. (…) called an ellipsis, to indicate that there are elements in the
set that is have not been written down.
NOTATION

04/25/2022
 If x is an element of the set A, we write this as x  A. x  A
means x is not an element of A.

JINGLE C. ELANDAG
 If A = {3, 17, 2 } then
3  A, 17  A, 2  A and 5  A.

 If A = { x | x is a prime number } then

5  A, and 6  A.

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m
10
3 WAYS IN WHICH WE
CAN DESCRIBE SET
 NOTATION
1. The ROSTER METHOD or LISTING
METHOD
This is a method describing a set by listing
each element of the set inside the symbol { }. In
listing the elements of the set, each distinct
element is listed once and the order of the
elements does not matter.
EXAMPLE – ROSTER
METHOD
1. A ={1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.
2. B = {p, h, i, l, n, e, s}
3. C = { 5,10, 15, …}
4. D = {moon}
 EXAMPLE – ROSTER METHOD
A variation of the simple roster method uses the ellipsis
( … ) when the pattern is obvious and the set is large.

{1, 3, 5, 7, … , 9007} is the set of odd

counting numbers less than or equal to
9007.

{1, 2, 3, … } is the set of all counting

numbers.
2. SET BUILDER notation has the general form
{variable | descriptive statement }.

 The vertical bar (in set builder notation) is always read

as “such that”.

 Set builder notation is frequently used when the roster

method is either inappropriate or inadequate.

 It is a method that lists the rules that determine whether

an object is an element of the set rather than the actual
elements.
 SET BUILDER NOTATION

x x is a natural number less than 3

such that
The set of
x is a natural number less than 3
All number x
EXAMPLE – SET BUILDER NOTATION

 A = {x | x < 6 and x is a counting number} is the set

of all counting numbers less than 6. Note this is the
same set as {1,2,3,4,5}.
 {x | x is a fraction whose numerator is 1 and whose
denominator is a counting number }.
 B = {x│x is a letter on the word “Philippines”.
 C= { x │x is a positive multiple of 5}.
 D= { x │ x is a natural satellite of the earth}.
 3. VERBAL DESCRIPTION METHOD
It is a method of describing a set in words.

Examples:

1. Set A is the set of counting numbers less than 5.

2. Set B is the set of letters in the word “Philippines”.
3. Set C is the set of positive multiples of 5.
4. Set D is the set of a natural satellite of the earth.
 EXERCISES
I. Write a verbal description for each of the following sets.

1. D= { 1, 3,5, 7, …}
2. E= { a, b, c ,.., z}
3. F = {4,8,12,16,…, 96}

II. List the elements of the following sets.

1. M= {x│x> 7, x is an odd integers}
2. A = {x│7< x<8,, x is a counting number}
3. H= {x│x is a counting number between 7 and 10}.

III. Write a rule for the following:

1. A= { a, e, i, o, u}
2. M= {3,6,9,.., 30}
3. E= {Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, …, Sunday}
QUIZ

1. S = {..., -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

What is S, expressed in set builder notation?

A. S = {x ∈ Z | -5 ≤ x ≤ 5}
B. S = {x ∈ Z | x ≤ 5 }
C. S = {x ∈ Z | x < 5 }
D. S = {x ∈ R | x ≤ 5 }
2. S = {-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...}

What is S, expressed in set builder notation?

A. S = {x ∈ R | x ≥ -3}
B. S = {x ∈ Z | -3 ≤ x ≤ 3}
C. S = {x ∈ Z | x > -3}
D. S = {x ∈ Z | x ≥ -3}
 3. S = {2, 4, 6, 8,...}

What is S, expressed in set builder notation?

A. S = {x ∈ Z | x ≥ 2}
B. S = {2x ∈ Z | x ≥ 2}
C. S = {2x, x ∈ Z | x ≥ 1}
D. S = {2x, x ∈ R | x ≥ 1}
4. Which of the following is the set of all suits in a
standard deck of playing cards?

A. R = [ace, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,

ten, jack, queen, king]
B. S = { clubs (♣), diamonds (♦), hearts (♥) and spades
(♠)}
C. T = {jokers}
D. None of the above.
5. Which of the following is the set of odd whole
numbers less than 10?

A. C = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}
B. D = {0, 2, 4, 6, 8}
C. E = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
D. None of the above.
6. Which of the following represents an empty set?

A. The set of dogs with six legs.

B. The set of squares with 5 sides.
C. The set of integers which are both even and odd.
D. All of the above.
7. 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. A capital letter is used to represent this set.

B. It uses curly braces.
C. It uses commas.
D. The objects in this set are not unique.
List the elements of the following sets.

8. What is the set of all even whole numbers between

0 and 10?
9. G be the set of all whole numbers less than ten.
10. X be the set of odd numbers less than 12.
SET EQUALITY
DEFINITION
 Sets A and B are equal if and only if they contain
exactly the same elements.

 Two sets A and B are equal if A  B and B  A. If

two sets A and B are equal we write A = B to
designate that relationship.

 The definition of equality of sets shows that the order

in which elements are written does not affect the set.

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 EXAMPLE-SET EQUALITY

• A = {9, 2, 7, -3}, B = {7, 9, -3, 2} : A=B

• A = {dog, cat, horse},
B = {cat, horse, squirrel, dog} : A=B
• A = {dog, cat, horse},
B = {cat, horse, dog, dog} : A=B

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 EXAMPLE – SET EQUALITY
The sets
A = {3, 4, 6}
B = {6, 3, 4} are
equal because A  B and B  A.

A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} and
B = {x | x < 6 and x is a counting number}

The two sets are equal and we write A = B.

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EXAMPLE - EQUALITY
The sets
 A = {2}
 B = {2, 5} are not equal because B is not a subset of A.
We would write A ≠ B.

The sets
 A = {x | x is a fraction} and
 B = {x | x = ¾} are not equal because A
is not a subset of B.
We would write A ≠ B.

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MORE EXAMPLES
Are the following sets equal?
a. A ={c,a,r}
b. B= {a,r,c}
c. C= {1,2,3,4,…}
d. D= {5,10,15,20,…}

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EQUIVALENT SETS
EQUIVALENT SETS
 Sets that contain exactly the same number of
elements.
Example:
1. A= {1,2,3,4}
2. B={m, a, t, h}

A is equivalent to B {A ≈ B}. Both sets contain four

elements, hence, they are equivalent.

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ARE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS
TRUE OR FALSE?

04/25/2022
1. {o,n,e} = {n,e,o} TRUE

ROXANNE C. MONGATO
2. {2,4,6,…, 50 } ≈ {1,3,5,…49} TRUE
3. {a,t,o,m} ≈ {t,o,m,a} TRUE

4. {I,II,III} = {1,2,3} FALSE

5. {Jose, Aplonario, Andres} ≈{Rizal, Mabini, Bonifacio}
TRUE

39
SUBSETS

B
A C
DEFINITION - SUBSET
Useful rules:
   A for any set A
 A  A for any set A (Every set is a
subset of itself.)
 The set A is a SUBSET of the set B if
every element of A is an element of B.

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 SUBSETS
A  B read as “A is a subset of B”
A  B if and only if every element of A is also
an element of B.

Examples:

A = {3, 9}, B = {5, 9, 1, 3}, A B? true

A = {3, 3, 3, 9}, B = {5, 9, 1, 3}, AB? true

A = {1, 2, 3}, B = {2, 3, 4}, A B? false

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EXAMPLE - SUBSET
 The set A = {1, 2, 3} is a subset of the set
B ={1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} because each element
of A is an element of B.
 We write A  B to designate this relationship between A
and B.

 We could also write

{1, 2, 3}  {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}

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 PROPER SUBSETS
A is a PROPER SUBSET of B if and only if every
element in A is also in B, and there exists at
least one element in B that is not in A.

If A is a proper subset of B we write A  B to designate

that relationship.

When we talk about proper subsets, we take out

the line underneath and so it becomes A   B or if we
want to say the opposite, A    B.

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EXAMPLE- PROPER SUBSET

04/25/2022
Example:
{1, 2, 3} is a subset of {1, 2, 3}, but

ROXANNE C. MONGATO
is not a proper subset of {1, 2, 3}.

Example:
{1, 2, 3} is a proper subset of {1, 2, 3, 4}
because the element 4 is not in the first set.

45
DETERMINE ALL POSSIBLE SUBSETS OF THE
SET

a. {1,2}
{ }, {1}, {2}, {1,2}

b. {1,2,3}
{ }, {1}, {2}, {3}, {1,2}, {1,3}, {2,3}, {1,2,3}

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EXAMPLE - SUBSET
 The set A = {3, 5, 7} is not a subset of the set
B = {1, 4, 5, 7, 9} because 3 is an element of A
but is not an element of B.

 The set A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} is a subset of the set

B = {x | x < 6 and x is a counting number}
because every element of A is an element of B.

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NUMBER OF
SUBSETS

The number of subsets of a set with n elements

is 2n.

The number of proper subsets of a set with n

elements is 2n – 1.

2-2-48
EXAMPLE: NUMBER OF SUBSETS

Find the number of subsets and the number of

proper subsets of the set {m, a, t, h, y}.

Solution
Since there are 5 elements, the number of subsets is
25 = 32.
The number of PROPER SUBSETS is 32 – 1 = 31.
ENRICHMENT
Set Number of Subsets Number of
Element Subsets
{1) 1 , {1) 2
{1,2} 2 , {1),{2{,{1,2} 4

{1,2,3}
{1,2,3,4} n
{1,2,3,4,…}

How many subsets does the set containing 20 elements

have?
 CARDINALITY OF SETS
Ifa set S contains n distinct elements, n  N,
we call S a finite set with cardinality n.

Examples:

A = {Mercedes, BMW, Porsche}, |A| = 3

B = {1, {2, 3}, {4, 5}, 6} |B| = 5

C={} |C| = 0

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QUIZ

1. Which one of the following sets is infinite?

A. The set of whole numbers less than 10

B. The set of prime numbers less than 10
C. The set of integers less than 10
D. The set of factors of 10
2. A is the set of factors of 12.
Which one of the following is not a
member of A?

a.3
b.4
c.5
d.6
 3. X is the set of multiples of 3 
Y is the set of multiples of 6
Z is the set of multiples of 9
Which one of the following is true?

a. XY
b. XZ
c. ZY
d. ZX
4. A is the set of factors of 6
B is the set of prime factors of 6
C is the set of proper factors of 6
D is the set of factors of 3
Which of the following is true?

Note: Proper factors is Any of the factors of a number, except the number
itself.

A. A= B
B. A= C
C. B=C
D. C=D
5. Which one of the following is the null set?

A. The set of subsets of the null set

B. The set of even prime numbers
C. The set of factors of 7
D. The set of rational expressions for π
6. A = {a, b, c, d}
How many subsets does the set A have?

A. 4
B. 8
C. 16
D. 32
7. S = {a, b, c, d, e}
How many proper subsets does the set S have?

Note: A proper subset is any subset of a set except

itself.

A. 15
B. 30
C. 31
D. 32
8. A, B and C are three sets such that A is a
subset of B and B is a subset of C.
Which one of the following statements must
always be true?
A. B is a subset of A
B. C is a subset of B
C. C is a subset of A
D. A is a subset of C
9. P is the set of factors of 5 
Q is the set of factors of 25
R is the set of factors of 125

Which one of the following is false?

a. P⊂Q
b. Q⊂R
c. R⊂P
d. P⊂R
10. {2}  {2,4,6}

A.True
B.False
C.Not defined
D.Either A or B
 ANSWERS
1. C
2. C
3. D
4. C
5. D
6. C
7. C
8. D
9. C
10. A