MS 101

Discrete Mathematics Module 1

Chapter 1 – Sets

The theory of sets, which was developed by At the end of the module, you will be able to:
the mathematicians Boole and Cantor in the 1. know the basic concepts of sets and set
19th century, has now become a fundamental operations;
tool of mathematics. This concept, which 2. write and read set notations properly;
brought clarity and organization to many 3. describe sets using roster and
difficult areas of mathematics, is today being descriptive methods; and
used in the study of almost all mathematics. 4. define set relations; and
Intuitively, a set is a well-defined collection of 5. perform set operations.
objects or ideas. These objects or ideas are
called the elements or members of the set.
They can be anything: numbers, people,
furniture, cars, etc.

1.1 Basic Concepts

Set and element are the undefined terms in our study. We cannot give a precise
mathematical definition of these ideas. Instead we depend on an intuitive understanding of their
meanings. This is similar to the terms point and lines that are used in the study of geometry. We
cannot define these terms but we know what they mean. If we try to define or explain what we mean
when we use the terms point and line we can see the difficulty involve.

The following examples will be used to illustrate the set concept:

(a) the set of letters a, e, i, o, and u
(b) the set of letters of the alphabet
(c) the set of states Alaska, Maine, and Florida
(d) the set of number 1, 2, 5, and 9
(e) the set of odd whole positive numbers
(f) the set of students in your school
(g) the set of Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson
(h) the set of number 1, a chair, and an automobile
(i) the set of whole numbers
(j) the set of days of the week that begin with letter A

All of the examples can be written in a more concise form by use of the following notation.
Capital letters such as A, B, and C will be used to name sets, and lowercase letters such as 𝑥, y,
and 𝑧 will be used to represent the elements of the set. In representing sets that list the elements
we will separate the elements by commas and enclose them in braces, { }. In representing sets that
describe their properties we will use the symbol 𝑥 to denote an arbitrary element of the set, and the
line “ | ” is read “such as”. The preceding examples can now be written:
A = {a, e, i, o, u}
B = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is a letter of the alphabet}
C = {Alaska, Maine, Florida}
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Discrete Mathematics Module 1
D = {1, 2, 5, 9}
E = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is an odd whole positive number}
F = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is a student in your school}
G = {President Eisenhower, President Kennedy, President Johnson}
H = {1, chair, automobile}
I = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is a whole number}
J = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is a day of the week that begins with letter A}

The method of representing sets by listing the elements that belong to the set is called the
roster method (examples a, c, d, and g). The method of representing sets by describing the
properties that the elements must possess in order to belong to the set is called the descriptive
method (example: 𝑥 is a letter in the alphabet).
We shall now consider the set A = {a, e, i, o, u}, which is read “A is the set of elements a, e, i,
o, u}.” This set could also have been written in the descriptive method, A = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is a vowel}, which
is read “A is the set of elements such that each element is a vowel.” This method of describing set is
also referred as set-builder notation.
When the number of elements is small it is relatively easy to use the roster method, but
when the number of elements in the set is large it becomes necessary to use the descriptive
method. For example, E = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is an odd whole positive number} is read “E is the set of elements
such that each element is an odd whole positive number.” This set could also have been written in
the roster method, E = {1, 3, 5, …}, where the three dots “…” indicate that the sequence continues
indefinitely. If the three dots are placed in the middle of a sequence of elements such as {1, 3, 5, …,
99}, it means that the sequence of elements continues up to and includes the last term, in this case
99.
A set is said to be finite if it contains some fixed number of elements; otherwise, we say that
it is infinite. Sets E and I are examples of infinite sets, while the other examples are finite sets.
A set and an element are related in one of two ways. Either the element belongs to the set
or the element does not belong to the set. The symbol “ ∈ ” is used to indicate the “belongs to”
relation and “ ∉ ” means “does not belong to”. For example,

A = {a, e, i, o, u}; then a ∈ 𝐴, b ∉ 𝐴, and t ∉ 𝐴

E = {1, 3, 5, …}; then 3 ∈ 𝐸, 6 ∉ 𝐸, 13 ∈ 𝐸, and 100 ∉ 𝐸

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Discrete Mathematics Module 1
1.2 Set Relations

Sets can be related to one another in a number of ways. They can be completely different,
have some elements in common, be exactly the same, have the same number of elements, or one
set can be part of another. To discuss these relations, we use the following definitions:

Definition 1:
Equal Sets: Two sets A and B are equal (A = B) if and only if every element of set A is an
element of set B and every element of set B is an element of set A. That is, two sets have exactly
the same elements. If two sets A and B are not equal, we write A ≠ B.

Example 1:
Let A = {1, 2, 3, 4} and B = {3, 4, 1, 2}; then A = B. That is, {1, 2, 3, 4} = {3, 4, 1, 2}.
The order of the elements in a set is unimportant. If the order is changed, the set is still the same.

Example 2:
Let 𝐴 = {g, e, o, r} and 𝐵 = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is a letter in President Washington’s first name}. Since his first
name is George and all these letters make up set 𝐴, we have A = B.

An element in a set is never repeated. In this example, set 𝐴 is formed from the letters of the name
George. The letters g and e are not repeated in constructing the set 𝐴 = {g, e, o, r}.

Example 3:
If A = {a, e, i, o, u} and B = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is a letter of the alphabet}, then A ≠ B since there are other
letters, such as b, in the alphabet which are elements of set 𝐵 but not elements of set 𝐴.

Definition 2:
Equivalent Sets: Two sets A and B are equivalent (𝐴 ≃ 𝐵) if and only if for each element in A
there is exactly one element in 𝐵 and for each element in B there is exactly one element in 𝐴. If
two sets 𝐴 and 𝐵 are not equivalent, we write 𝐴 ≄ 𝐵.

Example 4:
Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {a, b, c}; then 𝐴 ≃ 𝐵. The finite sets A and B both contain three elements.
Finite sets are equivalent when they have the same number of elements.

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Definition 3:
Subset: Set A is a subset of B if and only if each element of set A is an element of set B. That is,
if 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴, then 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵. Set A is contained in set B.
To indicate that A is a subset of B, we write 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵. This is read “A is contained B” or “A is a subset
of B.” The negation of this idea, or “A is not a subset of B” is written A ⊄ B. From this definition we
see that every set is a subset of itself, that is, for any set A, we have 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐴.

Definition 4:
Proper Subset: Set 𝐴 is a proper subset of set 𝐵 if and only if set 𝐴 is contained in set 𝐵 and not
equal to 𝐵. That is, if 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵 and 𝐴 ≠ 𝐵.
Improper Subset: Set 𝐴 is an improper subset of set 𝐵 if and only if set 𝐴 is contained in set 𝐵
and is equal to 𝐵. That is, if 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵 and 𝐴 = 𝐵. To denote that 𝐴 is an improper subset of set 𝐵,
we write, 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵

Example 5:
Given 𝐴 = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, 𝐵 = {2, 4}, and 𝐶 = {2, 4, 5, 6}, we have 𝐵 ⊂ 𝐴 and 𝐵 ≠ 𝐴, 𝐵 is a proper
subset of 𝐴; 𝐵 ⊂ 𝐶 and 𝐵 ≠ 𝐶, 𝐵 is also a proper subset of 𝐶; A ⊄ C and C ⊄ A, that is, 𝐴 is not a
subset of 𝐶 and 𝐶 is not a subset of 𝐴.

Example 6:
Given 𝐴 = {1, 2, 3, 4, …}, 𝐵= {1, 4, 9, 16, …}, C = {𝑥 | 𝑥 is a whole positive number squared}, we
have 𝐵 ⊂ 𝐶 because every element in set 𝐵 is an element set 𝐶. Also, 𝐶 ⊂ 𝐵 because every
element in set 𝐶 is an element in set B. Thus, we conclude 𝐵 = 𝐶, 𝐵 and 𝐶 are improper subsets
of one another. Also, 𝐵 ⊂ 𝐴 and 𝐵 ≠ 𝐴; thus, 𝐵 is a proper subset of 𝐴. Moreover, 𝐶 is a proper
subset of 𝐴 since 𝐶 ≠ 𝐴. We also conclude that A ⊄ B and A ⊄ C.

Definition 5:
Disjoints Sets: Two sets 𝐴 and 𝐵 are disjoint if and only if no element of set 𝐴 is an element of
set 𝐵 and no element of set 𝐵 is an element of set 𝐴; that is, sets 𝐴 and 𝐵 have no elements in
common.

Example 7:
Given 𝐴 = {1, 3, 5, 7} and 𝐵 = {2, 4, 6, 8}, then 𝐴 and 𝐵 are disjoint since 𝐴 and 𝐵 have no
elements in common.

Example 8:
Given 𝐴 = {2, 3, 5, 7} and 𝐵 = {1, 3, 6, 8}, then 𝐴 and 𝐵 are not disjoint since 3 ∈ 𝐴 and 3 ∈ 𝐵.

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Discrete Mathematics Module 1
Before we continue our study of set relation it is necessary to discuss two important sets.

Definition 6:

Universal Set: The universal set, denoted by U, is the set containing all the elements under

discussion. All the sets under consideration are subsets of the universal set U.

Example 9:
If we are discussing the sets formed from the letters in people’s name, our universal set would

then be all the letters of the alphabet, U = {a, b, c, d, …, z}.

Example 10:

If we are considering a study to determine ages of college students, our universal set U would be
the set of all college students in the world.

The opposite of the universal set is the null set.

Definition 7:
Null (Empty) Set: The null or empty set, denoted by ∅ or { }, is the set containing no elements.

Example 11:
The set of past female presidents of the United States.

Example 12:
The set of all odd numbers that are evenly divisible by 2.

These examples illustrate sets which are well defined but which contains no elements. Since
the null set contains no elements, it is defined to be a subset of every set. That is, for any set 𝐴, we
have ∅ ⊂ 𝐴.
We see that different sets contain a various number of subsets. In fact, the following
definition states that each set has a specific number of subsets.

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Discrete Mathematics Module 1
Definition 8:
Power Set: By the power set of a given set 𝐴, we mean the set of all possible subsets of set 𝐴. If
set 𝐴 contain 𝑛 number of elements, then there are 2𝑛 number of subsets of 𝐴.

Example 13:
Find the power set of 𝐴 = {1, 2}.

Since the set contains 2 elements, there are 22 = 4 subsets of set 𝐴. They are ∅, {1}, {2}, and {1,
2}, and the power set of 𝐴 is P(𝐴) = {∅, {1}, {2}, {1, 2}}. Note that each element of the power set is
itself a set. That is, the power set is a set of sets.

Example 14:
Find the power set of 𝐵 = {𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐}

Since the set contains 3 elements, there are 23 = 8 subsets of set 𝐵.

P(𝐵) = {∅, {𝑎}, {𝑏}, {𝑐 }, {𝑎, 𝑏}, {𝑎, 𝑐 }, {𝑏, 𝑐 }, {𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐}}

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1.3 Set Operations

Definition 9:
Complement: The complement of a set 𝐴 is the set of elements in the universal set which are
not in set 𝐴; that is, the set of all elements in the universal set outside of 𝐴. We denote the
complement of 𝐴 by 𝐴′.

Example 15:

Let U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8} and 𝐴 = {1, 3, 6}; then 𝐴′ = {2, 4, 5, 7, 8}.

Example 16:

Let U = {𝑥 |𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙} and 𝐴 = {𝑥 |𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙};

then 𝐴′ = {𝑥 |𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑎𝑡ℎ}

When you unite the elements of two or more sets to form a new set, we are performing the
following operation:

Definition 10:
Union: The union of two sets 𝐴 and 𝐵, write 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵, is the set of elements that belong to 𝐴 or to 𝐵
or to both. That is, it is the set made up by combining all the elements of set 𝐴 with all the
elements of set 𝐴 with all the elements of set 𝐵.

Example 17:
Let 𝐴 = {1, 3, 4, 6} and 𝐵 = {2, 3, 5, 9}; then 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9}.

Example 18:
Let 𝐴 = {𝑥 |𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙} and
𝐵 = {𝑥|𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 }; then 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = {𝑥 |𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙}.

The next operation is the one that considers the elements common to two or more sets.

Definition 11:
Intersection: The intersection of two sets 𝐴 and 𝐵, written 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵, is the set of all elements which
belong to both 𝐴 and 𝐵; that is, the set made up of the elements common to 𝐴 and 𝐵.

Example 19:
Let 𝐴 = {1, 2, 3, 5, 6} and 𝐵 = {2, 3, 4, 6, 8}; then 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = {2, 3, 6}.

Example 20:
Let 𝐴 = {1, 2, 3} and 𝐵 = {4, 5, 6}; then 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = ∅. This is true since 𝐴 and 𝐵 have no elements in
common and the intersection of the sets is the null set. Also, this implies that 𝐴 and 𝐵 are disjoint
sets.
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Discrete Mathematics Module 1
A fourth set operation can be defined, but it is merely a combination of the operations of
intersection and complementation.

Definition 12:
Difference: The difference of set 𝐴 minus set 𝐵, written 𝐴 – 𝐵, is the set of elements which
belongs to 𝐴 but which do not belong to 𝐵. That is, it is the set of elements common to 𝐴 and 𝐵′.

Example 21:
Let 𝐴 = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} and 𝐵 = {3, 5, 6, 7, 9}; then 𝐴 – 𝐵 = {1, 2, 4} and 𝐵 – 𝐴 = {7, 9}.

Example 22:
Let 𝐴 = {1, 2, 3} and 𝐵 = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}; then 𝐴 – 𝐵 = ∅ and 𝐵 – 𝐴 = {4, 5}. In this example 𝐴 – 𝐵 = ∅
since 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵.

Example 23:

Let U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}, 𝐴 = {2, 3, 5, 6}, 𝐵 = {3, 4, 6, 7}, and 𝐶 = {5, 6, 7, 8}.
Find:
a.) (𝐴 ∩ 𝐵)′
To find (𝐴 ∩ 𝐵)′ we first find 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵: 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = {3, 6}. Now we find the complement of 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵. We
have (𝐴 ∩ 𝐵)′ = {1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9}.

b.) 𝐴 ∪ (𝐵′ ∩ 𝐶)
To find 𝐴 ∪ (𝐵′ ∩ 𝐶) we first find the complement of 𝐵: 𝐵′ = {1, 2, 5, 8, 9}. We then find the
intersection of 𝐵′ and 𝐶: 𝐵′ ∩ 𝐶 = {5, 8}. Finally, we unite 𝐴 with 𝐵′ ∩ 𝐶: 𝐴 ∪ (𝐵′ ∩ 𝐶 )= {2, 3, 5,
6, 8}.

c.) (𝐴 ∪ 𝐵)′ ∩ (𝐴 ∪ 𝐶 ′)
To find (𝐴 ∪ 𝐵)′ ∩ (𝐴 ∪ 𝐶 ′) we first find 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵: 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}. Then we find its
complement: (𝐴 ∪ 𝐵)′ = {1, 8, 9}. Next, we find the complement of 𝐶: 𝐶′ = {1, 2, 3, 4, 9}. We
unite it with 𝐴: 𝐴 ∪ 𝐶′ = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9}. Finally, we intersect (𝐴 ∪ 𝐵)′ and (𝐴 ∪ 𝐶 ′):
(𝐴 ∪ 𝐵)′ ∩ (𝐴 ∪ 𝐶 ′) = {1, 9}.

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