FOUR BASIC CONCEPTS

Specific Objective

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:

1. Define what a set and its basic terminologies.
2. Differentiate two ways in describing sets.
3. Perform basic operations on set.
4. Define what a relation and a function is.
5. Translate relation and function into a diagram.
6. Name and apply the different properties of a relation and function.
7. Identify the domain and range in a relation and function.
8. Evaluate a function.
9. Define and perform a binary operation.

Introduction

In this module, it will be discussed the four basic concepts in mathematics such as sets
and its basic operation, the functions, relations and the binary operations. Discussion:

I. SETS AND SUBSETS

A. The Language of Sets

Use of the word “set” as a formal mathematical term was introduced in 1879 by Georg
Cantor. For most mathematical purposes we can think of a set intuitively, as Cantor did, simply
as a collection of elements.
So, by definition:
A set is a collection of well-defined objects.
Illustration:
A set of counting numbers from 1 to 10.

A set of an English alphabet from a to e.

A set of even numbers
A set of an integers
Note: A set is denoted with braces or curly brackets { } and label or name the set by a capital
letter such as A, B, C,…etc.
a. A set of counting numbers from 1 to 5. A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 }
b. A set of English alphabet from a to d. B = { a, b, c, d }
c. A set of all even positive integers. C = { 2, 4, 6, 8, … }
d. A set of an integers. D = { …, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, …}

Now, if S is a set, the notation x  S means that x is an element of S. The notation x  S means
that x is not an element of S.
So, what is an element of a set?
Element of a set Each member of the set is called an element and the  notation means that an
item belongs to a set.
Illustration:
Say A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 } 1  A; 3  A; 5  A Is 6 is an element of set A? Since in a given set
A above, we could not see six as an element of set A, thus we could say that;
6 is not an element of set A or 6  A
Note: Each element is a set should be separated by comma.

Terminologies of Set
Unit Set
1. Unit set is a set that contains only one element.

Illustration: A = { 1 }; B = { c }; C = { banana }
2. Empty set or Null set; 

Empty or null set is a set that has no element.

Illustration: A = { } A set of seven yellow carabaos

3. Finite set
A finite set is a set that the elements in a given set is countable. Illustration: A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6 } B = { a, b, c, d }

4. Infinite set
An infinite set is a set that elements in a given set has no end or not countable. Illustration: A
set of counting numbers A = { …-2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, … }

5. Cardinal Number; n
Cardinal number are numbers that used to measure the number of elements in a given set. It is
just similar in counting the total number of element in a set.
Illustration: A = { 2, 4, 6, 8 } n = 4 B = { a, c, e } n = 3

6. Equal sets
Cardinality and the element/s are identical. There is a 1 -1 correspondence.
Illustration: A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5} B = { 3, 5, 2, 4, 1} 7.

7. Equivalent set
Two sets, say A and B, are said to be equivalent if and only if they have the exact number of
element. There is a 1 – 1 correspondence.
Illustration: A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 } B = { a, b, c, d, e }

8. Universal set
The universal set U is the set of all elements under discussion. Illustration: A set of an
English alphabet
U = {a, b, c, d, …, z}

9. Joint Sets
Two sets, say A and B, are said to be joint sets if and only if they have common element/s.
A = { 1, 2, 3} B = { 2, 4, 6 }
Here, sets A and B are joint set since they have common element such as 2.

10. Disjoint Sets

Two sets, say A and B, are said to be disjoint if and only if they are mutually exclusive or if they
don’t have common element/s.
A = { 1, 2, 3} B = { 4, 6, 8 }

B. Two ways of Describing a Set

Roster or Tabular Method
It is done by listing or tabulating the elements of the set.

2. Rule or Set-builder Method

It is done by stating or describing the common characteristics of the elements of the set. We use
the notation A = { x / x … }
Illustration:
a. A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 } A = {x | x is a counting number from 1 to 5} A = { x | x  N, x < 6}

b. B = { a, b, c, d, …, z } B = {x | x  English alphabet} B = { x | x is an English alphabet}

C. Subsets
A subset, A  B, means that every element of A is also an element
of B.
If x  A, then x  B. In particular, every set is a subset of itself, A  A.
A subset is called a proper subset, A is a proper subset of B, if A  B and there is at least one
element of B that is not in A:

If x  A, then x  B and there is an element b such that b  B and b  A.

NOTE1: The empty set. or {} has no elements and is a subset of every set for every set A, A 
A.

The number of subsets of a given set is given by 2n,

Where: n is the number of elements of the given set.
Illustration: How many subsets are there in a set
A = {1, 2, 3 }? List down all the subsets of set A. Number of subsets = 2n = 23 = 8 subsets
With one element { 1 } ; {2} ; {3}
With two elements { 1, 2 } ; { 1, 3 }; { 2, 3 }
With three elements { 1, 2, 3 }
With no elements { }

D. Ordered Pair

Given elements a and b, the symbol (a, b) denotes the ordered pair consisting of a and b together
with the specification that “a” is the first element of the pair and “b” is the second element. Two
ordered pairs (a,b) and (c,d) are equal iff a = c and b = d.
Symbolically;
(a, b) = (c, d) means that a = c and b = d
Illustration:
a) If (a, b) = (3, 2), what would be the value of a and b.
Here, by definition that two ordered pairs (a,b) and (c,d) are equal iff a = c and b = d. Hence, a
= 3 and b = 2.
b) Find x and y if (4x + 3, y) = (3x + 5, – 2).
Solution:

Since (4x + 3, y) = (3x + 5, – 2), so 4x + 3 = 3x + 5 Solving for x, we got x = 2 and obviously

y = – 2.

OPERATION ON SETS

Sets can be combined in a number of different ways to produce another set. Here are the basic
operations on sets.
1. Union of Sets

The union of sets A and B, denoted by A  B , is the set defined as:

A  B = { x | x  A or x  B }

Example 1: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {4, 5} , then

A  B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} .

Example 2: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {1, 2, 4, 5} , then

A  B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} .

Note that elements are not repeated in a set.

2. Intersection of Sets

The intersection of sets A and B, denoted by A  B , is the set defined as :

A  B = { x | x  A and x  B }
Example 1: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {1, 2, 4, 5}
then A  B = {1, 2} .

Example 2: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {4, 5} then A  B = 

3. Difference of Sets

The difference of sets A from B , denoted by A - B , is the set defined as

A - B = { x | x  A and x  B }
Example 1: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {1, 2, 4, 5} then A - B = {3} .

Example 2: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {4, 5} , then A - B = {1, 2, 3} .

Example : 3 If A = {a, b, c, d } and B = {a, c, e } , then A - B = {b, d } .

Note that in general A - B  B - A

4. Compliment of Set
For a set A, the difference U - A , where U is the universe, is called the complement of A and it
is denoted by Ac . Thus Ac is the set of everything that is not in A.
Example: Let U = { a, e, i, o, u } and A = { a, e }
then Ac = { i, o u }

5. Cartesian Product

Given sets A and B, the Cartesian product of A and B, denoted by A x B and read as “A cross
B”, is the set of all ordered pair (a,b) where a is in A and b is in B. Symbolically:
A x B = {(a, b) | a  A and b  B}
Note that A x B is not equal to B x A.

Illustration:

If A = { 1, 2} and B = {a, b}, what is A x B?

A x B = {(1,a), (1, b), (2, a), (2, b)}. How many elements in a A x B?

Example 1: Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {a, b}. Then

A x B = {(1, a), (1, b), (2, a), (2, b), (3, a), (3, b)} .

Example 2: For the same A and B as in Example 1,

B x A = {(a, 1), (a, 2), (a, 3), (b, 1), (b, 2), (b, 3)} .

Venn Diagram

A Venn diagram is an illustration of the relationships between and among sets, groups of
objects that share something in common. Usually, Venn diagrams are used to depict set
intersections (denoted by an upside-down letter U). This type of diagram is used in scientific and
engineering presentations, in theoretical mathematics, in computer applications, and in statistics.