Chapter 2

Basic Structures: Sets

Presentation By,
Sushma Moily
Lecturer
NIPA
Chapter Summary
Sets
The Language of Sets
Types of Set
Set Operations
Set Identities
 Sets
Section 2.1
Section Summary
Definition of sets
Describing Sets
Roster Method
Set-Builder Notation
Some Important Sets in Mathematics
Empty Set and Universal Set
Subsets and Set Equality
Cardinality of Sets
Tuples
Cartesian Product
Introduction
Sets are one of the basic building blocks for the types of
objects considered in discrete mathematics.
Important for counting.
Programming languages have set operations.
In this section, we study the fundamental discrete
structure on which all other discrete structures are built,
namely, the set.
• Sets are used to group objects together. Often, but not
always, the objects in a set have similar properties.
Contd….
For instance, all the students who are currently enrolled in
your school make up a set. Likewise, all the students
currently taking a course in discrete
mathematics at any school make up a set.
In addition, those students enrolled in your school who are
taking a course in discrete mathematics form a set that can
be obtained by taking the elements common to the first two
collections.
The language of sets is a means to study such collections in
an organized fashion.
Sets
A set is an unordered collection of objects.
 the students in this class
 the chairs in this room
The objects in a set are called the elements, or
members of the set. A set is said to contain its
elements.
The notation a ∈ A denotes that a is an element of
the set A.
If a is not a member of A, write a ∉ A
Describing a Set: Roster Method
S = {a,b,c,d}
Order not important
S = {a,b,c,d} = {b,c,a,d}
Each distinct object is either a member or not; listing
more than once does not change the set.
S = {a,b,c,d} = {a,b,c,b,c,d}
Elipses (…) may be used to describe a set without
listing all of the members when the pattern is clear.
S = {a,b,c,d, ……,z }
Roster Method
Set of all vowels in the English alphabet:
V = {a,e,i,o,u}
Set of all odd positive integers less than 10:
O = {1,3,5,7,9}
Set of all positive integers less than 100:
S = {1,2,3,……..,99}
 Set of all integers less than 0:
S = {…., -3,-2,-1}
 S= {a, 2, Fred, New Jersey}
Some Important Sets
N = natural numbers = {0,1,2,3….}
Z = integers = {…,-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3,…}
Z⁺ = positive integers = {1,2,3,…..}
R = set of real numbers
R+ = set of positive real numbers
C = set of complex numbers.
Q = set of rational numbers
Set-Builder Notation
Specify the property or properties that all members must
satisfy:
S = {x | x is a positive integer less than 100}
O = {x | x is an odd positive integer less than 10}
O = {x ∈ Z⁺ | x is odd and x < 10}
A predicate may be used:
S = {x | P(x)}
Example: S = {x | Prime(x)}
Positive rational numbers:
Q+ = {x ∈ R | x = p/q, for some positive integers p,q}
Interval Notation
[a , b ] = { x | a ≤ x ≤ b }
[a , b ) = { x | a ≤ x < b }
(a, b ] = { x | a < x ≤ b }
(a,b) = {x | a < x < b}

closed interval [a,b]

open interval (a,b)
TYPES OF SET
Finite and Infinite Set
A set which contain md finite number of elements
known a finite set.
 Example1: :
 Example 2:
A set which contains infinite number of elements
known as a infinite set.
Example 1:

Singleton Set and Pair set
 A set with one element is called a singleton set.
 Example1 Here, The single element of the set {∅}
is the empty set itself!
 Example 2:
A set contains only 2 elements is known as a pair set
Example 1:
Example 2:
Universal Set
The universal set U is the set containing everything
currently under consideration.
Sometimes implicit
Sometimes explicitly stated.
Contents depend on the context. Venn Diagram
 Consider the following example,
U

V aei
ou

John Venn (1834-1923)

Cambridge, UK
Empty Set
A special set that has no elements is called the empty
set, or null set, and is denoted by ∅. The empty set can
also be denoted by { }
 Example 1: ∅={ x | x is a month of the year with 40 days}
 Example 2:
Some things to remember
A set which contains another set is known as sets of
sets.
Example 1: {{1,2,3},a, {b,c}}
Example 2: {N,Z,Q,R}
Example 3:

The empty set is different from a set containing the

empty set.
∅ ≠{∅}
Set Equality
Definition: Two sets are equal if and only if they have
the same elements.
Therefore if A and B are sets, then A and B are equal if
and only if .
We write A = B if A and B are equal sets.
{1,3,5} = {3, 5, 1}
{1,5,5,5,3,3,1} = {1,3,5}
Subsets
Definition: The set A is a subset of B, if and only if
every element of A is also an element of B.
The notation A ⊆ B is used to indicate that A is a subset
of the set B.
A ⊆ B holds if and only if is true.
1. Because a ∈ ∅ is always false, ∅ ⊆ S ,for every set S.
2. Because a ∈ S → a ∈ S, S ⊆ S, for every set S.
Showing a Set is or is not a Subset of
Another Set
Showing that A is a Subset of B: To show that A ⊆ B,
show that if x belongs to A, then x also belongs to B.
Showing that A is not a Subset of B: To show that A is
not a subset of B, A ⊈ B, find an element x ∈ A with x ∉ B.
(Such an x is a counterexample to the claim that x ∈ A
implies x ∈ B.)
Examples:
1. The set of all computer science majors at your school is a
subset of all students at your school.
2. The set of integers with squares less than 100 is not a
subset of the set of nonnegative integers.
Another look at Equality of Sets
Recall that two sets A and B are equal, denoted by
A = B, iff

Using logical equivalences we have that A = B iff

 This is equivalent to
A⊆B and B⊆A
Proper Subsets
Definition: If A ⊆ B, but A ≠B, then we say A is a
proper subset of B, denoted by A ⊂ B. If A ⊂ B, then

is true.

U
Venn Diagram B
A
Contd..
Set Cardinality(The Size of a Set )
Definition: If there are exactly n distinct elements in S where n is a
nonnegative integer, we say that S is finite. Otherwise it is infinite.
Definition: The cardinality of a finite set A, denoted by |A|, is
the number of (distinct) elements of A.
Examples:
1. |ø| = 0
2. Let S be the letters of the English alphabet. Then |S| = 26
3. |{1,2,3}| = 3
4. |{ø}| = 1
5. The set of integers is infinite.
6. Let A be the set of odd positive integers less than 10. Then |A| = 5
Power Sets
Definition: The set of all subsets of a set A, denoted
P(A), is called the power set of A.
Example: If A = {a,b} then
P(A) = {ø, {a},{b},{a,b}}

If a set has n elements, then the cardinality of the

power set is 2ⁿ.
Contd..
Contd..
P1: 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,
Examples
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
P2:
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({∅}) = {∅, {∅}}.
Tuples
The ordered n-tuple (a1,a2,…..,an) is the ordered
collection that has a1 as its first element and a2 as its
second element and so on until an as its last element.
Two n-tuples are equal if and only if their
corresponding elements are equal.
2-tuples are called ordered pairs.
The ordered pairs (a,b) and (c,d) are equal if and only
if a = c and b = d.
 René Descartes
(1596-1650)

Cartesian Product
Definition: The Cartesian Product of two sets A and B, denoted
by A × B is the set of ordered pairs (a,b) where a ∈ A and b ∈
B.

Example:
A = {a,b} B = {1,2,3}
A × B = {(a,1),(a,2),(a,3), (b,1),(b,2),(b,3)}

Definition: A subset R of the Cartesian product A × B is called a

relation from the set A to the set B. (Relations will be covered in
depth in Chapter 9. )
Cartesian Product
Definition: The cartesian products of the sets A1,A2,……,An,
denoted by A1 × A2 × …… × An , is the set of ordered n-
tuples (a1,a2,……,an) where ai belongs to Ai for i =
1, … n.

Example: What is A × B × C where A = {0,1}, B = {1,2} and C

= {0,1,2}
Solution: A × B × C = {(0,1,0), (0,1,1), (0,1,2),(0,2,0), (0,2,1),
(0,2,2),(1,1,0), (1,1,1), (1,1,2), (1,2,0), (1,2,1), (1,2,2)}
 Exercise
1) Find the Cartesian product of A and B where
A = {0, 1, 2} and B = {a, b, c}?
Using the same sets of A and B show that the Cartesian
product of B × A is not equal to the Cartesian product of
A×B
Set Operations
Section 2.2
Section Summary
Set Operations
Union
Intersection
Complementation
Difference
More on Set Cardinality
Set Identities
Proving Identities
Membership Tables
INTRODUCTION
Two, or more, sets can be combined in many different ways.
For instance, starting with the set of mathematics majors at
your school and the set of computer science majors at your
school,
We can form the set of students who are mathematics majors or
computer science majors,
The set of students who are joint majors in mathematics and
computer science,
The set of all students not majoring in mathematics, and so on.
As always there must be a universal set U. All sets are assumed
to be subsets of U.
Union
Definition: Let A and B be sets. The union of the sets
A and B, denoted by A ∪ B, is the set:

Example: What is {1,2,3} ∪ {3, 4, 5}?

Venn Diagram for A ∪ B

Solution: {1,2,3,4,5} U
A B
Intersection
Definition: The intersection of sets A and B, denoted
by A ∩ B, is

Note if the intersection is empty, then A and B are said

to be disjoint.
Example: What is? {1,2,3} ∩ {3,4,5} ?
Venn Diagram for A ∩B
Solution: {3}
U
Example:What is?
A B
{1,2,3} ∩ {4,5,6} ?
Solution: ∅
Complement
Definition: If A is a set, then the complement of the A
(with respect to U), denoted by Ā is the set U - A
Ā = {x ∈ U | x ∉ A}
(The complement of A is sometimes denoted by Ac .)
Example: If U is the positive integers less than 100,
what is the complement of {x | x > 70}
Solution: {x | x ≤ 70} Venn Diagram for Complement
U
Ā
A
Difference
Definition: Let A and B be sets. The difference of A
and B, denoted by A – B, is the set containing the
elements of A that are not in B. The difference of A
and B is also called the complement of B with respect
to A.
A – B = {x | x ∈ A  x ∉ B} = A ∩B

U Venn Diagram for A − B

A
B
The Cardinality of the Union of Two
Sets
• Inclusion-Exclusion
U
|A ∪ B| = |A| + | B| − |A ∩ B|
A B

Venn Diagram for A, B, A ∩ B, A ∪ B

• Example: Let A be the math majors in your class and B be the CS majors. To count
the number of students who are either math majors or CS majors, add the number of
math majors and the number of CS majors, and subtract the number of joint
CS/math majors.
• We will return to this principle in Chapter 6 and Chapter 8 where we will derive a
formula for the cardinality of the union of n sets, where n is a positive integer.
Review Questions
Example: U = {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10} A = {1,2,3,4,5}, B ={4,5,6,7,8}
1. A∪B
Solution: {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8}
2. A ∩ B
Solution: {4,5}
3. Ā
Solution: {0,6,7,8,9,10}
4.
Solution: {0,1,2,3,9,10}
5. A – B
Solution: {1,2,3}
6. B – A
Solution: {6,7,8}
Symmetric Difference (optional)
Definition: The symmetric difference of A and B,
denoted by ( is the set

Example:
U = {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
A = {1,2,3,4,5} B ={4,5,6,7,8} U
What is : A B
Solution: {1,2,3,6,7,8}

Venn Diagram
PROBLEMS
1) Let U = {a, b, c, d, e, f, g}, A = {a, b, c, d}, B = {a, b, c, d, e, f} and C = {a, b, g}
find , , A – B, B – C, A B, (A B) and B C.

2) If   1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, A  x   | x is prime  , B  x   | x is odd ,

C  x   | x is even . Find the following:

i) ABC  ii) ( A  B)  ( A  B) iii) ( A  B)  (C  B)

iv) A  (B  C) v) BC
Solution of Q2)
Given, , }

i)

[{}-A]
[{
Solution to Q2) Contd..
ii)

iii)

iv)

v)
Problems
3) Find the sets A and B if

 and
Set Identities
Identity laws

Domination laws

Idempotent laws

Complementation law

Continued on next slide 

Set Identities
Commutative laws

Associative laws

Distributive laws

Continued on next slide 

Set Identities
De Morgan’s laws

Absorption laws

Complement laws
Proving Set Identities
 Different ways to prove set identities:
1. Prove that each set (side of the identity) is a subset of
the other.
2. Use set builder notation and propositional logic.
3. Membership Tables: Verify that elements in the same
combination of sets always either belong or do not
belong to the same side of the identity. Use 1 to
indicate it is in the set and a 0 to indicate that it is not.
Proof of Second De Morgan Law
Example: Prove that
Solution: We prove this identity by showing that:

1) and

2)

Continued on next slide 

Proof of Second De Morgan Law
These steps show that:

Continued on next slide 

Proof of Second De Morgan Law
These steps show that:
Set-Builder Notation: Second De Morgan
Law
Associative law of Union
Associative law of Intersection
Distributive Law
Membership Table
Example: Construct a membership table to show that the distributive law
holds.

Solution:
A B C
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1
1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Computer Representation of Sets

There are various ways to represent sets using a computer. One

method is to store the elements of the set in an unordered
fashion.
However, if this is done, the operations of computing the
union, intersection, or difference of two sets would be time
consuming, because each of these operations would require a
large amount of searching for elements.
We will present a method for storing elements using an
arbitrary ordering of the elements of the universal set.
 This method of representing sets makes computing
combinations of sets easy
Contd…
Assume that the universal set U is finite (and of reasonable size
so that the number of
elements of U is not larger than the memory size of the
computer being used).
First, specify an
arbitrary ordering of the elements of U, for instance a1, a2, … ,
an.
Represent a subset A of U with the bit string of length n, where
the ith bit in this string is 1 if ai belongs to A and is 0 if ai does
not belong to A.
 Example 2.1 illustrates this technique.
Problem1
EXAMPLE 2.1:
 Let U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}, and the ordering of
elements of U has the elements in increasing order; that is,
ai = i. Answer the following,
i) What bit strings represent the subset of all odd integers
in U
Ans: O={1,3,5,79} , Bit String is 1010101010
ii) The subset of all even integers in U, and
Ans: E={2,4,6,8,10}, Bit String is 0101010101
iii) The subset of integers not exceeding 5 in U?
Ans: A={1,2,3,4,5}, Bit String is 1111100000
Problem2
EXAMPLE 2.2
 We have seen that the bit string for the set {1, 3, 5, 7,
9} (with universal set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}) is
10 1010 1010.
What is the bit string for the complement of this set?
Solution: Complement of 1010101010 is 0101010101
Problem3
EXAMPLE 1.3
 The bit strings for the sets {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} and {1, 3, 5, 7,
9} are 11 1110 0000 and 10 1010 1010, respectively. Use bit
strings to find the union and intersection of these sets.
Solution:
Applications of set
Example 1
Example 2:
A travel agent surveyed 100 people to find out how many of them
had visited the cities of Melbourne and Brisbane. Thirty-one
people had visited Melbourne, 26 people had been to Brisbane,
and 12 people had visited both cities. Draw a Venn diagram to
find the number of people who had visited:

a) Melbourne or Brisbane

b) Brisbane but not Melbourne

c) only one of the two cities

d) neither city.
Solution to example 2
Let M be the set of people who

had visited Melbourne,

and let B be the set of people

who had visited Brisbane.

 Let the universal set U be the

set of people surveyed

The information given in the

question can now be rewritten as

Contd..
a) Number visiting Melbourne or Brisbane = 19 + 14
+12 = 45.
b) Number visiting Brisbane only = 14.

c) Number visiting only one city = 19 + 14 = 33.

d) Number visiting neither city = 100 – 45 = 55.

Example 3
In a class there are 110 students, 40 likes basketball, 45 likes
football, 33 likes golf, 11 likes both basketball and football, 8
likes football and golf, 5 likes basketball and golf only. 4 like all
the three sports. Using the formula of cardinality and Venn
diagram find the following.
1) How many of them take at least one sport?
(24+5+4+7+4+30+20)= 94
2) How many does not take any of the sports?
110-(24+5+4+7+4+30+20)=16
Example 3 contd..
3) How may take exactly one sports?
24+30+20=74
4) How many takes exactly 2 sports?
7+5+4=16
5)How many likes foot ball and basketball only?

7
Example 4:
A car dealer has 160 new cars. 50 cars have automatic
transmission, 80 have the tilt steering and 30 have power
windows. 42 have both automatic transmission and tilt steering.
18 of them have both automatic transmission and power
windows. 15 cars have all 3 features. 65 cars have none of the
above mentioned features. Using Venn diagram find the
following:
Example 4 contd..
1) How many have tilt steering and power windows only?
15+5=20
2) How many have at least one of the features?
160-65=95
3) How many have exactly 2 of the features?
27+3+5=35
4) How many have exactly one of the features?

5+33+7=45
Exercises
1) Twenty-four people go on holidays. If 15 go swimming, 12 go fishing, and 6 do
neither, how many go swimming and fishing? Draw a Venn diagram and fill in the
number of people in all four regions.

2) In a certain school, there are 180 pupils in Year 7. One hundred and ten pupils
study French, 88 study German and 65 study Indonesian. Forty pupils study both
French and German, 38 study German and German only. Find the number of
pupils who study:
All three languages

Indonesian only

None of the languages

At least one language

Either one or two of the three languages.

Exercises Contd..
Exercises Contd..
5) In a certain school, there are 100 pupils in Grade 7. Thirty-
five pupils study French, 50 study German and 29 study
Indonesian. Seven pupils’ study both French and German
only, Six pupils study German and Indonesian only. 5 pupils
study all 3 languages. 12 pupils do not study any of the
language. Using Venn diagram, Find the number of pupils
who:

i. Study at least one language

ii. Study either one or two of the three languages.
iii. does not study French?
iv. Study French or German but not Indonesian?
v. Study both French and Indonesian only