Question 1:
Which of the following are sets? Justify our answer.
(i) The collection of all months of a year beginning with the letter J.
(ii) The collection of ten most talented writers of India.
(iii) A team of eleven best-cricket batsmen of the world.
(iv) The collection of all boys in your class.
(v) The collection of all natural numbers less than 100.
(vi) A collection of novels written by the writer Munshi Prem Chand.
(vii) The collection of all even integers.
(viii) The collection of questions in this Chapter.
(ix) A collection of most dangerous animals of the world.
Answer
Discussion
(i) The collection of all months of a year beginning with the letter J is a well-defined collection of objects because
one can definitely identify a month that belongs to this collection.
Hence, this collection is a set.
(ii) The collection of ten most talented writers of India is not a well-defined collection because the criteria for
determining a writer’s talent may vary from person to person.
Hence, this collection is not a set.
(iii) A team of eleven best cricket batsmen of the world is not a well-defined collection because the criteria for
determining a batsman’s talent may vary from person to person.
Hence, this collection is not a set.
(iv) The collection of all boys in your class is a well-defined collection because you can definitely identify a boy who
belongs to this collection.
Hence, this collection is a set.
(v) The collection of all natural numbers less than 100 is a well-defined collection because one can definitely
identify a number that belongs to this collection.
Hence, this collection is a set.
(vi) A collection of novels written by the writer Munshi Prem Chand is a well-defined collection because one can
definitely identify a book that belongs to this collection.
Hence, this collection is a set.
(vii) The collection of all even integers is a well-defined collection because one can definitely identify an even
integer that belongs to this collection.
Hence, this collection is a set.
(viii) The collection of questions in this chapter is a well-defined collection because one can definitely identify a
question that belongs to this chapter.
Hence, this collection is a set.
(ix) The collection of most dangerous animals of the world is not a well-defined collection because the criteria for
determining the dangerousness of an animal can vary from person to person.
Hence, this collection is not a set.
Basic Concepts
A set is a well-defined collection of objects. Sets are usually represented by capital letters A, B, C, D, X,
Y, Z, etc.
The objects inside a set are called elements or members of a set. They are denoted by small letters a, b,
c, d, x, y, z, etc.
If a is an element of a set A, then we say that “a belongs to A” and mathematically we write it as “a A”;
if b is not an element of A, then we write “b A”. E.g. If Z is a set of all integers, then 5 Z but 6 Z.
Representation of Sets
There are two methods of representing a set.
o Roster or tabular form: In the roster form, all the elements of a set are listed in such a
manner that different elements are separated by commas and enclosed within braces { }.
A set of all integers greater than 5 and less than 9 will be represented in roster form as {6, 7,
8}. However, it must be noted that in roster form, the order in which the elements are listed is
immaterial. Hence, the set {6, 7, 8} can also be written as {7, 6, 8}.
o Set-builder form: In set-builder representation of a set,all the elements of the set have a
single common property that is exclusive to the elements of the set i.e., no other element outside
the set has that property.
We have learnt how to write a set of all integers greater than 5 and less than 9 in roster form.
Now let us understand how we write the same set in set-builder form. Let us denote this set by L.
L = {x : x is an integer greater than 5 and less than 9}
Hence, in set-builder form, we describe an element of a set by a symbol x (though we may use
any other small letter), which is followed by a colon (:). After the colon, we describe the
characteristic property possessed by all the elements of that set.
Special Cases of Sets
A set that does not contain any element is called an empty set or a null set or a void set.
o E.g., A = {x : x > 2, where x is an even prime number}
Now, as you can see, no value of x will satisfy the given property as 2 is the only even prime
number and no even number greater than 2 will be a prime number. Hence, A will be an empty
set as it has no elements.
o Note that an empty set is denoted by the symbol Φ or { }.
A set that contains only one element is called a singleton set. E.g., {3} is a singleton set.
A set that is empty or consists of a definite number of elements is called finite. Else, the set is called
infinite.
o A set B = {1, 3, 5} has 3 elements i.e., 1, 3 and 5. Hence, the number of elements in the set is
definite and B is a finite set. However, if we take a set V = {all stars in universe}, then the
number of elements in set V is not defined and it is an infinite set.
o You must note that in case we have to write an infinite set in roster form, we cannot write all the
elements in braces as the number of elements in the set is not defined. Hence, we write the first
few elements followed by three dots i.e., ellipses.
E.g., If X is a set of all natural numbers, then X = {1, 2, 3, 4…}
Solved Examples
Example 1:
Write the roster form for the set A = {x : x is a letter in the word AEROPLANE which has vowels just before and
after it}.
Solution:
In the word AEROPLANE, the vowels are A, E and O.
Now, the third letter i.e., R has a vowel i.e., E just before it and a vowel i.e., O just after it. Hence, it satisfies the
given condition.
Now, look at letter N, which has vowel i.e., A just before it and a vowel i.e., E just after it. Hence, this letter also
satisfies the given condition.
Thus, the set can be written in roster form as
A = {R, N}
Example 2:
State whether each of the following sets is finite or infinite:
1. Set of multiples of 7
2. Set of lines passing through the point (1,1) as well as the origin
Solution:
1. The multiples of 7 are 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 …
Hence, the number of elements in set A = {7, 14, 21, 28, 35…} is not definite. Hence, it is an infinite set.
2. The two given points are (1,1) and (0,0) and we know that there is one and only one line passing through
two fixed points. Hence, there will be only one line that passes through the given points.
Thus, the set contains only one element. Hence, it is a finite set.
Use the following information to answer the next question.
The sets A, B, C, D, and E are defined as
A = {p, q, p, p, r, q, r, p, q, r}
B = {x: x is a vowel in the word EDUCATION}
C = {16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100}
D = {x: x is a positive integer and 2x2 + 7x − 15 = 0}
E = {x: x is a vowel in the English alphabet}
F=Φ
G = {r, p, r, r, p, q}
H = {x: x is a two-digit perfect square}
Which of the following relations is correct?
