Set Theory
German mathematician G. Cantor introduced the concept of
sets. He had defined a set as a collection of definite and
distinguishable objects selected by the means of certain rules or
description.
Set theory forms the basis of several other fields of study like
counting theory, relations, graph theory and finite state machines.
Set
- is an unordered collection of different elements. A set can be
written explicitly by listing its elements using set bracket. If the
order of the elements is changed or any element of a set is repeated,
it does not make any changes in the set.
Example of Sets:
A set of all positive integers
A set of all the planets in the solar system
A set of all the states in India
A set of all the lowercase letters of the alphabet
Representation of a Set
1. Roster or Tabular Form 2. Set Builder Notation
Roster or Tabular Form
- is represented by listing all the elements comprising it. The
elements are enclosed within braces and separated by commas.
Example 1: Set of vowels in English alphabet, A= {a, e, i, o, u}
Example 2: Set of odd numbers less than 10, B= {1,3,5,7,9}
Set Builder Notation
- is defined by specifying a property that elements of the set
have in common. The set is described as A={x:p(x)}
Example 1: The set {a,e,i,o,u} is written as
A={x:x is a vowel in English alphabet}
Example 2 : The set {1,3,5,7,9} is written as
B={x:1 ≤ x < 10 and (x%2)≠0}
If an element x is a member of any set S, it is denoted by x ∈ S and if
an element y is not a member of set S, it is denoted by y ∉ S.
Example : If S={1,1.2,1.7,2},1∈S but 1.5∉S
Some Important Notation in Sets
N − the set of all natural numbers = {1,2,3,4,.....}
Z − the set of all integers = {.....,−3,−2,−1,0,1,2,3,.....}
Z+ − the set of all positive integers
Q − the set of all rational numbers
R − the set of all real numbers
W − the set of all whole numbers
Cardinality of a Set
Cardinality of a set S, denoted by |S|, is the number of elements of
the set. The number is also referred as the cardinal number. If a set
has an infinite number of elements, its cardinality is ∞.
Example − |{1,4,3,5}|=4,|{1,2,3,4,5,…}|=∞
If there are two sets X and Y,
|X|=|Y| denotes two sets X and Y having same cardinality. It
occurs when the number of elements in X is exactly equal to the
number of elements in Y. In this case, there exists a bijective
function „f‟ from X to Y.
|X|≤|Y| denotes that set X‟s cardinality is less than or equal to
set Y‟s cardinality. It occurs when number of elements in X is less
than or equal to that of Y. Here, there exists an injective
function „f‟ from X to Y.
|X|<|Y| denotes that set X‟s cardinality is less than set Y‟s
cardinality. It occurs when number of elements in X is less than
that of Y. Here, the function „f‟ from X to Y is injective function
but not bijective.
If |X|≤|Y| and |X|≥|Y| then |X|=|Y|. The sets X and Y are
commonly referred as equivalent sets.
Types of Sets
Sets can be classified into many types. Some of which are finite,
infinite, subset, universal, proper, singleton set, etc.
1. Finite Set
- is a set which contains a definite number of elements
Ex: S = {x | x ∈ N and 70 > x > 50}
2. Infinite Set
- is set which contains infinite number of elements is called an
infinite set.
Ex: S = { x | x ∈ N and x > 10 }
3. Subset
A set X is a subset of set Y (Written as X ⊆ Y) if every element
of X is an element of set Y.
Ex: Let, X = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} and Y = {1, 2}. Here set Y is a subset
of set X as all the elements of set Y is in set X. Hence, we can write Y
⊆ X.
Ex: Let, X = {1, 2, 3} and Y = {1, 2, 3}. Here set Y is a subset (Not
a proper subset) of set X as all the elements of set Y is in set X.
Hence, we can write Y ⊆ X.
4. Proper Subset
The term “proper subset” can be defined as “subset of but not equal
to”. A Set X is a proper subset of set Y (Written as X ⊂ Y) if every
element of X is an element of set Y and |X| < |Y|.
Ex: Let, X={1,2,3,4,5,6} and Y = {1,2}. Here set Y ⊂ X since all
elements in Y are contained in X too and X has at least one element is
more than set Y.
5. Universal Set
It is a collection of all elements in a particular context or application.
All the sets in that context or application are essentially subsets of
this universal set. Universal sets are represented as U.
Ex: We may define U as the set of all animals on earth. In this
case, set of all mammals is a subset of U, set of all fishes is a subset
of U, set of all insects is a subset of U, and so on.
6. Empty Set or Null Set
An empty set contains no elements. It is denoted by ∅. As the number
of elements in an empty set is finite, empty set is a finite set. The
cardinality of empty set or null set is zero.
Ex: S = { x | x ∈ N and 7 < x < 8} = ∅
7. Singleton Set or Unit Set
Singleton set or unit set contains only one element. A singleton set is
denoted by {s}.
Ex: S = { x | x ∈ N, 7 < x < 9 } = {8}
8. Equal Set
If two sets contain the same elements they are said to be equal.
Ex: If A={1,2,6} and B={6,1,2}, they are equal as every element of
set A is an element of set B and every element of set B is an element
of set A.
9. Equivalent Set
If the cardinalities of two sets are same, they are called equivalent
sets.
Ex: If A = {1,2,6} and B = {16,17,22}, they are equivalent as
cardinality of A is equal to the cardinality of B. i.e. |A|= |B| =3
10. Overlapping Set
Two sets that have at least one common element are called overlapping
sets.
In case of overlapping sets
n (A∪B) = n(A) + n(B) − n(A∩B)
n (A∪B) = n(A − B) + n(B−A) + n(A∩B)
n (A) = n(A − B) + n(A∩B)
n (B) = n(B − A) + n(A∩B)
Ex: Let, A = {1, 2 ,6} and B={6 ,12 ,42 }. There is a common
element “6”; hence these sets are overlapping sets.
11. Disjoint Set
Two sets A and B are called disjoint sets if they do not have even one
element in common. Therefore, disjoint sets have the following
properties
n(A∩B) = ∅
n(A∪B) = n(A) + n(B)
Ex: Let, A = {1 ,2 ,6} and B = { 7, 9, 14}, there is not a single
common element, hence these sets are overlapping sets.
