Set Theory

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Understanding set theory helps people to :

 see things in terms of systems

 organize things into groups

 begin to understand logic

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 Key Mathematicians
These mathematicians influenced the
development of set theory and logic:

 Georg Cantor
 John Venn

 George Boole

 Augustus DeMorgan

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 Georg Cantor 1845 -1918

 developed set theory

 set theory was not
initially accepted
because it was
radically different
 set theory today is
widely accepted and
is used in many areas
of mathematics

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 Cantor
 the concept of infinity was expanded by
Cantor’s set theory
 Cantor proved there are “levels of infinity”
 an infinitude of integers initially ending with ω
or ℵ0
 an infinitude of real numbers exist between 1
and 2;
 there are more real numbers than there are
integers…

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 John Venn 1834-1923

 studied and taught logic

and probability theory

 articulated Boole’s
algebra of logic

 devised a simple way to

diagram set operations
(Venn Diagrams)

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 George Boole 1815-1864
 self-taught mathematician
with an interest in logic

 developed an algebra of
logic (Boolean Algebra)

 featured the operators

– and
– or
– not
– nor (exclusive or)

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Augustus De Morgan 1806-1871

 developed two laws of

negation
 interested, like other
mathematicians, in using
mathematics to
demonstrate logic
 furthered Boole’s work of
incorporating logic and
mathematics
 formally stated the laws of
set theory

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 Basic Set Theory Definitions
 A set is a collection of elements
 An element is an object contained in a set
 If every element of Set A is also contained in
Set B, then Set A is a subset of Set B
– A is a proper subset of B if B has more elements
than A does
 The universal set contains all of the elements
relevant to a given discussion

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 Set Theory Symbol
Symbol Meaning
Upper case designates set name
Lower case designates set elements
{ } enclose elements in set
∈ or ∉ is (or is not) an element of
⊆ is a subset of (includes equal sets)
⊂ is a proper subset of
⊄ is not a subset of
⊃ is a superset of
| or : such that (if a condition is true)
| | the cardinality of a set

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 Set Theory Symbol
Symbol Meaning
∩ intersection
∪ union
A or A the compliment of A”; all elements not in A
A–B all elements in A but not in B
n(A) the number of elements in A
A=B (A is equal to B )A and B contain the same
A≅B (A is equivalent to B)

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 Set Notation: Defining Sets
 a set is a collection of objects

 sets can be defined two ways:

– by listing each element
– by defining the rules for membership

 Examples:
– A = {2,4,6,8,10}
– A = {x | x is a positive even integer <12}

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 Set Notation Elements
 an element is a member of a set
 notation: ∈ means “is an element of”
∉ means “is not an element of”
 Examples:

– A = {1, 2, 3, 4}
1∈A 6∉A
2∈A z∉A
– B = {x | x is an even number ≤ 10}
2∈B 9∉B
4∈B z∉B
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 Subsets
 a subset exists when a set’s members are also
contained in another set
 notation:

⊆ means “is a subset of”

⊂ means “is a proper subset of”

⊄ means “is not a subset of”

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 Subset Relationships
 A = {x | x is a positive integer ≤ 8}
set A contains: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
 B = {x | x is a positive even integer < 10}
set B contains: 2, 4, 6, 8
 C = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}
set C contains: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10
 Subset Relationships
A⊆A A⊄B A⊄C
B⊂A B⊆B B⊂C
C⊄A C⊄B C⊆C

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 Set Equality
 Two sets are equal if and only if they contain precisely
the same elements.
 The order in which the elements are listed is
unimportant.
 Elements may be repeated in set definitions without
increasing the size of the sets.
 Examples:
A = {1, 2, 3, 4} B = {1, 4, 2, 3}
A ⊂ B and B ⊂ A; therefore, A = B and B = A
A = {1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2} B = {1, 2, 3, 4}
A ⊂ B and B ⊂ A; therefore, A = B and B = A
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 Cardinality of Sets
 Cardinality refers to the number of
elements in a set
 A finite set has a countable number of
elements
 An infinite set has at least as many
elements as the set of natural numbers
 notation: |A| represents the cardinality of Set A

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 Finite Set Cardinality
Set Definition Cardinality

A = {x | x is a lower case letter} |A| = 26

B = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} |B| = 6

C = {x | x is an even number < 10} |C|= 4

D = {x | x is an even number ≤ 10} |D| = 5

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 Infinite Set Cardinality
Set Definition Cardinality

A = {1, 2, 3, …} |A| = ℵ 0

B = {x | x is a point on a line} |B| = ℵ 0

C = {x| x is a point in a plane} |C| = ℵ1

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 Universal Sets
 The universal set is the set of all things pertinent
to a given discussion
and is designated by the symbol U
Example:
U = {all students at IUPUI}
Some Subsets:
A = {all Computer Technology students}
B = {freshmen students}
C = {sophomore students}
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 The Empty Set
 Any set that contains no elements is called the
empty set
 the empty set is a subset of every set including
itself
 notation: { } or φ

Examples ~ both A and B are empty

A = {x | x is a Chevrolet Mustang}
B = {x | x is a positive number < 0}
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 The Power Set ( P )
 The power set is the set of all subsets that can
be created from a given set
 The cardinality of the power set is 2 to the
power of the given set’s cardinality
 notation: P (set name)
Example:
A = {a, b, c} where |A| = 3
P (A) = {{a, b}, {a, c}, {b, c}, {a}, {b}, {c}, A, φ}
and |P (A)| = 8
In general, if |A| = n, then |P (A) | = 2n
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 Special Sets
 Z represents the set of integers
– Z+ is the set of positive integers and
– Z- is the set of negative integers

 N represents the set of natural numbers

 ℝ represents the set of real numbers

 Q represents the set of rational numbers

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 Venn Diagrams
 Venn diagrams show relationships between
sets and their elements
Sets A & B

Universal Set

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 Example 1
Set Definition Elements
A = {x | x ε Z+ and x ≤ 8} 12345678
B = {x | x ε Z+; x is even and ≤ 10} 2 4 6 8 10
A⊄B
B⊄A

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 Example 2
Set Definition Elements
A = {x | x ε Z+ and x ≤ 9} 123456789
B = {x | x ε Z+ ; x is even and ≤ 8} 2 4 6 8

A⊄B
B⊂A
A⊃B

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 Example 3
Set Definition Elements
A = {x | x ε Z+ ; x is even and ≤ 10} 2 4 6 8 10
B = x ε Z+ ; x is odd and x ≤ 10 } 13579

A⊄B
B⊄A

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 Example 4
Set Definition
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
A = {1, 2, 6, 7}
B = {2, 3, 4, 7}
C = {4, 5, 6, 7}

A = {1, 2, 6, 7}

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 Example 5
Set Definition
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}

A = {1, 2, 6, 7}
B = {2, 3, 4, 7}
C = {4, 5, 6, 7}

B = {2, 3, 4, 7}

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 Example 6
Set Definition
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}

A = {1, 2, 6, 7}
B = {2, 3, 4, 7}
C = {4, 5, 6, 7}

C = {4, 5, 6, 7}

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 Operations On Sets Example
 If U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
 A = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}

 B = (1, 3, 6, 7, 8}

 C = {3, 7}

(a) Illustrate the sets U, A, B and C in a Venn diagram, marking all the
elements in the appropriate places.
(b) Using your Venn diagram, list the elements in each of the following sets:
 A ∩ B = {6, 8}

 A ∪ B = {1,2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10}

 A ′ = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}

 B′ = {2, 4, 5, 9, 10}

 B ∩ A ′ = {1, 3, 7}

 B ∩ C ′ = {1, 6, 8}

 A – B = {2, 4, 10}

 A Δ B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10}
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 Some Properties
 A ⊆ A∪B and B ⊆ A∪B
 A∩B ⊆ A and A∩B ⊆ B

 |A∪B| = |A| + |B| - |A∩B|

 A⊆B ⇒ Bc⊆Ac

 A B = A∩Bc

 If A∩B = Φ then we say ‘A’ and ‘B’

are disjoint.
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 Algebra of Sets
 Idempotent laws
–A ∪ A = A
–A ∩ A = A
 Associative laws

–(A ∪ B) ∪ C = A ∪ (B ∪ C)
–(A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ (B ∩ C)

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 Algebra of Sets ctd…
 Commutative laws
–A ∪ B = B ∪ A
–A ∩ B = B ∩ A
 Distributive laws

–A ∪ (B ∩ C) = (A ∪ B) ∩ (A ∪ C)
–A ∩ (B ∪ C) = (A ∩ B) ∪ (A ∩ C)

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 Algebra of Sets ctd…
 Identity laws
–A ∪ Φ = A
–A ∩ U = A
–A ∪ U = U
–A ∩ Φ = Φ
 Involution laws

–(Ac) c = A
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 Algebra of Sets ctd…
 Complement laws
–A ∪ A c = U
–A ∩ A c = Φ
–U c = Φ
– Φc = U

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 Algebra of Sets ctd…
 De Morgan’s laws
–(A ∪ B) c = Ac ∩ Bc
–(A ∩ B) c = Ac ∪ Bc
 Note: Compare these De Morgan’s
laws with the De Morgan’s laws that
you find in logic and see the
similarity.
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 Proofs (example)
 Basically there are two approaches in
proving above mentioned laws and any
other set relationship :
1_ Algebraic method
2_ Using Venn diagrams
 For example lets discuss how to prove
– (A ∪ B) c = Ac ∩ B c

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1_Proofs Using Algebraic Method
x∈(A∪B)c ⇒ x∉A∪B
⇒ x∉A ∧ x∉B
⇒ x∈Ac ∧ x∈Bc
⇒ x∈Ac∩Bc
⇒ (A∪B)c ⊆ Ac∩Bc (α)

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 Proofs Using Algebraic Method
ctd…
x∈Ac∩Bc ⇒ x∈Ac ∧ x∈Bc
⇒ x∉A ∧ x∉B
⇒ x∉A∪B
⇒ x∈(A∪B)c
⇒ Ac∩Bc ⊆ (A∪B)c (β)

⇒ (A∪B)c = Ac∩Bc (α) ∧ (β)

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2_ Proofs Using Venn Diagrams
A∪ B

4
A
1 B
2 3

 Note that these indicated numbers are not the

actual members of each set. They are region
numbers.
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Proofs Using Venn Diagrams ctd…

U : 1, 2, 3, 4
A : 1, 2 (i.e. The region for ‘A’ is 1 and 2)
B : 2, 3
∴ A∪B : 1, 2, 3
∴ (A∪B)c : 4 (α)

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Proofs Using Venn Diagrams ctd…

Ac : 3, 4
Bc : 1, 4
∴ Ac∩Bc : 4 (β)

⇒ (A∪B)c = Ac∩Bc (α) ∧ (β)

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 Indiana University Trustees
http://math.comsci.us/sets/index.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0126820/start.html

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N.N.M

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