revised 2019/08/20 at 22:40:49

Sacred Heart Junior College

Math and IT Department

PRE-COLLEGE MATHEMATICS (MATH0014)

Semester I, 2019 – 2020
Worksheet 2: Sets and Set Notation

Methods of Representing a Set

A set is a well-defined collection of distinct objects known as elements. An example of a set is the set
of the days of the week, whose elements are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday. We use capital letters to name sets. For example, we can use W to represent the set of the
days of the week. There are three methods that can be used to denote a set:
• Description
• Roster : elements of a set are listed

• Set-builder : a shorthand used to write sets, often sets with an infinite number of elements.
There are two types of sets:
• Finite: sets that have a fixed number of elements.
• Infinite: sets that have an uncountable number of elements.

1. Write a word description of the set

D = {Corozal, Orange Walk, Belize, Cayo, Stann Creek, Toledo}

2. Write a word description of the set

L = {a, b, c, d, e, f}

3. Express the following sets using the roster method.

(a) Set C is the set of Belize coins with a value of less than a dollar.

(b) Set M is the set of months beginning with the letter A.

(c) Set E is the set of months with exactly 31 days.

(d ) Set F is the set of months with at most 4 letters in their name.

(e) Set G is the set of letters in the word “elephant”.

(f ) Set H is the set of odd(even) numbers between 7 and 20.

The Empty Set

The empty set, also called the null set, is the set that contains no elements. The empty set is
represented by { } or ∅.

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 4. List the elements of the following sets:
(a) {x|x is a number greater than 10 and less than 4}

(b) {x|x is a square with exactly three sides}

5. Which one of the following is the empty set?

(a) {x|x is a number less than 3 or greater than 5}

(b) {x|x is a number less than 3 and greater than 5}

(c) nothing

(d ) {∅}

The Notations ∈ and ∈

/

The symbol ∈ is used to indicate that an object is an element of a set. The symbol ∈ is used to replace
the words “is an element of.” The symbol ∈ / is used to indicate that an object is not an element of a
set. The symbol ∈/ is used to replace the words “is not an element of.”

5. Determine whether each statement is true or false:

(a) r ∈ {a, b, c, . . . , z}

(b) 7 ∈
/ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

(c) {a} ∈ {a, b}

The Set of Natural Numbers

N = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, . . .}

6. Express each of the following sets using the roster method:

(a) Set A is the set of natural numbers less than 5.

(b) Set B is the set of natural numbers greater than or equal to 25.

(c) E = {x|x ∈ N and x is even}

7. Express each of the following sets using the roster method:

(a) Set A is the set of natural numbers less than or equal to 3.

(b) Set B is the set of natural numbers greater than 14.

(c) O = {x|x ∈ N and x is odd}

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Subset of a Set

Set A is a subset of set B, expressed as

A⊆B
if every element in set A is also an element in set B.

8. Write ⊆ or * in each blank to form a true statement:

(a) A = {1, 3, 5, 7} and B = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11}, so A B.

(b) A = {1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 11} and B = {1, 3, 5, 7}, so A B.

(c) A = {x|x is a letter in the word roof } and B = {x|x is a letter in the word proof },
so A B.

(d ) A = {x|x is a letter in the word proof } and A = {x|x is a letter in the word roof },
so A B.

Venn Diagrams

A universal set, symbolized by U , is a set that contains all the elements being considered in a given
discussion or problem. Two sets that have no elements in common are called disjoint sets. The
complement of a set A, symbolized by A0 , is the set of all elements in the universal set that are not in
A.
A0 = {x|x ∈ U and x ∈ / A}

9. Represent disjoint sets, equal sets, proper subsets in a Venn Diagram.

10. Let U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9} and A = {1, 3, 4, 7}. Find A0 .

11. Let U = {a, b, c, d, e} and A = {a, d}. Find A0 .

Union and Intersection of Sets

The intersection of sets A and B written A ∩ B is the set of elements common to both set A and set
B.
A ∩ B = {x|x ∈ A and x ∈ B}
The union of sets A and B written A ∪ B is the set of elements that are members of set A and set B
or of both sets.
A ∪ B = {x|x ∈ A or x ∈ B}

12. Find each of the following intersections: (a) {1, 3, 5, 7, 10} ∩ {6, 7, 10, 11}
(a) {7, 8, 9, 10, 11} ∩ {6, 8, 10, 12} (b) {1, 2, 3} ∩ {4, 5, 6, 7}
(b) {1, 3, 5, 7, 9} ∩ {2, 4, 6, 8} (c) {1, 2, 3} ∩ ∅
(c) {1, 3, 5, 7, 9} ∩ ∅
14. Find each of the following unions:
13. Find each of the following intersections: (a) {7, 8, 9, 10, 11} ∪ {6, 8, 10, 12}

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 (b) {1, 3, 5, 7, 9} ∪ {2, 4, 6, 8} 17. Given U = {a, b, c, d, e}, A = {b, c}, B =
{b, c, e}, find each of the following sets:
(c) {1, 3, 5, 7, 9} ∪ ∅
(a) (A ∪ B)0

15. Find each of the following unions: (b) A0 ∩ B 0

(a) {1, 3, 5, 7, 10} ∪ {6, 7, 10, 11} 18. Use a Venn Diagram to indicate each of the fol-
lowing regions:
(b) {1, 2, 3} ∪ {4, 5, 6, 7}
(a) A ∪ B
(c) {1, 2, 3} ∪ ∅
(b) (A ∪ B)0

16. Given U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}, A = (c) A ∩ B

{1, 3, 5, 7, 9}, B = {3, 7, 8, 10}, find each of the
following sets: (d ) (A ∩ B)0

(a) (A ∪ B)0 (e) A0 ∩ B

(b) A0 ∩ B 0 (f ) A ∪ B 0

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