MATHEMATICS IN THE MODERN WORLD

Lesson
3.2 Four Basic Concepts

Specific Objective

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:

1. Define what a set and its basic terminologies.
2. Differentiate two ways in describing sets.
3. Perform basic operations on set.
4. Define what a relation and a function is.
5. Translate relation and function into a diagram.
6. Name and apply the different properties of a relation
and function.
7. Identify the domain and range in a relation and
function.
8. Evaluate a function.
9. Define and perform a binary operation.

Introduction

In this module, it will be discussed the four basic concepts in mathematics such as
sets and its basic operation, the functions, relations and the binary operations.

Discussion:

I. SETS AND SUBSETS

A. The Language of Sets

Use of the word “set” as a formal mathematical term was introduced

in 1879 by Georg Cantor. For most mathematical purposes we can think of a set intuitively,
as Cantor did, simply as a collection of elements.

So, by definition:

A set is a collection of well-defined objects.

Illustration:

A set of counting numbers from 1 to 10.

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A set of an English alphabet from a to e.

A set of even numbers
A set of an integers

Note: A set is denoted with braces or curly brackets { } and label or name the set
by a capital letter such as A, B, C,…etc.

a. A set of counting numbers from 1 to 5.

A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 }

b. A set of English alphabet from a to d.

B = { a, b, c, d }

c. A set of all even positive integers.

C = { 2, 4, 6, 8, … }

d. A set of an integers.
D = { …, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, …}

Now, if S is a set, the notation x  S means that x is an element of S. The notation

x  S means that x is not an element of S.

So, what is an element of a set?

Element of a set
Each member of the set is called an element and the  notation
means that an item belongs to a set.

Illustration:

Say A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 }
1  A; 3  A; 5  A
Is 6 is an element of set A? Since in a given set A above, we could not see six as
an element of set A, thus we could say that;

6 is not an element of set A or

6A

Note: Each element is a set should be separated by comma.

Terminologies of Sets

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1. Unit Set

Unit set is a set that contains only one element.

Illustration:
A = { 1 }; B = { c }; C = { banana }

2. Empty set or Null set; 

Empty or null set is a set that has no element.

Illustration:
A={ }
A set of seven yellow carabaos

3. Finite set

A finite set is a set that the elements in a given set is countable.

Illustration:
A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 }
B = { a, b, c, d }

4. Infinite set

An infinite set is a set that elements in a given set has no end or not
countable.
Illustration:

A set of counting numbers

A = { …-2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, … }

5. Cardinal Number; n

Cardinal number are numbers that used to measure the number of

elements in a given set. It is just similar in counting the total number of element in a set.

Illustration:
A = { 2, 4, 6, 8 } n=4
B = { a, c, e } n=3

6. Equal set

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Two sets, say A and B, are said to be equal if and only if they have
equal number of cardinality and the element/s are identical. There is a 1 -1
correspondence.

Illustration:
A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5} B = { 3, 5, 2, 4, 1}
7. Equivalent set

Two sets, say A and B, are said to be equivalent if and only if they
have the exact number of element. There is a 1 – 1 correspondence.

Illustration:
A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 } B = { a, b, c, d, e }

8. Universal set

The universal set U is the set of all elements under discussion.

Illustration:

A set of an English alphabet

U = {a, b, c, d, …, z}

9. Joint Sets

Two sets, say A and B, are said to be joint sets if and only if they
have common element/s.

A = { 1, 2, 3} B = { 2, 4, 6 }

Here, sets A and B are joint set since they have common element
such as 2.

10. Disjoint Sets

Two sets, say A and B, are said to be disjoint if and

only if they are mutually exclusive or if they don’t have common element/s.

A = { 1, 2, 3} B = { 4, 6, 8 }

B. Two ways of Describing a Set

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1. Roster or Tabular Method

It is done by listing or tabulating the elements of the set.

2. Rule or Set-builder Method

It is done by stating or describing the common characteristics of the

elements of the set. We use the notation A = { x / x … }

Illustration:

a. A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 }
A = {x | x is a counting number from 1 to 5}
A = { x | x  N, x < 6}

b. B = { a, b, c, d, …, z }
B = {x | x  English alphabet}
B = { x | x is an English alphabet}

C. Subsets

A subset, A  B, means that every element of A is also an element

of B.

If x  A, then x  B.
In particular, every set is a subset of itself, A  A.

A subset is called a proper subset, A is a proper subset

of B, if A  B and there is at least one element of B that is not in A:

If x  A, then x  B and there is an element b such that b 

B and b  A.

NOTE1: The empty set. or {} has no elements and is a subset of every set
for every set A, A  A.

The number of subsets of a given set is given by 2n , where n is the

number of elements of the given set.

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Illustration:
How many subsets are there in a set

A = {1, 2, 3 }? List down all the subsets of set A. Number of subsets = 2n = 23 =

8 subsets

With one element

{1} ; {2} ; {3}

With two elements

{ 1, 2 } ; { 1, 3 }; { 2, 3 }

With three elements

{ 1, 2, 3 }

With no elements
{ }

D. Ordered Pair

Given elements a and b, the symbol (a, b) denotes the ordered pair
consisting of a and b together with the specification that “a” is the first element of the
pair and “b” is the second element. Two ordered pairs (a,b) and (c,d) are equal iff a = c
and b = d. Symbolically;

(a, b) = (c, d) means that a = c and b = d

Illustration:

a) If (a, b) = (3, 2), what would be the value of a and b.

Here, by definition that two ordered pairs (a,b) and (c,d) are equal iff a = c
and b = d.
Hence, a = 3 and b = 2.

b) Find x and y if (4x + 3, y) = (3x + 5, – 2).

Solution:

Since (4x + 3, y) = (3x + 5, – 2), so

4x + 3 = 3x + 5
Solving for x, we got x = 2 and obviously y = – 2.

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E. OPERATION ON SETS

Sets can be combined in a number of different ways to produce another set. Here
are the basic operations on sets.

1. Union of Sets

The union of sets A and B, denoted by A  B , is the set defined as:

A  B = { x | x  A or x  B }

Example 1: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {4, 5} , then

A  B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} .

Example 2: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {1, 2, 4, 5} , then

A  B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} .

Note that elements are not repeated in a set.

2. Intersection of Sets

The intersection of sets A and B, denoted by A  B , is the set defined as :

A  B = { x | x  A and x  B }

Example 1: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {1, 2, 4, 5}

then A  B = {1, 2} .

Example 2: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {4, 5}

then A  B = 

3. Difference of Sets

The difference of sets A from B , denoted by A - B , is the set

defined as

A - B = { x | x  A and x  B }

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Example 1: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {1, 2, 4, 5}

then A - B = {3} .

Example 2: If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {4, 5} ,

then A - B = {1, 2, 3} .

Example : 3 If A = {a, b, c, d } and B = {a, c, e } ,

then A - B = {b, d } .

Note that in general A - B  B - A

4. Compliment of Set

For a set A, the difference U - A , where U is the universe, is called

the complement of A and it is denoted by Ac . Thus Ac is the set of
everything that is not in A.

Example: Let U = { a, e, i, o, u } and A = { a, e }

then Ac = { i, o u }

5. Cartesian Product

Given sets A and B, the Cartesian product of A and B, denoted by A x B

and read as “A cross B”, is the set of all ordered pair (a,b) where a is in A and b is
in B. Symbolically:
A x B = {(a, b) | a  A and b  B}

Note that A x B is not equal to B x A.

Illustration:

If A = { 1, 2} and B = {a, b}, what is A x B?

A x B = {(1,a), (1, b), (2, a), (2, b)}. How many elements in a A x B?

Example 1: Let A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {a, b}. Then

A x B = {(1, a), (1, b), (2, a), (2, b), (3, a), (3, b)} .

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Example 2: For the same A and B as in Example 1,

B x A = {(a, 1), (a, 2), (a, 3), (b, 1), (b, 2), (b, 3)} .

Venn Diagram

A Venn diagram is an illustration of the relationships between and among sets,

groups of objects that share something in common. Usually, Venn diagrams are used to
depict set intersections (denoted by an upside-down letter U). This type of diagram is used in
scientific and engineering presentations, in theoretical mathematics, in computer applications,
and in statistics.

Venn Diagram on Sets Operation

A. Union of Sets B. Intersection of Sets

C. Difference of Sets D. Complement

Self- Learning Activity

Directions: Do as indicated.
1. Tell whether the following is true or false:
1. Empty set is also called a unit set.
2. {  } is an empty set.

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3. A set with two elements has 2 subsets.

4. Equivalent set is also an equal set.
5. Counting number is an example of a finite set.

2. List down all the subsets of a set

A = { a, b, c, d }.

3. If A = {1,2,3} and B={i,o,u}, find A x B.

4. Find x and y if (x – y, x + y) = (6, 10)

5. Let U = {{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9}; A = {1, 3, 5, 7}, B = {2, 4, 6, 8} and C = {3, 6, 9,

0}. Find the following:

a) A  B b) B  C c) A’  B’ d) (A  B)’

6. A group of students were asked whether they are like basketball, softball, or both. If 456
like basketball, 384 like softball, and 252 like both games, how many students were there?

7. A survey of 100 fourth year high school students revealed that 42 like mathematics, 62
like Filipino, 44 like History, 22 like both Math and History, 25 like both Math and Filipino,
17 like Filipino and History, and 10 like all the three subjects. How many like Math only?
Filipino only? History only? How many did not like any of the three subjects?

II. FUNCTIONS AND RELATIONS

A. THE LANGUAGE OF RELATIONS AND FUNCTIONS

Sometimes, we asked ourselves that, “What is my relationship with other people,

with the environment and most of all, with the God?”

How strong is your relationship with your parents, brother, sister, friends and even
your teacher? Are we related by blood? Are we related through sharing a common ideas
and ideology? Also, we talked about relationship between student and teacher, a manager
and the subordinates or even people who share common religion, ethnic or culture.

How are we going to relate the word relation in Mathematics? The objects of
mathematics may be related in various ways. A set “A” may be said to be related to a set
“B” if A is a subset of B, or if A is not a subset of B, or if A and B have at least one element
in common. A number x may be said to be related to a number y if x < y, or if x is a factor
of y, or if x2 + y2 = 1.
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