Set Theory

Set Theory is a branch of mathematical logic where we learn sets and their

properties. A set is a collection of objects or groups of objects. These

objects are often called elements or members of a set. For example, a

group of players in a cricket team is a set.

Since the number of players in a cricket team could be only 11 at a time,

thus we can say, this set is a finite set. Another example of a finite set is a

set of English vowels. But there are many sets that have infinite

members such as a set of natural numbers, a set of whole numbers, set

of real numbers, set of imaginary numbers, etc.

Set Theory Origin

Georg Cantor (1845-1918), a German mathematician, initiated the concept

‘Theory of sets’ or ‘Set Theory’. While working on “Problems on

Trigonometric Series”, he encountered sets, that have become one of the

most fundamental concepts in mathematics. Without understanding sets, it

will be difficult to explain the other concepts such as relations, functions,

sequences, probability, geometry, etc.

As we have already learned in the introduction, set is a well-defined

collection of objects or people. Sets can be related to many real-life

examples, such as the number of rivers in India, number of colours in

a rainbow, etc.

Example

To understand sets, consider a practical scenario. While going to school

from home, Nivy decided to note down the names of restaurants which

come in between. The list of the restaurants, in the order they came, was:

a, b, c, d, .......

The above-mentioned list is a collection of objects. Also, it is well-defined.

By well-defined, it is meant that anyone should be able to tell whether the

object belongs to the particular collection or not.

The objects in a set are referred to as elements of the set. A set can have

finite or infinite elements.

Sets can be represented in two ways:

(1) Roster Form

In roster form, all the elements of the set are listed, separated by commas

and enclosed between curly braces { }.

Example: If set represents all the leap years between the year 1995 and

2015, then it would be described using Roster form as:

A ={1996,2000,2004,2008,2012}

Now, the elements inside the braces are written in ascending order. This

could be descending order or any random order. As discussed before, the

order doesn’t matter for a set represented in the Roster Form.

(ii) Set Builder Form

In set builder form, all the elements have a common property. This

property is not applicable to the objects that do not belong to the set.

Example: If set S has all the elements which are even prime numbers, it is

represented as:

S={ x: x is an even prime number}

where ‘x’ is a symbolic representation that is used to describe the element.

‘:’ means ‘such that’

So, S = { x:x is an even prime number } is read as ‘the set of all x such that x

is an even prime number’. The roster form for this set S would be S = 2. This

set contains only one element. Such sets are called singleton/unit sets.

Another Example:

F = {p: p is a set of two-digit perfect square numbers}

How?

F = {16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81}

We can see, in the above example, 16 is a square of 4, 25 is square of 5, 36 is

square of 6, 49 is square of 7, 64 is square of 8 and 81 is a square of 9}.

Even though, 4, 9, 121, etc., are also perfect squares, but they are not

elements of the set F, because the it is limited to only two-digit perfect

square.

IV. Types of Sets

The sets are further categorised into different types, based on elements or

types of elements. These different types of sets in basic set theory are:

 Finite set: The number of elements is finite

 Infinite set: The number of elements are infinite

 Empty set: It has no elements

 Singleton set: It has one only element

 Equivalent set: Two sets are equivalent if they have same number of

elements

 Power set: A set of every possible subset.

 Universal set: Any set that contains all the sets under consideration.

 Subset: When all the elements of set A belong to set B, then A is

subset of B

Set Theory Symbols

There are several symbols that are adopted for common sets. They are
given in the table below:
Table 1: Symbols denoting common sets
Symbol Corresponding Set
Represents the set of all Natural numbers i.e. all the positive integers.
N This can also be represented by Z+.
Examples: 9, 13, 906, 607, etc.
Represents the set of all integers
The symbol is derived from the German word Zahl, which means number.
Z
Positive and negative integers are denoted by Z+ and Z– respectively.
Examples: -12, 0, 23045, etc.
Represents the set of Rational numbers
The symbol is derived from the word Quotient. It is defined as the quotient of
two integers (with non-zero denominator)
Q
Positive and negative rational numbers are denoted by Q+ and Q–
respectively.
Examples: 13/9. -6/7, 14/3, etc.
Represents the Real numbers i.e. all the numbers located on the number line.
R Positive and negative real numbers are denoted by R+ and R– respectively.
Examples: 4.3, π, 4√ 3, etc.
Represents the set of Complex numbers.
C
Examples: 4 + 3i, i, etc.
Other Notations

Symbol Symbol Name

Set Theory Formulas

 n( A ∪ B ) = n(A) +n(B) – n (A ∩ B)

 n(A∪B)=n(A)+n(B) {when A and B are disjoint sets}

 n(PUQUR)=n(P)+n(Q)+n(R)–n(P⋂Q)–n(Q⋂R)–n(R⋂P)+n(P⋂Q⋂R)

Set Operations

The four important set operations that are widely used are:

 Union of sets

 Intersection of sets

 Complement of sets

 Difference of sets
Problems and Solutions

Q.1: If U = {a, b, c, d, e, f}, A = {a, b, c}, B = {c, d, e, f}, C = {c, d, e},

find (A ∩ B) ∪ (A ∩ C).

Solution: A ∩ B = {a, b, c} ∩ {c, d, e, f}

A∩B={c}

A ∩ C = { a, b, c } ∩ { c, d, e }

A∩C={c}

∴ (A ∩ B) ∪ (A ∩ C) = { c }

Q.2: Give examples of finite sets.

Solution: The examples of finite sets are:

Set of months in a year

Set of days in a week

Set of natural numbers less than 20

Set of integers greater than -2 and less than 3

Q.3: If U = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}, A = {3, 5, 7, 9, 11} and B = {7, 8, 9,

10, 11}, Then find (A – B)′.

Solution: A – B is a set of member which belong to A but do not belong to B

∴ A – B = {3, 5, 7, 9, 11} – {7, 8, 9, 10, 11}

A – B = {3, 5}

According to formula,

(A − B)′ = U – (A – B)
∴ (A − B)′ = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11} – {3, 5}

(A − B)′ = {2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}.