Definition 0.1 (Set) A set is a well-defined collection of distinct objects (elements).

1 Representation of Sets
A set can be represented in two ways:

• Roster or Tabular Form: Listing all elements explicitly. Example: A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

• Set-Builder Form: Describing elements by a property. Example: B = {x ∈ N | x ≤ 5}

2 Types of Sets
• Finite Set: A set with limited elements. Example: A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
• Infinite Set: A set with unlimited elements. Example: B = {x ∈ N | x > 0}
• Singleton Set: A set with exactly one element. Example: C = {0}

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• Null Set: A set with no elements. Example: D = ∅
• Equal Sets: Two sets with exactly the same elements. Example: E = {1, 2}, F = {2, 1}

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• Equivalent Sets: Sets with the same number of elements. Example: G = {a, b, c}, H = {1, 2, 3}
• Universal Set: The set containing all elements under consideration. Example: U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

• Disjoint Sets: Sets with no common elements. Example: P = {1, 2}, Q = {3, 4}
• Subset: Every element of one set belongs to another. Example: A = {1, 2} ⊆ B = {1, 2, 3}
• Proper Subset: A subset that is not equal to the set. Example: A = {1, 2} ⊂ B = {1, 2, 3}
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• Superset: A set containing all elements of another set. Example: B = {1, 2, 3} ⊇ A = {1, 2}
• Power Set: Set of all subsets of a set. Example: P ({1, 2}) = {∅, {1}, {2}, {1, 2}}

Note:Total Number of Subsets For a set A with n elements:

• Total subsets = 2n
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• Total proper subsets = 2n − 1

Example: For A = {1, 2, 3}:23 = 8 subsets, and 7 proper subsets.

3 Operations on Sets

A B

• Union: A ∪ B = {x | x ∈ A or x ∈ B} A∪B

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 A B

• Intersection: A ∩ B = {x | x ∈ A and x ∈ B} A∩B

A B

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A−B

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• Difference: A − B = {x | x ∈ A and x ∈
/ B}

A
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• Complement: Ac = {x | x ∈ U and x ∈
/ A} Ac

A B
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• Symmetric Difference: A∆B = (A − B) ∪ (B − A) A∆B

4 Closure and Properties of Sets

• Commutative Law:
A ∪ B = B ∪ A, A∩B =B∩A

• Associative Law:

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

• Identity Law:
A ∪ ∅ = A, A∩U =A

• Absorption Law:
A ∩ (A ∪ B) = A, A ∪ (A ∩ B) = A

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• Complement Law:
A ∪ Ac = U, A ∩ Ac = ∅

• Idempotent Law:
A ∪ A = A, A∩A=A

• Domination Law:
A ∪ U = U, A∩∅=∅

• De Morgan’s Laws:
(A ∪ B)c = Ac ∩ B c , (A ∩ B)c = Ac ∪ B c

A B A B

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(A ∪ B)c (A ∩ B)c

• Double Complement:

Real numbers R
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Q

Z
(Ac )c = A
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W

N Complex Numbers C

I
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here
• N = Natural numbers
• W = Whole numbers
• Z = Integers
• Q = Rational numbers
• I = Irrational numbers
• R = Real numbers
• C = Complex numbers

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5 Addition of Sets (Minkowski Sum)
For two sets A and B,
A + B = { a + b | a ∈ A, b ∈ B }
Example:
A = {1, 2}, B = {3, 4} ⇒ A + B = {1 + 3, 1 + 4, 2 + 3, 2 + 4} = {4, 5, 6}

6 Multiplication of Sets (Cartesian Product)

For two sets A and B,
A × B = { (a, b) | a ∈ A, b ∈ B }
Example:
A = {a, b}, B = {1, 2} ⇒ A × B = {(a, 1), (a, 2), (b, 1), (b, 2)}

7 Principle of Inclusion–Exclusion

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For n finite sets A1 , A2 , A3 , . . . , An :
n
! n
[ X X X
n(Ai ∩Aj ∩Ak )−· · ·+(−1)n−1 n(A1 ∩A2 ∩· · ·∩An )
n
i=1
Ai =
i=1
n(Ai )−

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n(Ai ∩Aj )+
1≤i<j<k≤n

Rule: - Add intersections of an odd number of sets. - Subtract intersections of an even number of sets.

n(A ∪ B) = n(A) + n(B) − n(A ∩ B)

n(A ∪ B ∪ C) = n(A) + n(B) + n(C) − n(A ∩ B) − n(B ∩ C) − n(C ∩ A) + n(A ∩ B ∩ C)

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