Chapter 1

Set Theory
1.1 INTRODUCTION
The concept of a set appears in all mathematics. This chapter introduces the notation and
terminology of set theory which is basic and used throughout the text.

Specifying Sets
There are essentially two ways to specify a particular set. One way, if possible, is to list its
members separated
by commas and contained in braces { }.A second way is to state those properties which
characterized the elements in the set. Examples illustrating these two ways are:
A = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9} and B = {x | x is an even integer, x > 0}
That is, A consists of the numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9. The second set, which reads:
B is the set of x such that x is an even integer and x is greater than 0,
denotes the set B whose elements are the positive integers. Note that a letter, usually x, is used to
denote a typical member of the set; and the vertical line | is read as “such that” and the comma as
“and.”
EXAMPLE 1.1
(a) The set A above can also be written as A = {x | x is an odd positive integer, x < 10}.
(b) We cannot list all the elements of the above set B although frequently we specify the set by
B = {2, 4, 6, . . .}
where we assume that everyone knows what we mean. Observe that 8 ∈ B, but 3 ∈/ B.

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(c) Let E = {x | x2 - 3x + 2 = 0}, F = {2, 1} and G = {1, 2, 2, 1}. Then E = F = G.
We emphasize that a set does not depend on the way in which its elements are
displayed. A set remains the same if its elements are repeated or rearranged.
Even if we can list the elements of a set, it may not be practical to do so. That is,
we describe a set by listing its elements only if the set contains a few elements;
otherwise we describe a set by the property which characterizes its elements.
Subsets
Suppose every element in a set A is also an element of a set B, that is, suppose a ∈
A implies a ∈ B. Then A is called a subset of B. We also say that A is contained in B
or that B contains A. This relationship is written
A ⊆ B or B ⊇ A
Two sets are equal if they both have the same elements or, equivalently, if each is
contained in the other. That is:
A = B if and only if A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A

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The above remarks yield the following theorem.
Theorem 1.1: Let A, B, C be any sets. Then:
(i) A ⊆ A
(ii) If A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A, then A = B
(iii) If A ⊆ B and B ⊆ C, then A ⊆ C

C = the set of complex numbers

Observe that N ⊆ Z ⊆ Q ⊆ R ⊆ C.

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Universal Set, Empty Set
All sets under investigation in any application of set theory are assumed to belong
to some fixed large set called the universal set which we denote by
U
unless otherwise stated or implied.
Given a universal set U and a property P, there may not be any elements of U
which have property P. For
example, the following set has no elements:
S = {x | x is a positive integer, x2 = 3}
Such a set with no elements is called the empty set or null set and is denoted by
∅
There is only one empty set. That is, if S and T are both empty, then S = T , since
they have exactly the same elements, namely, none.
The empty set ∅ is also regarded as a subset of every other set. Thus we have the
following simple result which we state formally.
Theorem 1.2: For any set A, we have ∅ ⊆ A ⊆ U.

Disjoint Sets
Two sets A and B are said to be disjoint if they have no elements in common. For
example, suppose
A = {1, 2}, B = {4, 5, 6}, and C = {5, 6, 7, 8}
Then A and B are disjoint, and A and C are disjoint. But B and C are not disjoint
since B and C have elements in common, e.g., 5 and 6. We note that if A and B are
disjoint, then neither is a subset of the other (unless one is the empty set).

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1.3 VENN DIAGRAMS
A Venn diagram is a pictorial representation of sets in which sets are represented
by enclosed areas in the plane. The universal set U is represented by the interior of
a rectangle, and the other sets are represented by disks lying within the rectangle. If
A ⊆ B, then the disk representing A will be entirely within the disk representing B
as in Fig. 1-1(a). If A and B are disjoint, then the disk representing A will be
separated from the disk representing B as in Fig. 1-1(b).

However, if A and B are two arbitrary sets, it is possible that some objects are in A
but not in B, some are in B but not in A, some are in both A and B, and some are in
neither A nor B; hence in general we represent A and B as in Fig. 1-1(c).

1.4 SET OPERATIONS

This section introduces a number of set operations, including the basic operations
of union, intersection, and complement.
Union and Intersection
The union of two sets A and B, denoted by A ∪ B, is the set of all elements which
belong to A or to B;
that is,
A ∪ B = {x | x ∈ A or x ∈ B}

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Here “or” is used in the sense of and/or. Figure 1-3(a) is a Venn diagram in which
A ∪ B is shaded.
The intersection of two sets A and B, denoted by A ∩ B, is the set of elements
which belong to both A and B; that is,

A ∩ B = {x | x ∈ A and x ∈ B}
Figure 1-3(b) is a Venn diagram in which A ∩ B is shaded.

Recall that sets A and B are said to be disjoint or nonintersecting if they have no
elements in common or, using the definition of intersection, if A ∩ B = ∅, the
empty set. Suppose
S = A ∪ B and A ∩ B = ∅
Then S is called the disjoint union of A and B.
EXAMPLE 1.4
(a) Let A = {1, 2, 3, 4}, B = {3, 4, 5, 6, 7}, C = {2, 3, 8, 9}. Then
A ∪ B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7},

A ∪ C = {1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9},

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B ∪ C = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9},
A ∩ B = {3, 4},

A ∩ C = {2, 3},

B ∩ C = {3}.
(b) Let U be the set of students at a university, and let M denote the set of male
students and let F denote the set of female students. The U is the disjoint union of
M of F; that is,
U = M ∪ F and M ∩ F = ∅
This comes from the fact that every student in U is either in M or in F, and clearly
no student belongs to both M and F, that is, M and F are disjoint.
The following properties of union and intersection should be noted.
Property 1: Every element x in A ∩ B belongs to both A and B; hence x belongs to
A and x belongs to B. Thus A ∩ B is a subset of A and of B; namely
A ∩ B ⊆ A and A ∩ B ⊆ B
Property 2: An element x belongs to the union A ∪ B if x belongs to A or x belongs
to B; hence every element in A belongs to A ∪ B, and every element in B belongs to
A ∪ B. That is,
A ⊆ A ∪ B and B ⊆ A ∪ B
We state the above results formally:
Theorem 1.3: For any sets A and B, we have:
(i) A ∩ B ⊆ A ⊆ A ∪ B and (ii) A ∩ B ⊆ B ⊆ A ∪ B.
The operation of set inclusion is closely related to the operations of union and
intersection, as shown by the following theorem.

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Theorem 1.4: The following are equivalent: A ⊆ B, A ∩ B = A, A ∪ B = B.

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1.5 ALGEBRA OF SETS, DUALITY
Sets under the operations of union, intersection, and complement satisfy various
laws (identities) which are listed in Table 1-1. In fact, we formally state this as:
Theorem 1.5: Sets satisfy the laws in Table 1-1.

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1.6 FINITE SETS, COUNTING PRINCIPLE
Sets can be finite or infinite. A set S is said to be finite if S is empty or if S contains
exactly m elements where m is a positive integer; otherwise S is infinite.

EXAMPLE 1.7
(a) The set A of the letters of the English alphabet and the set D of the days of the
week are finite sets. Specifically, A has 26 elements and D has 7 elements.

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(b) Let E be the set of even positive integers, and let I be the unit interval, that is,
E = {2, 4, 6, . . .} and I = [0, 1] = {x | 0 ≤ x ≤ 1}
Then both E and I are infinite.
A set S is countable if S is finite or if the elements of S can be arranged as a
sequence, in which case S is said to be countably infinite; otherwise S is said to be
uncountable. The above set E of even integers is countably
infinite, whereas one can prove that the unit interval I = [0, 1] is uncountable.

Counting Elements in Finite Sets

The notation n(S) or |S| will denote the number of elements in a set S. (Some texts
use #(S) or card(S) instead of n(S).) Thus n(A) = 26, where A is the letters in the
English alphabet, and n(D) = 7, where D is the days of the week. Also n(∅) = 0
since the empty set has no elements.
The following lemma applies.

Lemma 1.6: Suppose A and B are finite disjoint sets. Then A ∪ B is finite and
n(A ∪ B) = n(A) + n(B)
This lemma may be restated as follows:

Lemma 1.6: Suppose S is the disjoint union of finite sets A and B. Then S is finite
and
n(S) = n(A) + n(B)
Proof. In counting the elements of A ∪ B, first count those that are in A. There are
n(A) of these. The only other elements of A ∪ B are those that are in B but not in A.
But since A and B are disjoint, no element of B is in A, so there are n(B) elements
that are in B but not in A. Therefore, n(A ∪ B) = n(A) + n(B).
For any sets A and B, the set A is the disjoint union of A\B and A ∩ B.

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Thus Lemma 1.6 gives us the following useful result.
Corollary 1.7: Let A and B be finite sets. Then
n(A\B) = n(A) - n(A ∩ B)
For example, suppose an art class A has 25 students and 10 of them are taking a
biology class B. Then the number of students in class A which are not in class B is:
n(A\B) = n(A) - n(A ∩ B) = 25 - 10 = 15
Given any set A, recall that the universal set U is the disjoint union of A and AC.
Accordingly, Lemma 1.6
also gives the following result.
Corollary 1.8: Let A be a subset of a finite universal set U. Then
n(AC) = n(U) - n(A)
For example, suppose a class U with 30 students has 18 full-time students. Then
there are 30 - 18 = 12 part-time students in the class U.

Inclusion–Exclusion Principle
There is a formula for n(A ∪ B) even when they are not disjoint, called the
Inclusion–Exclusion Principle.
Namely:
Theorem (Inclusion–Exclusion Principle) 1.9: Suppose A and B are finite sets.
Then A ∪ B and A ∩ B are finite and
n(A ∪ B) = n(A) + n(B) - n(A ∩ B)
That is, we find the number of elements in A or B (or both) by first adding n(A) and
n(B) (inclusion) and then subtracting n(A ∩ B) (exclusion) since its elements were
counted twice.
We can apply this result to obtain a similar formula for three sets:

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Corollary 1.10: Suppose A, B, C are finite sets. Then A ∪ B ∪ C is finite and
n(A ∪ B ∪ C) = n(A) + n(B) + n(C) - n(A ∩ B) - n(A ∩ C) - n(B ∩ C) + n(A ∩ B ∩ C)
Mathematical induction (Section 1.8) may be used to further generalize this result
to any number of finite sets.

EXAMPLE 1.8 Suppose a list A contains the 30 students in a mathematics class,

and a list B contains the 35 students in an English class, and suppose there are 20
names on both lists. Find the number of students:
(a) only on list A, (b) only on list B, (c) on list A or B (or both), (d) on exactly one
list.

(a) List A has 30 names and 20 are on list B; hence 30 - 20 = 10 names are only on
list A.
(b) Similarly, 35 - 20 = 15 are only on list B.
(c) We seek n(A ∪ B). By inclusion–exclusion,
n(A ∪ B) = n(A) + n(B) - n(A ∩ B) = 30 + 35 - 20 = 45.
In other words, we combine the two lists and then cross out the 20 names which
appear twice.
(d) By (a) and (b), 10 + 15 = 25 names are only on one list; that is, n(A ⊕ B) = 25.

1.7 CLASSES OF SETS, POWER SETS, PARTITIONS

Given a set S, we might wish to talk about some of its subsets. Thus we would be
considering a set of sets. Whenever such a situation occurs, to avoid confusion, we
will speak of a class of sets or collection of sets rather than a set of sets. If we wish
to consider some of the sets in a given class of sets, then we speak of subclass or

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subcollection.

EXAMPLE 1.9 Suppose S = {1, 2, 3, 4}.

(a) Let A be the class of subsets of S which contain exactly three elements of S.
Then
A = [{1, 2, 3}, {1, 2, 4}, {1, 3, 4}, {2, 3, 4}]
That is, the elements of A are the sets {1, 2, 3}, {1, 2, 4}, {1, 3, 4}, and {2, 3, 4}.
(b) Let B be the class of subsets of S, each which contains 2 and two other
elements of S. Then
B = [{1, 2, 3}, {1, 2, 4}, {2, 3, 4}]
The elements of B are the sets {1, 2, 3}, {1, 2, 4}, and {2, 3, 4}. Thus B is a
subclass of A, since every element of B is also an element of A. (To avoid
confusion, we will sometimes enclose the sets of a class in brackets instead of
braces.)
Power Sets
For a given set S , we may speak of the class of all subsets of S. This class is called
the power set of S , and will be denoted by P (S). If S is finite, then so is P (S). In
fact, the number of elements in P (S) is 2 raised to the power n(S). That is,
n(P (S)) = 2n(s)
(For this reason, the power set of S is sometimes denoted by 2S.)

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EXAMPLE 1.10 Suppose S = {1, 2, 3}. Then
P (S) = [∅, {1}, {2}, {3}, {1, 2}, {1, 3}, {2, 3}, S]
Note that the empty set ∅ belongs to P (S) since ∅ is a subset of S. Similarly, S
belongs to P (S). As expected from the above remark, P (S) has 23 = 8 elements.

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EXAMPLE 1.11 Consider the following collections of subsets of S = {1, 2, . . ., 8, 9}:
(i) [{1, 3, 5}, {2, 6}, {4, 8, 9}]
(ii) [{1, 3, 5}, {2, 4, 6, 8}, {5, 7, 9}]
(iii) [{1, 3, 5}, {2, 4, 6, 8}, {7, 9}]
Then (i) is not a partition of S since 7 in S does not belong to any of the subsets.

Furthermore, (ii) is not a partition of S since {1, 3, 5} and {5, 7, 9} are not disjoint.

On the other hand, (iii) is a partition of S

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 Assignment-1

1.1 Which of these sets are equal: {x, y, z}, {z, y, z, x}, {y, x, y, z}, {y, z, x, y}?

1.2 List the elements of each set where N = {1, 2, 3, …}.

(a) A = {x ∈ N | 3 < x < 9}
(b) B = {x ∈ N | x is even, x < 11}
(c) C = {x ∈ N | 4 + x = 3}
1.3 Let A = {2, 3, 4, 5}.
(a) Show that A is not a subset of B = {x ∈ N | x is even}.
(b) Show that A is a proper subset of C = {1, 2, 3, . . ., 8, 9}.

1.6 Show that we can have:

(a) A ∩ B = A ∩ C without B = C;

(b) A ∪ B = A ∪ C without B = C.

1.7 Prove: B\A = B ∩ AC. Thus, the set operation of difference can be written in
terms of the operations of
intersection and complement.

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VENN DIAGRAMS, ALGEBRA OF SETS, DUALITY
1.8 Illustrate DeMorgan’s Law (A ∪ B)C = AC ∩ BC using Venn diagrams.

1.9 Prove the Distributive Law: A ∩ (B ∪ C) = (A ∩ B) ∪ (A ∩ C).

1.10 Write the dual of: (a) (U ∩ A) ∪ (B ∩ A) = A; (b) (A ∩ U) ∩ (∅ ∪ AC) = ∅.

FINITE SETS AND THE COUNTING PRINCIPLE

1.11 Each student in Liberal Arts at some college has a mathematics requirement A
and a science requirement B. A poll of 140 sophomore students shows that:
60 completed A, 45 completed B, 20 completed both A and B.
Use a Venn diagram to find the number of students who have completed:
(a) At least one of A and B; (b) exactly one of A or B; (c) neither A nor B.

CLASSES OF SETS
1.12 Let A = [{1, 2, 3}, {4, 5}, {6, 7, 8}]. (a) List the elements of A; (b) Find n(A).
1.13 Determine the power set P (A) of A = {a, b, c, d}.
1.14 Let S = {a, b, c, d, e, f , g}. Determine which of the following are partitions of
S:
a) P1 = [{a, c, e}, {b}, {d, g}], (c) P3 = [{a, b, e, g}, {c}, {d, f }],
(b) P2 = [{a, e, g}, {c, d}, {b, e, f }], (d) P4 = [{a, b, c, d, e, f , g}

1.15 Find all partitions of S = {a, b, c, d}.

Note first that each partition of S contains either 1, 2, 3, or 4 distinct cells.

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