2.

Sets, Functions and

Relations

Compiled By
Ujjwal Rijal
rijalujjwal09@gmail.com

rijalujjwal09@gmail.com 1
 Introduction to Set

• The theory of set was originated in the 1985 by

the German mathematician G. Cantor, who
defined a set as a collection or aggregate of
definite and distinguishable objects selected by
means of some rules or description.
• Any branch of knowledge which utilizes the tools
of modern mathematics has to use the algebra of
sets for the simplification of its concepts.
• The algebra of sets aids in preparing the program
for feeding into the computers.

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 Meaning of a Set

• A set is any well defined unordered collection of

distinct objects, called as elements or members of
the set.
• Some of the examples of a set are:
All vowel alphabets.
All zones of Nepal.
All odd numbers.
All continents of the world.
All English alphabets, etc.

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 Notations of a Set

• In general, capital letters A, B, C, X, Y, Z, …………

are used to denote sets while the small letters a, b,
c, x, y, z, ………….. are used to denote the
members of the sets unless otherwise stated.
• If a is an element of a set A, then we write this as a
∈ A and read as “a belongs to the set A”.
• Again, if a is not an element of the set A, then we
write this as a ∉ A and read as “a does not
belong to the set A”.
• If A be the set of three numbers 1, 2 and 3, then it is
written as: A = {1, 2, 3}.
• Here, the elements of the set must be enclosed
within the Corley bracket i.e. {}.
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 Representations of a Set

• A set may be specified by the following

methods:
Description Method
Tabulation Method
Rule Method or Set-builder Method

 Description Method
In this method, a set is specified by a verbal
description.
For example: the set S of numbers 1, 2 and 3 is
designated as:
S = the set of positive integers less than
4. rijalujjwal09@gmail.com 5
 Contd. ….

 Tabulation Method
In this method, a set is specified by listing all the
elements in a set.
For example: we can write the set S of numbers
1, 2 and 3 as:
S = {1, 2, 3}.
 Note that, each of the sets {1, 2, 3}, {2, 3, 1}
and {3, 2, 1} are all same.

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 Contd. ….

 Rule Method or Set-Builder Method

In this method, a set is specified by stating a
characteristic property common to all the elements
in the set.
For example: we can write the set S of numbers
1, 2 and 3 as:
S = {x → x is an integer and 1 ≤ x ≤ 3}.
OR, S = {x : x is an integer and 1 ≤ x ≤
3}.
 This is read as the set of all the elements x such
that x is a positive integer less than 4.

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 Contd. ….

• The representation of a set by the rule or set-

builder method is suitable when the set has a
larger number of elements.
• For example: if we take all men in Kathmandu
city using mobile phone, then it will be
inconvenient to write the names of all persons
within braces.
• But, we can write this set briefly as:
S = {x : x is a man in Kathmandu city who
uses mobile phone}.

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 Different Set’s Terminologies

• Finite Set: A set consisting of finite number of elements is

called finite set. Thus, the set of days in a week is a finite
set.
Thus, A = {Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday} is a finite set.
• Infinite Set: A set consisting of infinite number of
elements is called infinite set. A set of all odd numbers is
an infinite set.
Thus, A = {1, 3, 5, 7, ………..} is an infinite set.
• Unit Set: A set consisting of only one element is called a
unit set or singleton set.
Examples:
S = {0} is a unit set with single element
0.
P = {2} is a unit set with single element
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2.
 Contd. ….

• Empty Set: A set without any elements is called an

empty set or null set or void set, and is usually denoted by
the symbol {}, or Φ.
Examples:
A = {x : x is the male students of Padma
Kanya Campus} = Φ.
B= {x : x is a married bachelor} = Φ.
Note that: the set {0} is not an empty set since it
contains 0 as its element. Also, any two empty sets are
equal.
• Universal Set: A universal set is the original set that
contains all the elements under consideration of a
particular situation and is denoted by U.
For example: If we want to study the problem concerned
with the workers of an industry, then the set of all workers in
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the industry will be the universal set.
 Contd. ….

• Size of a Set or Cardinality of a Set: The size of a set

(also called its cardinality) is the number of elements in the
set.
For example: the set A = {5, 6, 7} contains 3 elements,
and hence, therefore the size of set A is 3 or the set A has a
cardinality of 3.
• Equal Set: When two sets have the same and equal
number of elements, then they are called equal sets. The
arrangement or the order of the elements does not matter,
only the same and equal number of elements in each set
matters.
Examples:
A = {1, 2, 3, 4} and B = {1, 2, 3, 4} are the equal sets.
P = {2, 4, 6, 8} and Q = {8, 6, 4, 2} are the equal sets.
M = {Blue, Pink, rijalujjwal09@gmail.com
Orange, Green} and N = {Orange, 11
Green, Blue, Pink} are the equal sets.
 Contd. ….

• Equivalent Set: When two sets comprise an equal

number of elements, then they are called equivalent
sets. It is not necessary to hold the same elements
but include the same number of elements in each set.
Examples:
A = {P, Q, R, S} and B = {Green, Yellow, Orange,
Red} are the equivalent sets.
Here, sets A and B comprise different elements
(Set A includes letters, and set B includes colors).
However, they have the same number of elements
i.e. 4.
Note that: An equal set is an equivalent set, but an
equivalent set necessarily cannot be an equal set.
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 Contd. ….

• Subset: A set that consists of some or all the

elements of another set is called subset of the set.
 The set A is subset of the set B if and only if each
elements of A is also the elements of B.
 In symbolic notation, we write A ⊆ B (and read as “A is
the subset of B”) if and only if x ∈ A implies that x ∈
B.
 Note that: Some authors use the symbol ⊂ instead of
⊆ to denote the subset; they both have the same
meaning.
 Examples:
If A = {1, 2} and B = {1, 2, 3} then, A ⊆ B.
Every set is a subset of itself i.e. A ⊆ A.
Null set Φ is a subset of any set S.
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If A = {a, b, c} and B ={b, a, c}, then A ⊆ B and13B
 Contd. ….

• Power Set: The set of possible subsets of any set is

known as the power set of the set. A set with n elements
has 2n subsets. This includes the null set and the given
set. If we consider a set A, then the power set of the set
A is generally denoted as P(A).
Examples:
Let, B = {a}, then the number of subsets that can be
formed = 21 = 2.
So, P(B) = {Φ, {a}}.
Let, C = {1, 2}, then the number of subsets that can
be formed = 22 = 4.
So, P(C) = {Φ, {1}, {2}, {1, 2}}.
Let, D = {a, b, c}, then the number of subsets that
can be formed = 23 = 8.
So, P(D) = {Φ, {a}, {b}, {c}, {a, b}, {b, c}, {c, a}, {a,
b, c}}. rijalujjwal09@gmail.com 14
 Contd. ….

• Ordered Pair: A set of two elements a and b

written as (a, b) is called a pair.
 If we consider the order of the elements, the pair is
called ordered pair denoted by (a, b).
 Here, a is called the first element and b is called the
second element of the ordered pair (a, b).
Note that: In ordered pair, (a, b) ≠ (b, a).

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 Contd. ….

• Cartesian Product of Two Sets: The Cartesian

product of two non-empty sets A and B is defined as the
set of all possible ordered pairs (a, b) such that a ∈ A
and b ∈ B.
Mathematically, we write it as:
A x B = {(a, b): a ∈ A, b ∈ B}.
Note that: The Cartesian product A x B, read as A cross
B, is the collection of ordered pairs of elements (a, b) where
a is chosen from A and b is chosen from B.
Thus, in general, A x B ≠ B x A.
In particular, A x B = B x A , if and only if A = B.
Example: Let A = {1, 2} and B ={a, b}, then A x B =
{(1, a), (1, b), (2, a), (2, b)}.

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 Contd. ….

• Venn Diagram: Sets, subsets and operations on sets

can be represented by diagrams. Such diagrams are
called Venn diagrams.
In sketching Venn diagram, we usually represent the
universal set U by a rectangle and its subset by using a
circle.
The elements of U are represented by the points within
the rectangle while the elements of the subset of U are
represented by the points within the circle.
For illustration, let us consider the set of vowels as V
which is the subset of the universal set U, the English
alphabets. U
Then, Fig:VVenn V
=diagram
{a, e, for set
i,V o, u}a eis
i represented in Venn
diagram as:
rijalujjwal09@gmail.com o u
17
 Set Operations

• Sets may be combined and operated in various

ways to form new sets.
• The basic operations on sets are:
1. Union
2. Intersection
3. Complement
4. Difference
• Now, they are discussed below:

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 Contd. ….

 Union
• The union of two sets A and B, denoted by A∪B, is the set of
only those elements which belongs to either A or B or both A
and B i.e. consisting of the elements of at least one of the
sets A and B.
• Symbolically, we write this as:
A∪B = {x | x ∈ A or x ∈ B or x ∈ both A and B}
Here, A∪B is also called the logical sum of A and B and
sometimes read as A cup B.
Examples:
If A = {1, 2} and B = {a, b, c}, then A∪B = {1, 2, a, b,
c}.
If A = {a, b, c} and B = {c, d, e}, then A∪B = {a, b, c, d,
e}. Fig: Venn diagram of A∪B

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 Contd. ….

 Intersection
• The intersection of two sets A and B, denoted by A∩B, is the
set of only those elements which belongs to both A and B.
• Symbolically, we write this as:
A∩B = {x | x ∈ A and x ∈ B}
• Here, A∩B is also called the logical multiplication of A and
B and sometimes read as A cap B.
Examples:
If A = {1, 2, 3} and B = {3, 4}, then A∩B = {3}.
If A = {a, b, c, d} and B = {a, b, e, f}, then A∩B = {a,
b}.
If A = {1, 3, 5} and B = {2, 4}, then A∩B = Φ.

Fig: Venn diagram of A∩B

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 Contd. ….

 Complement of a Set
• Let set A be the subset of a universal set U. Then, the
complement of A with respect to U is the set of those
elements of U which do not belong to A.
• The complement of the set A is denoted by Ā or A’ or
Ac.
• Symbolically, we write this as:
Ac = {x | x ∈ U and x ∉ A}.
Examples:
If U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} and A = {2, 4}, then Ac = {1, 3,
5}.
If U = set of English alphabets and V = set of
Fig: Venn diagram of A c
or Ā
vowels, then , then Vc = set of consonants.
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 Contd. ….

 Difference
• Let A and B be the two sets and each set is the subset of a
universal set U. Then, A difference B denoted by A – B, is the
set of all those elements which belong to A but not to B.
• Symbolically, we write this as:
A – B = {x | x ∈ A and x ∉ B} = A∩Bc.
Also, B – A = {x | x ∈ B and x ∉ A} = B∩Ac.
• The difference, A – B, which is sometimes called A minus B is
also known as Complement of B with respect to A i.e.
A∩Bc.
Examples:
If A = {a, b, x, y} and B = {c, d, x, y}, then
A – B = {a, b} and B – A = {c, d}.
Thus, A – B ≠ B – A.
Fig: Venn diagram of A – B
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 Set Identities

• Below are the basic laws of set operations

which are also knowns as algebra of sets or
laws of Boolean algebra:
I. The Laws Governing Union and
Intersection
1. Identity Laws
i. A∪Φ = A ii. A∩Φ = Φ
iii. A∪U = U iv. A∩U = A
2. Idempotent Laws
i. A∪A = A ii. A∩A = A
3. Commutative Laws
i. A∪B = B∪A ii. A∩B = B∩A
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 Contd. ….

4. Associative Laws
i. A∪(B∪C) = (A∪B)∪C ii. A∩(B∩C) =
(A∩B)∩C
5. Distributive Laws
i. A∪(B∩C) = (A∪B)∩(A∪C)
ii. A∩(B∪C) = (A∩B)∪(A∩C)

II. The Laws Governing Complements

i. (A’)’ = A ii. A∪A’ = U
iii. A∩A’ = Φ iv. Φ ‘ = U v. U’ = Φ

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 Contd. ….

III. The Laws Governing Set Differences

i. A – B = A∩B’ ii. U – A = A’
iii. A – U = Φ iv. A – Φ = A
v. Φ – A = Φ vi. A – A = Φ

IV. De-Morgan’s Laws

i. (A∪B)’ = A’∩B’ ii. (A∩B)’ =
A’∪B’

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 Contd. ….

 Example-1: Given A = {1, 3, 5}, B = {0, 1, 2,

3} and C = {0, 1, 5}; verify distributive laws.
 Solution:
We have,
A∪B = {0, 1, 2, 3, 5}, A∩B = {1, 3}
A∪C = {0, 1, 3, 5}, A∩C = {1, 5}
B∪C = {0, 1, 2, 3, 5}, B∩C = {0, 1}
I. L.S. = A∪(B∩C) = {1, 3, 5}∪{0, 1} = {0, 1, 3, 5}
R.S. = (A∪B)∩(A∪C) = {0, 1, 2, 3, 5}∩{0, 1, 3, 5} =
{0, 1, 3, 5}
∴ L.S. = R.S. ; Hence, Proved.
II. L.S. = A∩(B∪C) = {1, 3, 5}∩{0, 1, 2, 3, 5} = {1, 3,
5}
R.S. = (A∩B)∪(A∩C) = {1, 3}∪{1, 5} = {1, 3, 5}
∴ L.S. = R.S. ; Hence, Proved.
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 Contd. ….

 Example-2: Given the sets,

U = {x | x is a positive integer less than 16}
A = {5, 10, 15}, B = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10} and C = {1, 5, 9, 11,
15}
Find: (i). A’∩B’ (ii). A∪B∪C (iii). A∩B∩C (iv). (A∩B∩C)’
 Solution:
(i). A’∩B’ = (U – A)∩(U – B)
= {1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14}∩{1, 3, 5, 7,
9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15} = {1, 3, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14}.
(ii). A∪B∪C = {5, 10, 15}∪{2, 4, 6, 8, 10}∪{1, 5, 9, 11, 15}
= {1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15}.
(iii). A∩B∩C = {5, 10, 15}∩{2, 4, 6, 8, 10}∩{1, 5, 9, 11, 15}
= Φ.
(iv). (A∩B∩C)’ = (Φ)’ = U (∵ Complement Law).

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 Contd. ….

 Example-3: Let A, B and C be the sets. Show

that:
(A∪(B∩C))’ = (C’∪B’)∩A’.
 Solution:
We have,
(A∪(B∩C))’ = A’∩(B∩C)’ (∵ By the De-Morgan’s
Law)
= A’∩(B’∪C’) (∵ By the De-Morgan’s
Law)
= (B’∪C’)∩A’ (∵ By the
Commutative Laws for
Intersections)
= (C’∪B’)∩A’
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(∵ By the
28
Commutative Laws for
 Contd. ….

 Example-4: Prove that: (A∩B)’ = A’∪B’ using the Set-

Builder
Notation.
 Solution:
We have,
(A∩B)’ = {x : x ∉ A∩B} (∵ Complement Law)
= {x : ¬ (x ∈ (A∩B))} (∵ Does not belong
to symbol)
= {x : ¬ ((x ∈ A) ∧ (x ∈ B))} (∵ Definition of
Intersection)
= {x : ¬ (x ∈ A) ∨ ¬ (x ∈ B)} (∵ De-Morgan’s Law)
= {x : x ∉ A ∨ x ∉ B} (∵ Does not belong
to symbol)
= {x : x ∈ A’ ∨ x ∈ B’} (∵ Complement Law)
= {x : x ∈ A’∪B’} (∵ Definition of Union)
= A’∪B’ rijalujjwal09@gmail.com
(∵ Meaning of set-builder 29
 The Inclusion-Exclusion Principle (or
The Addition Principle)

• In the field of Combinatorics, it is a counting method used

to compute the cardinality of the union set.
• According to basic Inclusion-Exclusion Principle:
For two finite sets A1 and A2, which are subsets of the
universal set, then (A1 – A2), (A2 – A1) and (A1∩A2) are disjoint
sets.

• Hence, it can be said that:

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|A ∪A | = |A | + |A | – |A ∩A |.
 Contd. ….

• Similarly, for three finite sets A1, A2 and A3, we have:

|A1∪A2∪A3 | = |A1| + |A2| + |A3| – |A1∩A2| – |A2∩A3| – |
A1∩A3| + |A1∩A2∩A3 |.

Properties
• Computes the total number of elements that satisfy at
least one of several properties.
• It prevents the problem of double counting.

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 Contd. ….

 Example-1: There are 345 students at a

college who have taken a course in calculus,
212 who have taken a course in discrete
mathematics, and 188 who have taken a course
in both calculus and discrete mathematics.
How many students have taken the course in
either calculus or discrete mathematics?
Calculate it.
Solution:
Let, |C| stands for the students who have taken course
in calculus, |D| stands for the students who have taken
course in discrete mathematics, and |C∩D| stands for
the students who have taken course in both calculus 32
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and discrete mathematics.
 Contd. ….

Now, by question, we have,

|C| = 345, |D| = 212 and |C∩D| = 188.
Now, let |C∪D| stands for students who have taken the
course in either calculus or discrete mathematics.
Then, by the Inclusion-Exclusion Principle, we have:
|C∪D| = |C| + |D| – |C∩D|
= 345 + 212 – 188
= 369
Thus, 369 students have taken the course in
either calculus or discrete mathematics.
Solved.

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 Contd. ….

 Example-2: As shown in the below Venn

diagram, three finite sets A, B and C with their
corresponding values are given. Compute |
A∪B∪C|.

(Test Yourself)

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 Applications of Inclusion-
Exclusion Principle
Counting derangements or permutations
• To determine the number of derangements or
permutations of n objects such that no object is in its
original position.
• As an example, we can consider the
derangements of the number in the following
cases:
For i = 1, the total number of derangements is 0.
For i = 2, the total number of derangements is 1. This is
21.
For i = 3, the total number of derangements is 2. This is
231 and 312.
And so on. 35
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 Contd. ….

Counting intersections
• The principle of Inclusion-Exclusion, combined with
De-Morgan’s Law, can be used to count the
cardinality of the intersection of sets as well.
• Let be the complement of Ai with respect to some
universal set A such that Ai ⊆ A for each i. Then, we
have the following case, thereby turning the problem
of finding an intersection into the problem of finding a
union:
=

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 Contd. ….
Graph coloring
• The inclusion-exclusion principle forms the basis of algorithms
for a number of NP-hard graph partitioning problems, such as
graph coloring.
• A well known application of the principle is the construction of
the chromatic polynomial of a given graph.
Bipartite graph perfect matchings
• The number of perfect matchings of a bipartite graph can be
calculated using this principle.
Number of onto functions
• The principle of inclusion-exclusion gives the number of onto
functions (surjective functions) between A and B, for each i in B
(i is not the image of the function) as:
(–1)i (n – j)k.
37
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 Computer Representation of
Sets
• One method to represent set in computer is to store the
elements of set in an unordered list.
• If this method is used, then the operations of computing the
union, intersection and complement of sets would be time
consuming because each of these operations would require large
time in searching for elements.
• So, we use method for storing elements using an arbitrary
ordering of the elements of the universal set.
• Specify an arbitrary ordering of the elements of universal set U,
for instance a1, a2, a3, ……., an represent a subset A of U with bit
string of length n, where ith bit in the string is 1 if ai ∈ A and 0 if
ai ∉ A.
 Computer Representation of Complement
• The bit string for the complement of a set is
obtained by replacing 0’s with 1’s and 1’s with 0’s.
38
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 Contd. ….

 Computer Representation of Union

• If either of the bits in the ith position in the two strings is 1 (or
both are 1), then the bit in the ith position of the bit string of the
union is obtained as 1.
• When both the bits are 0, then the bit string of the union is 0.
• Hence, the bit string for union is the bitwise OR of the bit strings
for the two sets.
 Computer Representation of Intersection
• When the bits in the corresponding position in the two strings
are both 1, then the bit in the ith position of the bit strings of the
intersection is 1.
• When either of the two bits is 0 (or both are 0), then the bit
string of the intersection is 0.
• Hence, the bit string for intersection is the bitwise AND of the bit
strings for the two sets.
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 Contd. ….

 Example-1: Let U = {1, 2, 3, …………, 10}

(i). What bit strings represent the subset of all odd integers in U?
The set of odd integers in U = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}.
Then, the bit string that represents the set of odd integers has one bit in
the first, third, fifth, seventh and ninth positions.
It is: 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0.
(ii). What bit strings represent the subset of all even integers in
U?
The set of even integers in U = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}.
Then, the bit string that represents the set of even integers has one bit in
the second, fourth, sixth, eighth and tenth positions.
It is: 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1.
(iii). What bit strings represent the subset of integers not
exceeding 5 in
the set U?
The set of integers not exceeding 5 in U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.
Then, the bit string that represents the set of integers not exceeding 5
has one bit in the first, second, rijalujjwal09@gmail.com
third, fourth and fifth positions. 40
 Contd. ….

(iv). What bit strings represent the complement of subset of all

odd integers in U?
The set of odd integers in U = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}.
Then, the bit string that represents the set of odd integers has one bit in
the first, third, fifth, seventh and ninth positions. It is: 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0.
Now, the complement of this bit string is: 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 , which
corresponds to the set of the even integers i.e. {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}.
Solved.
Example-2: Let U = {1, 2, 3, ………, 10}
And then the bit strings for the sets A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} and B = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9} are
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 and 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 respectively. Find union and
intersection of the sets using the given bit strings and also compute the bit strings
for A – B and B – A.
(i). The bit string for the union of these sets is: (1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0) ∨ (1 0 1 0 1
0 1 0 1 0) which is equals to:
1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 , which corresponds to the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9}.
(ii). The bit string for the intersection of these sets is (1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0) ∧ (1 0 1
0 1 0 1 0 1 0) which is equals to:
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1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 , which corresponds to the set {1, 3, 5}. 41
 Contd. ….

(iii). The bit string for A – B is given by:

We know that: A – B = A∩
Then, = 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
Now, the bit string for A – B i.e. A∩ is: (1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0) ∧ (0 1 0 1 0
1 0 1 0 1) , which is equals to:
0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 , which corresponds to the set {2, 4}.
(iv). The bit string for B – A is given by:
We know that: B – A = B∩
Then, = 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1
Now, the bit string for B – A i.e. B∩ is: (1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0) ∧ (0 0 0 0 0
1 1 1 1 1) , which is equals to:
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 , which corresponds to the set {7, 9}.
Solved.

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