Sets

Mathematics 1

by Tere Huerta

Notation and Terminology

A set is a collection of objects called elements

of the set. An unordered group of objects with no duplicates A set could be described with a phrase such as the integers 1 through 5

Roster Notation
The roster notation is a complete or implied

listing of all the elements of the set.

Roster Notation Examples

A={a, b, c, d} B={2, 4, 6, 8, , 40}

How many elements do the sets have?

Set-builder Notation
The set-builder notation is used when the

roster method is cumbersome or impossible. The set B={2, 4, 6, 8, , 40} could be described by:
{x | 2 < x < 40 and x is even}

Set-builder Notation Example

How many elements does the set have?

{x | x is a real number}

Symbols

Universal and empty sets

There are two special sets:
Empty set or null set. Contains no objects and is

denoted { }, or by the symbol The universal set is denoted by the capital letter U.

Equivalency
Two sets are equivalent if they have exactly

the same objects in them. For example, {a, b, c, d} and {c, a, d, b}

Two sets which do not have the same number of objects cannot be equivalent

Disjoint
Two sets are "disjoint" if they have no objects

in common. Can you give an example of a disjoint set?

Venn Diagrams
Relationships between multiple sets are

sometimes graphically described using Venn Diagrams. A Venn Diagram describing the relationship between three sets A, B and C always begins with the following picture:

Venn diagram
A B

The rectangle "framing" the picture denotes the universal set; all things not in A, B or C are in the area surrounding them inside the frame.