Set Theory

Preparatory Quantitative Methods

Sirish Kumar Gouda and Vinu CT

May 26, 2014

Agenda

I Some basic Notations

I Basics of Set theory
I
I
I
I

Denition
Set Representation
Set Operations
Venn diagrams

Notations

Some notations that you will come across in the next few weeks
- Set of natural numbers

N0 -

- Set of integer numbers

- Set of rational numbers

Set of natural numbers inclusive of zero (Whole numbers)

I R+ - Set of non-negative real numbers

I

- Set of complex numbers

Notations

Pn

xi

Qni=1

n! - n

factorial, i.e.,

- Sum of the numbers

xi : x1 + x2 + + xn

i=1 xi - Product of the numbers

xi : x1 x2 xn

n.(n 1).(n 2)....1

I min{a, b} - Minimum of the numbers

I max{a, b} - Maximum of the numbers

I

|x|

[x]-

- Absolute value of the real number

Greatest integer

such that

y x

and

a
x

and

Notations

[a, b]-

Closed interval such that

(a, b)-

Open interval such that

- For all

- there exists

- Indenite Integral and

ax b
a<x <b

a - Denite Integral

d
dx - Dierential and x - Partial dierential
I (n ) or n Ck - Binomial coecient or Number of combinations
k
I

of

from

Set theory

No one shall expel us from the paradise that Cantor has created
for us - David Hilbert

Denition

I A set is collection of objects(elements) dened in a precise

way, so that any given object is either
I
I

in the set
or not in the set

I Elements of a set are known as its members

I All elements are picked from a Universal set usually
represented by

I Elements of a set are unique i.e there are no repeats

I Order of the elements is irrelevant

Representation

I Extension - via explicit enumeration

I
I
I

A = {2, 4, 6, 8, ...}
B = {1, 4, 9, 16}
C = {1, 2, 6, 24, 120, ...}

I Intension - via a dening property

I
I
I

A = {2k | k is a positive integer }

B=?
C=?

Sets of numbers

Figure : Relationship between numbers

Source: http://www.mathsisfun.com/sets/number-types.html

Is this a set?

I A is the collection of all the scores in IPL 7

Is this a set?

I A is the collection of all the scores in IPL 7

I B is the collection of percentiles of all students of IIMB PGP
2014-16 Batch

Is this a set?

I A is the collection of all the scores in IPL 7

I B is the collection of percentiles of all students of IIMB PGP
2014-16 Batch

I Scams = { A Raja, 2G, CWG, Sonia G, Rahul G, Manmohan

ji}

Is this a set?

I A is the collection of all the scores in IPL 7

I B is the collection of percentiles of all students of IIMB PGP
2014-16 Batch

I Scams = { A Raja, 2G, CWG, Sonia G, Rahul G, Manmohan

ji}

I F = {k!|

kN0 }

Set Notations and Operations

I A is a subset of B (written AB) if every element of A is an

element of B

Set Notations and Operations

I A is a subset of B (written AB) if every element of A is an

element of B
I

Example: A = {Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly} and B is a collection

of all cricketers who scored 10,000 or more runs in ODIs

I Sets A and B are disjoint if no element of A is an element of B

and vice-versa

Set Notations and Operations

I A is a subset of B (written AB) if every element of A is an

element of B
I

Example: A = {Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly} and B is a collection

of all cricketers who scored 10,000 or more runs in ODIs

I Sets A and B are disjoint if no element of A is an element of B

and vice-versa

I Sets A and B are equal if every element of A is an element of

B and vice-versa

Set Notations and Operations

I A is a subset of B (written AB) if every element of A is an

element of B
I

Example: A = {Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly} and B is a collection

of all cricketers who scored 10,000 or more runs in ODIs

I Sets A and B are disjoint if no element of A is an element of B

and vice-versa

I Sets A and B are equal if every element of A is an element of

B and vice-versa
I

Exercise: A = {2k | k is a positive integer } and B is set

containing the pair wise sum of all prime numbers (
________ conjecture !!!)

Set Notations and Operations

I The complement of a set
of all elements not in
I

(denoted as

Ac )

is the collection

Exercise: What is the complement of the set A =

{2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, ...}

I The union of sets A and B (denoted by AB) is the set of

elements of A and B

Set Notations and Operations

I The complement of a set
of all elements not in
I

(denoted as

Ac )

is the collection

Exercise: What is the complement of the set A =

{2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, ...}

I The union of sets A and B (denoted by AB) is the set of

elements of A and B

I The intersection of A and B (denoted AB) is the set of

elements common to A and B

Set Notations and Operations

I The complement of a set
of all elements not in
I

(denoted as

Ac )

is the collection

Exercise: What is the complement of the set A =

{2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, ...}

I The union of sets A and B (denoted by AB) is the set of

elements of A and B

I The intersection of A and B (denoted AB) is the set of

elements common to A and B

I The dierence of A and B (denoted by A\B or A-B) is the set

of elements of A but not in B

Set Notations and Operations

I The complement of a set
of all elements not in
I

(denoted as

Ac )

is the collection

Exercise: What is the complement of the set A =

{2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, ...}

I The union of sets A and B (denoted by AB) is the set of

elements of A and B

I The intersection of A and B (denoted AB) is the set of

elements common to A and B

I The dierence of A and B (denoted by A\B or A-B) is the set

of elements of A but not in B

I The Cartesian product of A and B is the exhaustive set of

ordered pairs shown below

Set Notations and Operations

I The complement of a set
of all elements not in
I

(denoted as

Ac )

is the collection

Exercise: What is the complement of the set A =

{2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, ...}

I The union of sets A and B (denoted by AB) is the set of

elements of A and B

I The intersection of A and B (denoted AB) is the set of

elements common to A and B

I The dierence of A and B (denoted by A\B or A-B) is the set

of elements of A but not in B

I The Cartesian product of A and B is the exhaustive set of

ordered pairs shown below
I

A x B = {(a, b) | a A, b B}

Venn Diagrams

I Geometric interpretation tool

I Represent the universal set as a rectangle
I Represent each set as a circle
I Combine the circles to depict the result of unary and binary
operations

Venn Diagrams - Examples

Cardinality

I A set's cardinality is a measure of its size. If A is the set used,

it's cardinality is represented by n(A)

I Intuitively, if we can exhaustively count the elements of a set,

it is nite

I If a set is innite we use ellipsis (. . . )

I

Trivia: Did you know that the set of natural numbers is

countably innite ?

Exercise:
I
I

Try to prove using Venn diagrams

n(AB) = n(A) + n(B) - n(AB)

If A B, n(B) = n(A) + n(B\A)

Thank You