Algebra of sets

This article is about algebraic properties of set operations Distributive laws:

in general. For a boolean algebra of sets, see Field of sets.
A (B C) = (A B)
(A C)
The algebra of sets denes the properties and laws of
sets, the set-theoretic operations of union, intersection, A (B C) = (A B)
and complementation and the relations of set equality and (A C)
set inclusion. It also provides systematic procedures for
evaluating expressions, and performing calculations, in- The union and intersection of sets may be seen as analo-
volving these operations and relations. gous to the addition and multiplication of numbers. Like
Any set of sets closed under the set-theoretic operations addition and multiplication, the operations of union and
forms a Boolean algebra with the join operator being intersection are commutative and associative, and inter-
union, the meet operator being intersection, the comple- section distributes over union. However, unlike addition
ment operator being set complement, the bottom being and multiplication, union also distributes over intersec-
and the top being the universal set. tion.
Two additional pairs of laws involve the special sets called
the empty set and the universal set U ; together with the
1 Fundamentals complement operator (AC denotes the complement of A).
The empty set has no members, and the universal set has
The algebra of sets is the set-theoretic analogue of the all possible members (in a particular context).
algebra of numbers. Just as arithmetic addition and
multiplication are associative and commutative, so are set Identity laws:
union and intersection; just as the arithmetic relation less
than or equal is reexive, antisymmetric and transitive, A=A
so is the set relation of subset. AU =A
It is the algebra of the set-theoretic operations of union,
intersection and complementation, and the relations of Complement laws:
equality and inclusion. For a basic introduction to sets see
the article on sets, for a fuller account see naive set theory, A AC = U
and for a full rigorous axiomatic treatment see axiomatic A AC =
set theory.
The identity laws (together with the commutative laws)
say that, just like 0 and 1 for addition and multiplication,
2 The fundamental laws of set alge- and U are the identity elements for union and intersec-
bra tion, respectively.
Unlike addition and multiplication, union and intersec-
The binary operations of set union ( ) and intersection tion do not have inverse elements. However the comple-
( ) satisfy many identities. Several of these identities or ment laws give the fundamental properties of the some-
laws have well established names. what inverse-like unary operation of set complementa-
tion.
Commutative laws: The preceding ve pairs of lawsthe commutative, as-
sociative, distributive, identity and complement laws
AB =BA encompass all of set algebra, in the sense that every valid
AB =BA proposition in the algebra of sets can be derived from
them.
Associative laws:
Note that if the complement laws are weakened to the rule
(A B) C = A (B C) (AC )C = A , then this is exactly the algebra of proposi-
(A B) C = A (B C) tional linear logic.

1
2 6 THE ALGEBRA OF INCLUSION

3 The principle of duality 5 Some additional laws for comple-

ments
See also: Duality (order theory)
The following proposition states ve more important laws
Each of the identities stated above is one of a pair of iden- of set algebra, involving complements.
tities such that each can be transformed into the other by PROPOSITION 4: Let A and B be subsets of a universe
interchanging and , and also and U. U, then:
These are examples of an extremely important and pow-
erful property of set algebra, namely, the principle of De Morgans laws:
duality for sets, which asserts that for any true statement
about sets, the dual statement obtained by interchanging (A B)C = AC B C
unions and intersections, interchanging U and and re- (A B)C = AC B C
versing inclusions is also true. A statement is said to be
self-dual if it is equal to its own dual. double complement or Involution law:
C
(AC ) = A

4 Some additional laws for unions
and intersections
The following proposition states six more important laws
of set algebra, involving unions and intersections.
PROPOSITION 3: For any subsets A and B of a uni-
versal set U, the following identities hold:
idempotent laws:
AA=A
AA=A
complement laws for the universal set and the
empty set:
C = U
UC =
Notice that the double complement law is self-dual.
The next proposition, which is also self-dual, says that
the complement of a set is the only set that satises the
complement laws. In other words, complementation is
characterized by the complement laws.
PROPOSITION 5: Let A and B be subsets of a universe
U, then:

domination laws: uniqueness of complements:

If AB = U , and AB =
AU =U , then B = AC
A=

absorption laws: 6 The algebra of inclusion

A (A B) = A The following proposition says that inclusion, that is the
A (A B) = A binary relation of one set being a subset of another, is a
partial order.

As noted above, each of the laws stated in proposition 3 PROPOSITION 6: If A, B and C are sets then the fol-
can be derived from the ve fundamental pairs of laws lowing hold:
stated above. As an illustration, a proof is given below
for the idempotent law for union. reexivity:
Proof: AA
The following proof illustrates that the dual of the above
proof is the proof of the dual of the idempotent law for antisymmetry:
union, namely the idempotent law for intersection.
A B and B A if and only
Proof:
if A = B
Intersection can be expressed in terms of set dierence :
A B = A (A B) transitivity:
 3

If A B and B C , then C \ (A B) = (C \ A) (C \ B)
AC C \ (B \ A) = (A C) (C \ B)
(B\A)C = (BC)\A = B(C \A)
The following proposition says that for any set S, the
power set of S, ordered by inclusion, is a bounded lattice, (B \ A) C = (B C) \ (A \ C)
and hence together with the distributive and complement A\A=
laws above, show that it is a Boolean algebra.
\A=
PROPOSITION 7: If A, B and C are subsets of a set S A\=A
then the following hold:
B \ A = AC B
existence of a least element and a greatest ele- (B \ A)C = A B C
ment: U \ A = AC
AS A\U =

existence of joins:
8 See also
AAB
If A C and B C , then -algebra is an algebra of sets, completed to include
AB C countably innite operations.

existence of meets: Axiomatic set theory

AB A Field of sets
If C A and C B , then Naive set theory
C AB
Set (mathematics)
The following proposition says that the statement A B Topological space a subset of (X) , the power
is equivalent to various other statements involving unions, set of X , closed with respect to arbitrary union, -
intersections and complements. nite intersection and containing and X .
PROPOSITION 8: For any two sets A and B, the fol-
lowing are equivalent:
9 References
AB
AB =A Stoll, Robert R.; Set Theory and Logic, Mine-
ola, N.Y.: Dover Publications (1979) ISBN 0-486-
AB =B
63829-4. The Algebra of Sets, pp 1623
AB =
Courant, Richard, Herbert Robbins, Ian Stew-
B C AC
art, What is mathematics?: An Elementary Ap-
proach to Ideas and Methods, Oxford Univer-
The above proposition shows that the relation of set in- sity Press US, 1996. ISBN 978-0-19-510519-3.
clusion can be characterized by either of the operations SUPPLEMENT TO CHAPTER II THE ALGE-
of set union or set intersection, which means that the no- BRA OF SETS
tion of set inclusion is axiomatically superuous.

10 External links
7 The algebra of relative comple-
ments Operations on Sets at ProvenMath

The following proposition lists several identities concern-

ing relative complements and set-theoretic dierences.
PROPOSITION 9: For any universe U and subsets A,
B, and C of U, the following identities hold:

C \ (A B) = (C \ A) (C \ B)
4 11 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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