DATA INTERPRETATION-STUDY MATERIALS

VENN DIAGRAM
A Venn diagram is a drawing, in which circular areas represent groups of items
usually sharing common properties. The drawing consists of two or more circles, each
representing a specific group or set. This process of visualizing logical relationships was
devised by John Venn (1834-1923).
Each Venn diagram begins with a rectangle representing the universal set. Then
each set of values in the problem is represented by a circle. Any values that belong to
more than one set will be placed in the sections where the circles overlap.
The universal set is often the "type" of values that are solutions to the problem. For
example, the universal set could be the set of all integers from -10 to +10, set A the set of
positive integers in that universe, set B the set of integers divisible by 5 in that universe,
and set C the set of elements -1, - 5, and 6.
The Venn diagram at the left shows two sets A and B that overlap. The universal set is U.
Values that belong to both set A and set B are located in the center region labeled where
the circles overlap. This region is called the "intersection" of the two sets.
(Intersection is only where the two sets intersect or overlap.)
The notation represents the entire region covered by both sets A and B (and the section
where they overlap). This region is called the "union" of the two sets.
(Union, like marriage, brings all of both sets together.)
If we cut out sets A and B from the picture above, the remaining region in U, the
universal set, is labeled, and is called the complement of the union of sets A and B.
A complement of a set is all of the elements (in the universe) that are NOT in the set.
Formulas
A Venn diagram or set diagram is a diagram that shows all possibilities of overlap and
non-overlap of two or more sets. The simplest and most typical Venn diagram depicts
two overlapping circles:
Sets A (creatures with two legs) and B (creatures that can fly)
This example involves two sets, A and B, represented here as circles. Set A represents all
living creatures that are two--legged.
legged. Set B represents the living creatures that can fly.
Each separate type of creature can be imagined as a point somewhere in the diagram.
Living creatures that both can fly and have two legs – for example,, parrots – are in both
sets, so they are represented by the area where the circles overlap.
Humans and penguins are bipedal, and so are then in Set A, but since they cannot fly,
they appear in the left part of the left circle, where it does not overlap with
wi the right
circle. Mosquitoes have six legs, and fly, so the point for mosquitoes is in the part of the
right circle that does not overlap with the left one. Creatures that are not two-legged
two and
cannot fly (for example, whales and spiders) would be repr represented
esented by the area outside
both circles.
The combined area of sets A and B is the union of A and B, as we discussed in the
previous section. The union, in this case, contains all living creatures that are either two-
two
legged or that can fly or both. Moreove
Moreover,r, the area in both A and B, where the two sets
overlap, is called the intersection of A and B, as discussed in the previous section. For
example, the intersection of the two sets is not empty, because there are points that
represent creatures that are in both circles.
The key characteristic of a Venn diagram is that it represents exhaustive possibilities. In
other words, all the possible logical relations of these classes can be indicated in the
same diagram. That is, the diagram initially leaves room for any possible relation of two
sets, and the actual or given relation can then be specified by indicating that some
particular region is null or is not
not-null.
Here are some of those “regions” that are null or not null in different cases, as shaded in
differentt diagrams.

Intersection of two sets

Union of two sets

The Overlapping Set Equation

The shaded area is the intersection of the two sets, the overlap of the two circles. We can
introduce a simpler notation. Call the two sets G1 and G2, 2, for Group 1 and
a Group 2,
respectively. The shaded area is B, for “both” – it includes the elements that are in both
sets. Finally, there is the area around the two circles (but inside the box). That’s N, for
“neither” – it includes the elements that are not in either sset.
(In our new notation, we are using the variables to stand for the counts of how many
elements are in each set. So G1 stands for what we would write precisely in set notation
in vertical bars.
If we add everything up, we get that the total number of el
elements
ements here is G1, plus G2,
plus N. But since G1 andG2 are overlapping, the region B – the shaded region – is
counted twice. So, to count the total number accurately, we must subtract B once from
that sum. Therefore,

This is the ever-so-useful Overlapping Set Equation. You can remember it and make use
of it by drawing the Venn diagram above to jog your memory, if necessary. Whenever
overlapping sets are in play, this equation is potentially useful.
Three Overlapping Sets
The logic for three sets is similar to the logic for two sets, but the third set adds
complexity to the situation.
Three overlapping sets can be depicted as follows:
And the overlap formula is

However, as with two sets, we’ll write in an easier

easier-to-remember
remember notation, in just a
moment. First, let’s look at this example:
This Venn diagram shows overlapping sets that contain letters. The upper-left
upper circle
contains the letters of the Greek alphabet, the upper
upper-right
right circle contains the letters of
the Latin alphabet, and the bottom circle contains the letters of the Russian alphabet.
Before, we had only one area of intersection, which we called “Both.” In the case of three
sets, we have four areas of overlap. Three of them are logically similar in that they
represent the overlap between
ween two sets, whereas the section in the middle is the area of
maximum overlap – all three sets. Namely, in the top overlap, N, Z, and I are all letters
in both the Greek and the Latin alphabet, but not the Russian alphabet. And the
surrounding box represents
ents the universe of letters of alphabets. Some elements that
would float in that area (but which are not depicted) are the letters of the Korean
alphabet, none of which are members of the Greek, Latin, or Russian alphabets.
To add up all the elements of tthese
hese sections to get the total number of elements, we
employ the same logic as in the case of two sets and get:

As before, we must subtract to avoid double

double-counting – and in this case, triple-counting.
triple
If 1, 2, and 3 stand for Greek, Latin, and Russian, respectively, then B12,12, for example,
would be the upper middle overlap portion, between 1 (Greek) and 2 (Latin), containing
the letters N, Z, and I. We have counted it in G1 and again in G2,
2, so we subtract it once
in the equation above in order to count it a net of one time. Similarly, the middle section
has been counted three times, one for each group, so we must subtract it twice in order
to count it once ultimately.
As before, we can draw the Venn diagram in order to recall the formula for three
overlapping sets. The key is remembering what we have to subtract and why in order to
obtain the correct total number.