Ateneo de Davao University

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Module 6.1 Sets – Definition and Terminologies

What is a Set?

A set is a collection of distinct objects called elements or members of the set. No two elements of
a set are the same. Set braces, { }, are used to enclose the elements.

Example: What is the set of all letters in the word “Mississippi”?

Answer: X = {i, M, p, s}

Can be read as ‘The set X is the set of all the all letters contained in the word “Mississippi”

Note: Arranging the elements in a certain order helps in identifying possible patterns.

Types of Sets

▪ Finite set – countable elements A = {2, 4, 6}

▪ Infinite set – all elements cannot be listed B = {1, 3, 5, …}

The three dots (ellipsis) show that the list continues in the same pattern indefinitely.

▪ Empty Set – the set containing no elements is called an empty set, or null set. It is usually written
∅ or { }.

Example: What is the set of all even prime numbers between 10 and 20?
Answer: ∅ (The only even prime number is 2.)

Cardinality of Sets

The cardinality of a set, denoted by |𝐴|, refers to the number of elements in a set.

Example:
Given A = {a, b, c, d}, what is |𝐴|? Answer: 4
How many elements are in the set {∅}? Answer: 1

Terms and Symbols in Sets

Symbol Meaning Example

∈ element of 2 ∈ {2, 4, 6, 8}
∉ not an element of 1 ∉ {2, 4, 6, 8}
⊂ proper subset {2, 3, 4} ⊂ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} (some)
means A has some elements of B
⊆ subset {2, 3, 4} ⊆ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} (some)
means A has some (or all) elements {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} ⊆ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} (all)
of B
⊈ not a subset {2, 3, 7} ⊈ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

Number of Subsets

If a set contains n elements, then the number of subsets of the set is 2n.

Example:
How many subsets does A = {a, b, c} have? Answer: n = 3 2n = 23 = 8 subsets
{a}, {b}, {c}, {a, b}, {a, c}, {b, c}, {a, b, c}, { }