Operations on Sets

There are several fundamental operations for constructing new sets from a given sets. Perhaps
the best way to understand them is to use what are called Venn diagrams. It is a pictorial
representation of the relationship of sets. The rectangle represents the universal set. Circle
represents the given set.

1) Union. A  B is the set that contains all the elements in either A or B or both:

Using Set-Builder Notation Venn diagram

A   B = {x | x  ∈ A or x ∈ B}.

Example 13: Union of Sets

a. If A = { 1, 2, 3} and B ={ 3, 4, 5}, then A   B = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
b. {1, 2} ∪ {1, 2} = {1, 2}.
c. {1, 2} ∪ {2, 3} = {1, 2, 3}.
d. {1, 2, 3} ∪ {3, 4, 5} = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

2) Intersection. A  B is the set that contains all the elements common to both A and B:

A   B = {x | x  ∈A and x ∈ B}.

Example 14: Intersection

a. If A = { 1, 2, 3} and B ={ 3, 4, 5}, then A   B = { 3 }
Note: If A ∩ B = {}, then A and B are said to be disjoint.
b. {1, 2} ∩ {1, 2} = {1, 2}.
c. {1, 2} ∩ {2, 3} = {2}.

3) Complement. A' is the set that consists of all elements in the universal set U not contained
in A:

A' = {x | x ∈ U and x  A}

Example 15: Complement

If U= { 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12} and A = { 2, 4}, then A' ={ 6, 8, 10, 12}

4) Difference. A - B is the set that contains all the elements that are in A but not in B.
The relative complement of B in A:
A  −¿  B = {x | x ∈ A and x  B}

Example 16: Difference

a. If A = { 1, 2, 3} and B ={ 3, 4, 5}, then A - B = { 1, 2 }
b. {1, 2} −¿ {1, 2} = { }.
c. {1, 2, 3, 4} −¿ {1, 3} = {2, 4}.
d. If U is the set of integers, E is the set of even integers, and O is the set of odd integers,
then U −¿  E = E′ = O.

5. Symmetric Difference.  A  △  B is the set that contains all the elements
that are in A∪B but not in A∩B:

A    △   B = {x | x ∈ A∪B and  x  A∩B }

Example 17: Symmetric Difference

a. If A = { 1, 2, 3} and B ={ 3, 4, 5}, then A   △   B = { 1, 2, 4, 5 }
b. The symmetric difference of {7, 8, 9, 10} and {9, 10, 11, 12} is the set {7, 8, 11, 12}.