Math 10

Sets
Learning Outcomes
1. Identify if a collection is a set or not;
2. Apply the operations on sets on survey problems;
3. Determine if two sets are equivalent by using 1-1 correspondence;
4. Recognize that there are various degrees of infinities
Sets as Mathematical
Objects
What are Sets?
• A set is a well-defined collection of objects – a collection where
there is a clear distinction whether an object/element is in the set or
not.

• An object is an element of the set if it belongs to the given set.

• We use an uppercase letter to denote a set (e.g. A, B, C)

If an object x belongs to Set A we denote it as 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 ,
otherwise, if it does not belong to Set A we denote it as 𝑥 ∉ 𝐴

• To describe a set, we either use Enumeration/Roster Method (listing

its elements) or the Rule/Set Builder Method (laying out a rule).
Example of Sets
Enumeration/Roster Method
• V = { a, e, i, o, u }
• E = { 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, … }
• G = { Pyro, Geo, Dendro,
Anemo, Hydro, Cryo, Electro }
Rule/Set Builder Method
• V = { x | x is a vowel in the
English Alphabet }
• E = { x | x is a positive even
number }
• G = { x | x is an element from
Genshin Impact }
Note:
• The elements of a set should be distinct.

• The order of the elements (in enumeration method) does not matter for sets.
This means that set V can also be like:
• V = { u, o, i, e, a }
• V = { o, u, e, i, a }

• Also, from the sets mentioned the following can be said:

• 𝑎 ∈ 𝑉, 2 ∈ 𝐸, 𝑃𝑦𝑟𝑜 ∈ 𝐺, 𝑏 ∉ 𝑉, 7 ∉ 𝐸, 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑘 ∉ 𝐺
These are NOT Sets
• L = { x | x is a large number }

• B = { x | x is beautiful }

• P = { x | x is a powerful character in Genshin }

• There are no clear distinction to be a member of

the set.
Terms and Notations
• A set can be either finite or infinite. Finite if it is possible to list all members
and infinite otherwise.

• The cardinality of the set refers to the number of elements it has, denoted
with the symbol n(A).

• The set with no elements is called the empty or null set, denoted by:
N = { } or N = ⊘

• The universal set, usually denoted by U, is the set consisting of all elements –
in a particular instance.
• A power set is the set of all possible subsets of a given set, including
the set itself and the null set. It is denoted by P(A) or Power Set of A.
Example:
A = {1, 2, 3}
P(A) = { A, {1}, {2}, {3}, {1, 2}, {1, 3}, {2, 3}, {} }
The cardinality of a power set is equal to 2n(A).
So, in this example the n(P(A)) = 2n(A) = 23 = 8.
• We can also represent sets using a venn diagram.
• 𝑈 = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 }
• 𝐴 = 2, 4, 6, 8 𝐵 = { 3, 6, 9 }
Operations on Sets
and their properties
Set Operations
• Suppose we have Set A and B in a given Universal Set U.
1. Union of A and B
𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = 𝑥 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵 }
2. Intersection of A and B
𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = 𝑥 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵 }
3. Set Difference
𝐴 ∖ 𝐵 = 𝑥 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 ∉ 𝐵 }
4. Complement of A
𝐴𝑐 = 𝑥 𝑥 ∈ 𝑈 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 ∉ 𝐴 }
5. Cartesian Product of A and B
𝐴 × 𝐵 = 𝑎, 𝑏 𝑎 ∈ 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏 ∈ 𝐵 }
Example:
𝑈 = { 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 }
𝐴 = 2, 4, 6, 8 𝐵 = { 3, 6, 9 }
Find:

𝐴∪𝐵 = { 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 }
𝐴∩𝐵 ={6}
𝐴∖𝐵 = { 2, 4, 8 }
𝐵∖𝐴 = { 3, 9 }
𝐴𝑐 = { 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 }
𝐴∪𝐵 𝑐 = 1, 5, 7
𝐴 × 𝐵 = {(2, 3), (2, 6), (2, 9), (4, 3), (4, 6), (4, 9), (6, 3), (6, 6), (6, 9),(8, 3),
(8, 6), (8, 9)}
Properties:
The Union and Intersection of Sets satisfy the following properties:
1. Commutative Property:
𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = 𝐵 ∪ 𝐴
𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = 𝐵 ∩ 𝐴
2. Associative Property:
𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 ∪ 𝐶 = 𝐴 ∪ (𝐵 ∪ 𝐶)
𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 ∩ 𝐶 = 𝐴 ∩ (𝐵 ∩ 𝐶)

However, set difference does not satisfy the above properties.

Cardinality Formulas
1. 𝑛 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = 𝑛 𝐴 + 𝑛 𝐵 − 𝑛(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵)

2. 𝑛 𝐴𝑐 = 𝑛 𝑈 − 𝑛(𝐴)

3. 𝑛 𝐴 ∖ 𝐵 = 𝑛 𝐴 − 𝑛(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵)

4. 𝑛 𝐴 × 𝐵 = 𝑛 𝐴 ∙ 𝑛(𝐵)
Example:
𝑈 = { 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 }
𝐴 = 2, 4, 6, 8 𝐵 = { 3, 6, 9 }

𝑛 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = 𝑛 𝐴 + 𝑛 𝐵 − 𝑛 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = 4+3−1 = 6

𝑛 𝐴𝑐 = 𝑛 𝑈 − 𝑛 𝐴 = 9 − 4 = 𝟓

𝑛 𝐴∖𝐵 =𝑛 𝐴 −𝑛 𝐴∩𝐵 =4 −1=𝟑

𝑛 𝐴 × 𝐵 = 𝑛 𝐴 ∙ 𝑛 𝐵 = 4 ∙ 3 = 𝟏𝟐
Relations on Sets
and their properties
Set Relations
Let A and B be sets contained in a universal set U.
1. Equality (A = B) A and B are equal – if and only if
they have precisely the same elements. If no
elements are the same, then they are disjoint.

2. Equivalence (A ~ B) A is equivalent to B – if A and

B have the same number of elements, to say, n(A) =
n(B).

Note: If A = B, then automatically A ~ B.

Set Relations

3. Subset (A ⊆ B) A is a subset of B or A is
contained on B, if and only if every element of
A is an element of B, to say, it is that if x ∈ A
then x ∈ B

If A ⊆ B and there exists at least one element of

B not in A, then we say that A is a proper
subset of B (A ⊂ B)
Properties:
Equality and Equivalence follows the following properties:
1. Reflexivity A = A and A ~ A

2. Symmetry If A = B, then B = A
If A ~ B, then B ~ A

3. Transitivity If A = B and B = C, then A = C

If A ~ B and B ~ C, then A ~ C
Which Properties does the Subset and Proper Subset?

Subset Proper Subset

Reflexivity YES NO

Symmetry SOMETIMES NO

Transitivity YES YES

Example:
𝑉 = 𝑎, 𝑒, 𝑖, 𝑜, 𝑢 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐸 = { 2, 4, 6, 8, … }

Let L = { x | x is a vowel from the word “abstemious” }

L = { a, e, i, o, u } which then says that L = V and L ~ V
also, L ≠ E and in fact it is disjoint.
Let M = { x | x is a letter from the word “abstemious” }
M = { a, b, s, t, e, m, i, o, u } which tells us that V ⊆ M
moreover, V ⊂ M
Using Sets
in Survey Problems
• Sets can be an effective way in solving survey
problems. It helps us illustrate the problem clearly
and count the distinct portions of the problem.
Example:
• In a community of 200 residents, 135 persons have been
exposed to chemical X, 85 to chemical Y, and 40 to both
chemicals X and Y, find the number of persons exposed to:

a. chemical X only; (chemical X but not chemical Y)

b. chemical Y only;
c. chemical X or chemical Y;
d. neither chemical.
Example:
• In a community of 200 residents, 135 persons have been
exposed to chemical X, 85 to chemical Y, and 40 to both
chemicals X and Y, find the number of persons exposed to:

• What are the given data from this problem?

Community of 200 n(U) = 200
135 exposed to chem X n(X) = 135
85 exposed to chem Y n(Y) = 85
40 exposed to both chem n(X ∩ Y) = 40
Example:
• In a community of 200 residents, 135 persons have been
exposed to chemical X, 85 to chemical Y, and 40 to both
chemicals X and Y, find the number of persons exposed to:

• chemical X only
n(U) = 200, n(X) = 135, n(Y) = 85, n(X ∩ Y) = 40
Since it is chem X only, we denote that as (X \ Y):
n(X \ Y) = n(X) - n(X ∩ Y) = 135 – 40
n(X \ Y) = 95
Example:
• In a community of 200 residents, 135 persons have been
exposed to chemical X, 85 to chemical Y, and 40 to both
chemicals X and Y, find the number of persons exposed to:

• chemical Y only
n(U) = 200, n(X) = 135, n(Y) = 85, n(X ∩ Y) = 40
Since it is chem Y only, we denote that as (Y \ X):
n(Y \ X) = n(Y) - n(X ∩ Y) = 85 – 40
n(Y \ X) = 45
Example:
• In a community of 200 residents, 135 persons have been
exposed to chemical X, 85 to chemical Y, and 40 to both
chemicals X and Y, find the number of persons exposed to:

• chemical X or chemical Y
• n(U) = 200, n(X) = 135, n(Y) = 85, n(X ∩ Y) = 40
Since it uses or, we denote that as (X ∪ Y):
n(X ∪ Y) = n(X) + n(Y) - n(X ∩ Y) = 135 + 85 – 40
n(X ∪ Y) = 180
Example:
• In a community of 200 residents, 135 persons have been
exposed to chemical X, 85 to chemical Y, and 40 to both
chemicals X and Y, find the number of persons exposed to:

• neither chemical
• n(U) = 200, n(X) = 135, n(Y) = 85, n(X ∩ Y) = 40
Since it uses neither, we denote that as (X ∪ Y)C :
n(X ∪ Y)C = n(U) - n(X ∪ Y) = 200 - 180
n((X ∪ Y)C ) = 20
• We can also use venn diagrams in solving these
problems

• Analyze the context clues and properly place the

data in the venn diagram.
Example:
• In a community of 200 residents, 135
persons have been exposed to
chemical X, 85 to chemical Y, and 40
to both chemicals X and Y, find the
number of persons exposed to:
Group Activity
• Select any Book, TV Show, Drama, Cartoon,
Animated Series, Anime or anything that has
characters.
• Create a Venn Diagram for its characters.
• You must create sets with clear memberships – there
are no limits to how you will group the characters as
long as you can show at least one intersecting set and
one disjoint set.
• The submission should be in pdf form – for you have
to provide some explanation to the sets you created.
• Note: Since some shows have lots of characters it is
not necessary to include all of them (just enough)
Example U = set of all Pokemons from the
series Pokemon: Sun & Moon.

A = set of pokemons that Ashe

owns in the Series.

G = set of pokemons that Gladion

owns in the Series.

S = set of pokemons that Sophocles

owns in the Series.

L = set of pokemons that Lillie owns

in the Series.
Cardinalities of
Infinite Sets
One-to-one
Correspondence
• Recall the definition of Equivalent Sets: A ~ B if n(A) = n(B) or when
the notion of one-to-one correspondence can be established.

• Definition:
Two sets A and B are in 1-1 correspondence if and only if every
element of A corresponds to exactly one element of B and every
element of B corresponds to exactly one element of A.
Example:
• Let V = {a, e, i, o, u} and let A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
These two sets are equivalent since n(V) = n(A) = 5.
We can establish the following 1-1 correspondence
Note:
• We can define now a finite set and its cardinality formally. Let’s say we
have Set A which is finite with cardinality n(A) = K if it can be placed
in a 1-1 correspondence with the proper subset K = {1, 2, 3, …, k} of
the set of natural numbers (N).

• For finite sets, we have the property that if two sets A and B are finite
and A is a proper subset of B, A ⊂ 𝐵, n(A) < n(B). This is true for
finite sets but may not be for infinite sets.
The Cardinality of the
Set of Natural Numbers
• Let us consider the Set of Natural Numbers
N = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, … }

• This is an infinite set – we cannot possibly list or enumerate every

element of this set. However, we can still define an infinite cardinality
for N. We have ℵ0 (aleph-null, a Hebrew Alphabet).
n(N) = ℵ0

• You may ask: Are there other sets with the same cardinality? Is ℵ0
the only infinite cardinal number? Is there a ℵ0 + 1? ℵ0 + 2? ℵ0 + ℵ0 ?
ℵ0 2 ?
• Consider the following sets:
• E = {x | x is an even natural number} = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, …}
• O = {x | x is an odd natural number} = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, …}
• C = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, …} = N ∪ {0}
• Z = {…, -k, …, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, …, k, …}
• Q = {a/b | a, b ∈ Z and b ≠ 0}

• What are the cardinalities of the above sets?

• As mentioned earlier for finite sets A and B,

if A ⊂ 𝐵 then n(A) < n (B) but this does not apply to infinite sets.
• E is an infinite set and a proper subset of N, there are elements in set
N not in set E such as the set O.

• However, we can still establish a 1-1 correspondence between N and

E as follows:

• In this case, every element k ∈ N corresponds to exactly one element

2k ∈ E. Therefore, the two sets are equivalent and n(E) = n(N) = ℵ0
• We can do the same with set O:

• So, n(O) = n(N) = ℵ0

• This now seems “unusual” or counterintuitive, that sets can be
equivalent to its proper subset. This is not true for finite sets.
• Definition:
A set is infinite if it is equivalent to a proper subset of itself
• Investigating now the Cardinality of sets C, Z and Q, which properly
contain N.

• Since C = N ∪ {0}
C = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, …, k, …}
N = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, …, k+1, …}

• Since Z = N ∪ {0} ∪ -N
Z = {0, 1, -1, 2, -2, 3, -3, …, k, -k, …}
N = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, …, 2k, (2k+1), …}

• Therefore, n(C) = n(Z) = ℵ0

• For the Set of Rational Numbers Q, it is less obvious to prove.
• In hind sight, Set Q seems to have “more” elements than N.
• Let us consider the table below, to establish 1-1 correspondence:
k and m are both natural numbers

• This table represents all elements for Q+

• Now we can try to pair these like below:

• BUT these are not 1-1 correspondence since 1 is paired to two

different elements and the elements are of ℵ0 elements.
• We can bypass this by pairing it with this pattern:
• With this correspondence:

• With this we established a 1-1 correspondence to Q+ which we can

convert to Q- finally making the conclusion that:
n(Q) = ℵ0
Note:
• Since C = N ∪ {0} and n(C) = n(N), we say that:
ℵ0 + 1 = ℵ0
In general, ℵ0 + k = ℵ0 for any natural number k.

• Note that N = E ∪ O and E and O are disjoint sets

so n(N) = n(E) + n(O)
then ℵ0 + ℵ0 = ℵ0

• The set of rational numbers given by the table has ℵ0 x ℵ0 = ℵ0 2

number of elements but still has the cardinality ℵ0
so ℵ0 x ℵ0 = ℵ0
• All the sets discussed so far: N, C, Z, Q all have the cardinality ℵ0 and
are equivalent to one another. We call them infinitely countable, and
we consider ℵ0 as the smallest infinite cardinality.

• Definition:
A set is said to be countable if it is either finite or has cardinality
ℵ0
The Cardinality of the
Set of Real Numbers
• What is the Set of Real Numbers R?

• It can be denoted as R = Q ∪ Q’
• Where as Rational Numbers are numbers with terminating decimal or
repeating nonterminating decimals, while Irrational Numbers are
numbers with nonrepeating nonterminating decimals like 𝜋, 2 and
the golden ratio Φ

• The Set of Real Number can be represented by the infinite number

line or the infinite interval −∞, +∞

• Are N and R Equivalent? Obviously No.

• Georg Cantor (1854 – 1918) – foundation of set theory

• He gave proof by contradiction to show that there are more real

numbers than natural numbers. In fact, at the very least, the
cardinality of the interval (0, 1) is greater than ℵ0
• The Diagonal Argument

• Let us show that Set R* = {x | x ∈ (0, 1)} is not countable, or

that n(R*) > ℵ0

• The Set R* has elements of decimals in the form

0. 𝑥1 𝑥2 𝑥3 𝑥4 𝑥5 … 𝑥𝑘 …, where 𝑥𝑘 ∈ N (for example: 0.1, 0.125,
0.111, …) which are all elements of (0, 1)

• We can use the diagonal argument to create an element which is not

mapped to any other element
• Suppose we have 5 distinct decimals:
𝑟1 = 0.12345
𝑟2 = 0.23456
𝑟3 = 0.34567
𝑟4 = 0.45678
𝑟5 = 0.56789
• We can obtain 𝑟6 from the given using the following formula:
r = 0.𝑥1 𝑥2 𝑥3 𝑥4 𝑥5
where 𝑥1 ≠ 1, 𝑥2 ≠ 3, 𝑥3 ≠ 5, 𝑥4 ≠ 7, and 𝑥5 ≠ 9.
We can take r = 0.25784 or r = 0.45683 or r = 0.67891, etc.
 𝑟1 = 0.12345
𝑟2 = 0.23456
𝑟3 = 0.34567
𝑟4 = 0.45678
𝑟5 = 0.56789
• r = 0.25784 or r = 0.45683 or r = 0.67891, etc.
• These r are not equal to any of the given decimals and note that the
restrictions we made are from the diagonal elements of the table.

• This is the diagonal argument, we present a number that is not taken

into account by the table.
• Theorem 1. The set R* = {x | x ∈ (0, 1)} is uncountable
• Proof. We prove this by contradiction. We say that R* is countable
and proceed to prove that it can be placed into a 1-1 correspondence.
We have N = 𝑚1 , 𝑚2 , 𝑚3 , …, 𝑚𝑛 , … In this case we can enumerate
them with the following:
• With this in mind we can contradict the statement by providing an
number r ∈ R* but is not given by the table.
• We define this r using the diagonal argument that is:
r = 0.𝑥1 𝑥2 𝑥3 … 𝑥𝑛 …
with the following restrictions
𝑥1 ≠ a11 , 𝑥2 ≠ a22 , 𝑥3 ≠ a33 , … and in general 𝑥𝑛 ≠ a𝑛𝑛
• With this choice we can see that r can not be equal to 𝑛1 or 𝑛2 or 𝑛3
or for any 𝑛𝑚 where m ∈ N, because they differ in the mth digit.

• Therefore we have a number r which is an element of (0, 1) but is not

present in the table. Thus R* is not countable!
• Now we have R* which is uncountable and has a cardinality > ℵ0
• We also know that (0, 1) ⊂ (−∞, +∞) or R* ⊂ R,
but is n(R*) < n(R)?

• This is false, and in actuality they are equivalent.

• Suppose a slightly bigger interval I = (-1, 1) compared to R* = (0,1).
• We consider the functions below as a rule of correspondence:
f(x) = 2x – 1, for x ∈ R*
g(x) = (x+1)/2 for x ∈ I
This is verifiable for any interval I = {x | x ∈ (a, b), a < b}
• We can also prove the correspondence through illustration:

• Even if the interval increases in length, we can still draw a diagonal line
that will intersect both interval at two distinct points at any time.
Activity
• The German Mathematician David Hilbert (1862-1943), created a famous
thought experiment examining the intriguing and counterintuitive
properties of infinity.
• Hilbert’s Infinite Hotel, is a hotel with an infinite number of rooms.
• Watch the following video:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj3_KqkI9Zo
• The Infinite Hotel Paradox - Jeff Dekofsky (Ted-Ed)
• Answer the following questions: • Font: Times New Roman 12
• What is the Infinite Hotel? • Min: 1 Page Max: 2 Pages
• If the hotel is fully booked and a guest arrives, can the hotel • PDF Submission
accommodate the guest that arrived? How?
• How about a bus with an infinite number of guests, can the hotel
accommodate them? How? • You can watch other videos to
• What issues can come up for a Real Infinite Hotel? How is it an help you understand the
issue? hotel more.