The Language of Sets

We can think of a set intuitively, as simply as a well-defined collection of objects, called elements.

If S is a set, the notation x  S means that x is an element of S. The notation x  S means that x is not
an element of A.

A set may be specified using the set-roster notation or roster method by writing all of its elements
between braces.

Example 1:

S = 1, 2,3, 4,5

1 S
6S

A = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ...→ A is a set containing the elements 1,2,3,4,5, and so on - all positive
integers. This is an example of infinite set.

B = 1, 2,3, 4,5,6,7,8 → B is a set containing all integers from 1 to 8. This is an example offinite
set.

Some known sets:

Empty set   or 
Set of natural numbers = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,...
Set of integers =... , −3, −2, −1, 0,1, 2, 3, ...
+
Set of positive integers
−
Set of negative integers

Another way to specify a set uses what is called the set-builder notation.

Set-Builder Notation

Let S denote a set and let P(x) be a property that elements of S may or may not satisfy. We may
define a new set to be the set of all elements x in S such that P(x) is true. We denote this set as follows:

x  S | P( X )

The set of all Such that

Example 2:

What if I want to know the set containing ever numbers between 0 and 11?
Answer: S = x   0  x  11, x is even

Write C = 4,5, 6, 7, … using the set-builder notation.

Answer: C = x  | x  4

Describe D = x   + | −2  x  5by listing its elements.

Answer: D = 1, 2, 3, 4

Subsets

If A and B are sets, then A is called a subset of B, written A  B , if, and only if, every element of A is
also an element of B.

Symbolically: A  B means that For all elements x, if x  A then x  B .

It follows from the definition of subset that for a Set A not to be a subset of a set B means that there is
at least one element of A that is not an element of B.

Symbolically: A  B means that There is at least one element x such that x  A and x  B .

Proper Subsets

Let A and B be sets. A is a proper subset of B, written A  B , if, and only if, every element of A is in B
but there is at least one element of B that is not in A.

Example 3:

Let A = +
, B = n  0  n  100, and C = 100, 200,300, 400,500. Evaluate the truth and falsity
of each of the following statements:

a. B  A-
b. C  A –
c. C and B have atleast one element in common.
d. C  B
e. C  C
Answer:

a. False
b. True
c. True
d. False
e. True

Ordered Pair

Given elements a and b, the symbol (a,b) denotes the ordered pair consisting of a and b together with
the specification that a is the first element of the pair and b is the second element.

Two ordered pairs (a,b) and (c,d) are equal if and only if a = c and b = d. Symbolically; (a, b) = (c, d)
means that a = c and b = d

Illustration:

a) If (a, b) = (3, 2), what would be the value of a and b. Here, by definition that two ordered pairs (a,b)
and (c,d) are equal iff a = c and b = d. Hence, a = 3 and b = 2.

b) Find x and y if (4x + 3, y) = (3x + 5, – 2). Solution: Since (4x + 3, y) = (3x + 5, – 2), so 4x + 3 = 3x + 5
Solving for x, we got x = 2 and obviously y = – 2

Cartesian Product

Given sets A and B, the Cartesian product of A and B, denoted by A  B and read as “A cross B”, is the
set of all ordered pairs (a,b), where a is in A and b is in B.

In set-builder notation, A B = ( x, y) x  A and y B

Example 4:

Let A= H , T and B = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

A B = (H , 1), ( H , 2), ( H , 3), ( H, 4), ( H, 5), ( H, 6), (T, 1), (T , 2), (T , 3), (T , 4), (T , 5), (T , 6)
B A= (1, H ), (2, H ), (3, H ), (4, H ), (5, H ), (6, H ), (1, T ), (2, T ), (3, T ), (4, T ), (5, T ), (6, T )
Note that A B  B A.