SET

• The collection of well-defined distinct

objects.
• The word well-defined refers to a specific
property which makes it easy to identify
whether the given object belongs to the set
or not.
• The word ‘distinct’ means that the objects of
a set must be all different.
1.The collection of children in class VII
whose weight exceeds 35 kg.
2.The collection of all the intelligent
children in class VII
Elements of Set:
• The different objects that form a set are
called the elements of a set.
• The elements of the set are written in any
order and are not repeated.
• Elements are denoted by small letters.
Notation of a Set:
A set is usually denoted by capital letters and
elements are denoted by small letters

If x is an element of set A, then we say

x ϵ A. [x belongs to A]

If x is not an element of set A, then we say

x ∉ A. [x does not belong to A]
For example:
The collection of vowels in the English
alphabet.

Solution :
Let us denote the set by V, then the elements
of the set are a, e, i, o, u or we can say, V = [a,
e, i, o, u].

We say a ∈ V, e ∈ V, i ∈ V, o ∈ V and u ∈
V. Also, we can say b ∉ V, c ∉ v, d ∉ v, etc.
 Representation of a Set

In representation of a set the following three

methods are commonly used:
(i) Statement form method

(ii) Roster or tabular form method

(iii) Rule or set builder form method

1. Statement form:
In this, well-defined description of the elements
of the set is given and the same are enclosed
in curly brackets.
For example:
(i) The set of odd numbers less than 7 is written as: {odd
numbers less than 7}.
(ii) A set of football players with ages between 22 years to 30
years.
(iii) A set of numbers greater than 30 and smaller than 55.
(iv) A set of students in class VII whose weights are more than
your weight.
2. Roster form or tabular form:
In this, elements of the set are listed within the
pair of brackets { } and are separated by
commas.
For example:
1. Let N denote the set of first five natural numbers.
Therefore, N = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} → Roster Form

2. The set of all vowels of the English alphabet.

Therefore, V = {a, e, i, o, u} → Roster Form
3. The set of all odd numbers less than 9.

Therefore, X = {1, 3, 5, 7} → Roster Form

4. The set of all natural number which divide
12.

Therefore, Y = {1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12} → Roster

Form
5. The set of all letters in the word
MATHEMATICS.

Therefore, Z = {M, A, T, H, E, I, C, S} → Roster

Form
6. W is the set of last four months of the year.

Therefore, W = {September, October,

November, December} → Roster Form
3. Set builder form:
In this, a rule, or the formula or the statement is
written within the pair of brackets so that the
set is well defined. In the set builder form, all
the elements of the set, must possess a single
property to become the member of that set.
In this form of representation of a set, the
element of the set is described by using a
symbol ‘x’ or any other variable followed by a
colon The symbol ‘:‘ or ‘|‘ is used to denote
such that and then we write the property
possessed by the elements of the set and
enclose the whole description in braces. In
this, the colon stands for ‘such that’ and
braces stand for ‘set of all’.
For example:
(i) Let P is a set of counting numbers greater than 12;
the set P in set-builder form is written as :

P = {x : x is a counting number and greater than 12}

or
P = {x | x is a counting number and greater than 12}
This will be read as, 'P is the set of elements x such that x is a
counting number and is greater than 12'.
A. Write each of the following sets in the Roster
form:
a. The set of first seven natural numbers.
b. The set of whole numbers less than 5.
c. The set of five numbers each of which is divisible by
3.
d. The set of whole numbers less than 20 and divisible
by 3.
e. The set of integers greater than -2 and less than 4.
B. Write each of the following sets in the rule
method:
a. {8,10,12, 14}
b. {5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30}
c. {1, 4, 9, 16, 25}
d. {10, 100, 1000, 10000}
e. {red, yellow, blue}
Types of Sets
1. Empty Set or Null Set:
 A set which does not contain any element is called an
empty set, or the null set or the void set and it is denoted
by ∅ and is read as phi.
 In roster form, ∅ is denoted by {}.
 An empty set is a finite set, since the number of elements
in an empty set is finite.

Examples:
1. The set of whole numbers less than 0.
2. B = {x I x is a composite number less than 4}.
2. Singleton Set:
 A set which contains only one element is
called a singleton set.
Example:
1. A = {x I x is neither prime nor composite}

2. B = {x I x is a even prime number}

3. Finite Set:
 A set which contains a definite number of
elements is called a finite set.
 Empty set is also called a finite set.
Example:
1. The set of all colors in the rainbow.

2. P = {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, ...... 97}

4. Infinite Set:
 The set whose elements cannot be listed,
i.e., set containing never-ending elements
is called an infinite set.

Example:
1. Set of all points in a plane

2. C = { x I x is a prime number}
Cardinal Number of a Set:
 The number of distinct elements in a given
set A is called the cardinal number of A.
 It is denoted by n(A).

Example:
1. A = {1, 2, 3, 4}
Therefore, n(A) = 4
2. B = set of letters in the word “ALGEBRA”
Therefore, n(B) = 6
5. Equivalent Sets:
 Two sets A and B are said to be equivalent if
their cardinal number is same, i.e., n(A) =
n(B). The symbol for denoting an equivalent
set is ‘↔’.
Example:
A = {1, 2, 3} Here n(A) = 3
B = {p, q, r} Here n(B) = 3
Therefore, A ↔ B
6. Equal sets:
 Two sets A and B are said to be equal if
they contain the same elements. Every
element of A is an element of B and every
element of B is an element of A.
Example:
A = {p, q, r, s}
B = {p, s, r, q}
Therefore, A = B
7. Disjoint Sets
 Two sets A and B are said to be disjoint, if
they do not have any element in common.
Example:
A = {x : x is a prime number}
B = {x : x is a composite number}.

Clearly, A and B do not have any element in

common and are disjoint sets.
8. Overlapping sets:
 Two sets A and B are said to be overlapping
if they contain at least one element in
common.

Example:
• A = {a, b, c, d}
B = {a, e, i, o, u}
9. Subset:
 If A and B are two sets, and every element
of set A is also an element of set B, then A
is called a subset of B and we write it as
A ⊆ B or B ⊇ A
 The symbol ⊂ stands for ‘is a subset of’ or
‘is contained in’
 • Every set is a subset of itself, i.e., A ⊂ A, B ⊂ B.

• Empty set is a subset of every set.

• Symbol ‘⊆’ is used to denote ‘is a subset of’ or ‘is

contained in’.

• A ⊆ B means A is a subset of B or A is contained in B.

• B ⊆ A means B contains A.
For example:

1. Let A = {2, 4, 6}
B = {6, 4, 8, 2}

Here A is a subset of B
Since, all the elements of set A are contained in set B.

But B is not the subset of A

Since, all the elements of set B are not contained in set A.

Notes:
If ACB and BCA, then A = B, i.e., they are equal sets.

Every set is a subset of itself.

Null set or ∅ is a subset of every set.

 Proper Subset:
f A and B are two sets, then A is called the
proper subset of B if A ⊆ B but B ⊇ A i.e., A ≠ B.
The symbol ‘⊂’ is used to denote proper subset.
Symbolically, we write A ⊂ B.
For example:
1. A = {1, 2, 3, 4}
Here n(A) = 4

B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
Here n(B) = 5
We observe that, all the elements of A are present in B but the
element ‘5’ of B is not present in A. So, we say that A is a
proper subset of B. Symbolically, we write it as A ⊂ B
10. Power Set:
 The collection of all subsets of set A is
called the power set of A.
 It is denoted by P(A). In P(A), every
element is a set.

Example:
If A = {p, q} ,then
P(A) = {∅, {p}, {q}, {p, q}}
11. Universal Set
 A set which contains all the elements of
other given sets is called a universal set.
 The symbol for denoting a universal set
is ∪.
Example:
1. If A = {1, 2, 3} B = {2, 3, 4} C = {3, 5, 7}
then U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7}
2. If A = {a, b, c} B = {d, e} C = {f, g, h, i}
then U = {a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i} can be taken as universal
set.
 Operations on Sets
When two or more sets combine together to
form one set under the given conditions, then
operations on sets are carried out.
 Union of Sets
 Union of two given sets is the smallest set
which contains all the elements of both the
sets.
 To find the union of two given sets A and B
is a set which consists of all the elements of
A and all the elements of B such that no
element is repeated.
 The symbol for denoting union of sets is ‘∪’.
Union of Sets
Exercises:
1. If A = {1, 3, 7, 5} and B = {3, 7, 8, 9}. Find
union of two set A and B.
2. Let X = {a, e, i, o, u} and Y = {b,c,d,e}. Find
union of two given sets X and Y.
3. If set P = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}, set Q = {0, 3, 6, 9,
12} and set R = {2, 4, 6, 8}.
(a) Find the union of sets P and Q.
(b) Find the union of sets P and R.
(c) Find the union of sets Q and R.
 Intersection of Sets
 Intersection of two given sets is the largest
set which contains all the elements that are
common to both the sets.
 To find the intersection of two given sets A
and B is a set which consists of all the
elements which are common to both A and
B.
 The symbol for denoting intersection of sets
is ‘∩‘.
Intersection of Sets
Example:
Let set A = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6} and set B = {3, 5, 7, 9}

In this two sets, the elements 3 and 5 are

common. Therefore, the intersection of two
sets A and B is represented as A ∩ B = {x : x ∈
A and x ∈ B}.

A ∩ B = {3, 5}
Solved examples to find intersection of two given sets:

1. If A = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10} and B = {1, 3, 8, 4, 6}. Find intersection of two set A

and B.

Solution: A ∩ B = {4, 6, 8}
Therefore, 4, 6 and 8 are the common elements in both the sets.

2. If X = {a, b, c} and Y = {ф}. Find intersection of two given sets X and Y.

Solution: X ∩ Y = { }
3. If set A = {4, 6, 8, 10, 12},
set B = {3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18} and
set C = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}.

(i) Find the intersection of sets A and B.

(ii) Find the intersection of sets B and C.
(iii) Find the intersection of sets A and C.
 Difference of Two Sets
 If A and B are two sets, then their difference
is given by A - B or B - A.
 A - B means elements of A which are not the
elements of B.
 In general, B - A = {x : x ∈ B, and x ∉ A}
Difference of Two Sets
Example:
1. If A = {2, 3, 4} and B = {4, 5, 6}

A - B = {2, 3}
B - A = {5, 6}
2. Let A = {a, b, c, d, e, f} and B = {b, d, f, g}.
Find the difference between the two sets:
(i) A and B
(ii) B and A
3. Given three sets P, Q and R such that:
P = {x I x is a natural number between 10 and 16},
Q = {y I y is a even number between 8 and 20} and
R = {7, 9, 11, 14, 18, 20}

a. Find the difference of two sets P and Q

b. Find Q - R
c. Find R - P
d. Find Q – P
 Complement of a Set
 In complement of a set if U be the
universal set and A a subset of U, then the
complement of A is the set of all elements
of U which are not the elements of A.
 Symbolically, we denote the complement
of A with respect to U as A’.
Complement of a Set
Example:
1. If U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} and A = {1, 3, 7}
find A'.

Solution:
We observe that 2, 4, 5, 6 are the only
elements of U which do not belong to A.

Therefore, A' = {2, 4, 5, 6}

2. Let U = The set of letters in the English
alphabet.

A = The set of consonants in the English

alphabet

then A' = The set of vowels in the English

alphabet.
 Venn Diagrams
 Pictorial representations of sets
represented by closed figures are called
set diagrams or Venn diagrams.
 Venn diagrams are used to illustrate
various operations like union, intersection
and difference.
 We can express the relationship among
sets through this in a more significant way.
• Venn diagrams are useful in solving simple
logical problems.
• Mathematician John Venn introduced the
concept of representing the sets pictorially
by means of closed geometrical figures
called Venn diagrams.
• In Venn diagrams, the Universal Set U is
represented by a rectangle and all other
sets under consideration by circles within
the rectangle.
VENN DIAGRAMS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS
• If a set A is a subset of set B, then the circle
representing set A is drawn inside the circle
representing set B.
 If set A and set B have some elements in
common, then to represent them, we draw
two circles which are overlapping.
• If set A and set B are disjoint, then they are
represented by two non-intersecting circles.
Example 1

If U = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10} A = {1,3,5,7,9,10} B = {3,4,5,7,8}

AB

A B
1 4 6
3
9 5
7 8
10
Example 2
If U = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10} A = {2,4,6,8,10} B = {4,6,8}

A 5
1 B
4 6
7
8
3
9
Example 3
If U = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10} A = {2,4,6,8,10} B = {1,3,5}

A B
2 1

6 10 3
4 5
8

7 9
Example 4
If U = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10} A = {2,4,5,8,10} B = {4,6,9,10} C = {1,4,6,}

A B
2 5 10 9
8 AB C
4
6

1
3 7
C
Show each group of sets in a Venn diagram.
(a) U = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7} A = {2,3,4,5} B = {2,5}
(b) U = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7} A = {1,2,6} B = {2,4,6}
(c) U = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7} A = {1,2,4} B = {3,6}
(d) U = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8} A = {2,4,5,8} B = {1,2,7,8,} C = {2,4,6,}
From the adjoining Venn diagram,
find the following sets.
1. A'
2. B'
3. C'
4. C - A
5. B - C
6. A - B
7. A ∪ B
8. B ∪ C
9. A ∩ C
10. B ∩ C
11. (B ∪ C)'
12. (A ∩ B)'
13. (A ∪ B) ∩ C
1. In a class of 50 students, 18 take English,
26 take Math, and 2 take both English and
Math. How many students in the class are
enrolled in
a. English only
b. Math only
c. neither English nor Math?
2. In a class, there are 13 students who play
volleyball, 19 students who play basketball, 8
students who play basketball and volleyball,
and 7 students who do not play basketball or
volleyball. How many students are there in
the class?
3. In a class there are 30 students. 21 students
like GMA. 16 students like ABS-CBN. 6
students don't like GMA or ABS-CBN. How
many students like
a. both GMA and ABS-CBN?
b. GMA or ABS-CBN?
c. GMA but not ABS-CBN?
d. ABS-CBN but not GMA?
e. like only one of the networks?
4. There are 45 farmers in a barangay. Twenty farmers planted
rice, 28 farmers planted corn, 20 farmers planted vegetables,
15 farmers planted rice and corn, 10 farmers planted rice and
vegetables, 9 planted corn and vegetables, and 5 farmers
planted all three crops. How many farmers planted:
a. rice only? h. rice and vegetable?
b. corn only? i. corn and vegetable?
c. vegetable only? j. rice or corn but not vegetables?
d. vegetables but not corn? k. exactly two crops?
e. corn but not rice? l. neither of the three crops?
f. rice but not vegetables?
g. rice and corn?
5. In a hospital, the patients had the following
ailments: 45 had malaria, 45 had hypertension, and 45
had peptic ulcer. 25 had malaria and hypertension, 20
had malaria and peptic ulcer, 10 had hypertension and
peptic ulcer while 5 had all the ailments. How many
patients are sick of
a. malaria only?
b. malaria but not hypertension?
c. hypertension and peptic ulcer but not malaria?
d. malaria or hypertension but not peptic ulcer?
e. neither malaria nor peptic ulcer?
6. A group of 62 students were surveyed, and it was found that each of the students
surveyed liked at least one of the following three fruits: apples, bananas, and
oranges.

34 liked apples.
30 liked bananas.
33 liked oranges.
11 liked apples and bananas.
15 liked bananas and oranges.
17 liked apples and oranges.
19 liked exactly two of the following fruits: apples, bananas, and oranges

a. How many students liked apples, but not bananas or oranges?

b. How many students liked oranges, but not bananas or apples?
c. How many students liked all of the following three fruits: apples, bananas, and
oranges?
d. How many students liked apples and oranges, but not bananas?
1. In a class of 50 students, 18
take Chorus, 26 take Band, and
2 take both Chorus and
Band. How many students in the
class are enrolled in either
Chorus or Band?
2. A veterinarian surveys 26 of his
patrons. He discovers that 14 have
dogs, 10 have cats, and 5 have
fish. Four have dogs and cats, 3 have
dogs and fish, and one has a cat and
fish. If no one has all three kinds of
pets, how many patrons have none of
these pets?
3. In a food chain, a survey of 100 people was taken to
determine their preferences in drinks. Sixty-eight people in
the group liked coke, 60 people liked pineapple and 56
people liked nestea, while 36 people liked coke and
pineapple, 38 people liked pineapple and nestea, 37 people
liked coke and nestea. Twenty-four people liked all three
kinds of drinks. How many of the people like

a. coke only k. coke or pineapple but not nestea

b. nestea only l. pineapple or nestea but not coke
c. pineapple only m. at least 2 of the drinks
d. coke but not nestea n. at most 2 of the drinks
e. coke but not pineapple o. neither of the three drinks
f. pineapple but not nestea
g. coke or nestea
h. coke or pineapple
i. pineapple or nestea
j. coke or nestea but not pineapple