Mathematics in the Modern

World

Unit 2

 
Complements, Subsets and Set
Operations

 
Universal Set
Is the set of all elements considered in a certain
investigation or group, and denoted by the symbol U

Example
U = the set of digits in a decimal system
U = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9}

 
Set Complement
The complement of a set A, denoted by A’, is the set of
all elements in the universal set U that are not elements
of set A.

Example
U = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}
A = {2, 4, 6, 8}
B = {1, 3, 4, 7, 9}
C = {0, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8}

Find the following:

A’ , B’ and C’.  
Solution
U = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}
A = {2, 4, 6, 8}
B = {1, 3, 4, 7, 9}
C = {0, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8}

A’ = {0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
B’ = {0, 2, 5, 6, 8}
C’ = {1, 3, 4, 9}

 
 

Subset of a Set
Set A is a subset of set B, denoted by A B, if and only if
all elements in A are also elements of B.

A = {2, 3, 4, 5}
B = {1, 2, 3 ,4, 5, 6, 7, 8}

A B because all elements contained in A are also found

in set B.

 
Proper Subset of a Set
Set A is a proper subset of set B, denoted by A ⊂ B, if
and only if all elements in A are also elements of B, but
A ≠ B.

Example
A = {2, 3, 4, 5}
B = {1, 2, 3 ,4, 5, 6, 7, 8}

A ⊂ B because all elements contained in A are also

found in set B and A ≠ B.
 
Example 2
C = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}
B = {1, 2, 3 ,4, 5, 6, 7, 8}

Is C a proper subset of B?

C ⊄ B because 10 is not an element of B.

 
Example 3
List down all subsets of set A = { 2, 4, 6}.

Subsets of A
{2} {4}
{6} {2, 4}
{2,6} {4, 6}
{2, 4, 6} { }

 
NOTES
 A set is a subset of itself.
 An empty set is a subset of any set.

 
Example 4
List down all proper subsets of set A = { 2,
4, 6}.

Proper Subsets of A
{2}
{4}
{6}
{2, 4}
{2,6}
{4, 6}
{}
Exclude the set itself {2, 4,  6}
Example 5
Decide whether ⊆, ⊂ or both could be placed in each
blank to make a true statement.
a. {a, b, c} ___ { a ,b, c, d}
b. {1, 2, 3, 4} ___ {1, 2, 3, 4}

 
Number of Subsets of a Set
If A has n elements, then the number of subsets A has is
2n

Example
A sports utility vehicle (SUV) manufacturing company
in Japan offers 6 upgrade options to their standard
SUV.

a. How many different versions of the SUV can the

company produce?
 
Solution
Let A be the set containing all possible upgrades. Since
there are 6 upgrades, a client can choose any
combinations of those upgrades or not get an upgrade
at all.

The total number of different versions of SUV is the

total number of subsets of A.

Applying the formula 2n, then

A= 26
A = 64
 
b. If the company aims to produce a 256 versions of the
SUV, how many upgrade options must it offer to its
clients?

Solution
If there are 256 versions of the SUV, then the total
number of upgrades is n, such that 2n = 256.
2n = 2 8
n= 8

 
 

SET OPERATIONS

Intersection of Sets
Given two arbitrary sets A and B, their intersection
denoted by A B, is the set of elements common to both
A and B.
A B = {x / x A and x B}

 
 Example

Find the intersection of the following sets.

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

a. A B
A B = {3, 5, 7}
b. A C
A C = {2, 4, 6}
c. C B
C B = { } or Ø
 
 

Union of Sets
Given two arbitrary sets A and B, their union denoted
by A U B, is the set of elements that belong to either A
or B or to both.

A U B = {x / x A or x B}

 
Example
Find the union of the following sets.
Let A = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}
B = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}
C = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}

a. A U B
A U B = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9}
b. A U C
A U C = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10}
c. C U B
C U B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
 
Venn Diagram
Venn Diagram was developed by the logician John
Venn (1834 – 1923). In the diagram, the universal set
is represented by a rectangle and other sets of interest
within the universal set are depicted as circular regions.

 
Venn Diagram
The rectangle represents the universal set, U, while the
portion bounded by the circle represents set A.

Figure

A
U

 
Example
The areas of a Venn Diagram are often represented as regions
using Roman Numerals. For each item below, identify the region
in which it would be placed.

1. 6
2. 20
3. 30
4. 9
5. 15
6. 42,210

 
Answers:

1. Region II
2. Region IV
3. Region V
4. Region III
5. Region VI
6. Region VIII