The Four Basic

Concepts
Sets
A collection of distinct objects,
considered as an object in its own
right.
Example:
The items you wear: hat, shirt, jacket,
pants, and so on.
Types of fingers: Thumb, Index,
Middle, Ring, and Pinky.
Notation
 There is a fairly simple notation for sets. We
simply list each element (or "member")
separated by a comma, and then put some
curly brackets around the whole thing:
Example:
 {socks, shoes, watches, shirts, ...}
◦ We call an Infinite set
 {thumb, index, middle, ring, pinky}

◦ We call an Finite set

the set of letters:

{a, b, c, ..., x, y, z}
Example:
 Certain sets of numbers are so
frequently referred to that they are
given special symbolic names.

Symbol Set
ℝ Set of all real numbers
ℤ Set of all integers
ℚ Set of all rational numbers, or
quotients of integers
Set-builder Notation

Notes:
• The x is just a variable, it could be anything.
• Some people use “:” instead of "|“, so they
write { x : x > 0 }
Example:

“The set of all x’s is an element of real

number such that x is greater than or
equal 3”
Subsets
 When we define a set, if we take
pieces of that set, we can form what is
called a subset.
Example:
The set A={1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
• A subset of this is B={1, 2, 3}. Another
subset is C={3, 4} or even another is
D={1}, etc.

Symbolically:
 A⊆B means that “For all elements x, if x∈A then x ∈B.
Example:
 Is A a subset of B, where A = {1, 3, 4}
and B = {1, 4, 3, 2}?
 Let A be all multiples of 4 and B be all

multiples of 2. Is A a subset of B? And

is B a subset of A?
Proper Subset
A is a proper subset of B if and only if
every element in A is also in B.

Example:
a. A={1,2,3} B={1,2,3}
b. A={1,2,3} B={1,2,3,4}
Cartesian Product
 The product of two sets.
 “A cross B”

Symbolically:

Example:
Let A= B=
a. Find .
b. Find .
c. Find .
UNIVERSAL SET
 The set of all elements. We will use the letter U to denote
universal set.
EXAMPLE:
If A = { 1, 2, 3} and B = { 3, 4,5 5}, then the universal set U is,
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

The empty set or null set is the set that contains no

elements. The symbol is represent the empty set.
EXAMPLES:
A = {days start with letter L}
B = {cats with two legs}
Equal sets are set with exactly the same elements
and cardinality.
Example:
A = {c, a, r, e}
B = {r, a, c, e}

Equivalent sets are set with the same number of

elements or cardinality.
Example:
A = {a, e, i, o, u}
B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
Joint sets are set with common
elements(intersection).
Example:
A = {c, a, r, e}
B = {b, e, a, r, s}
Disjoint sets are set with no common elements.
Example:
The set A = {a, b, c} and B = {e, f, g} are disjoint
sets, since no elements is common.
ACTIVITY 1