Lesson 2

Set Operations
 Objectives

At the end of this lesson, the learner should be able to

● accurately list the elements of the union,

intersection, and difference of two sets;

● accurately list the elements of the complement of a

set; and

● correctly solve problems involving sets.

 Essential Questions

● How do you determine the elements of the union,

intersection, and difference of two sets?

● How do you determine the elements of the complement of

a set?
 Warm Up!

For this lesson, we will study the basic set operations. Before
we proceed, let’s recall how to define a set and the different
ways to write them.

(Click on the link below to watch the video.)

MyWhyU. “Algebra 1 - Defining Sets”. Youtube (9 March 2012).

Retrieved 22 January 2019 from http://bit.ly/2Dyz9X0.
 Guide Questions

● What do we denote an empty set?

● What are the different ways of writing a set?

● What is a set-builder notation? How do we read the

symbol “|”?
 Learn about It!

1 Union of Sets
It is the set that contains all the elements of both given sets and .

Example:

The union of sets and is denoted by .

If } and then
 Learn about It!

2 Intersection of Sets
It is the set that contains all the elements common to both given sets and .

Example:

The intersection of sets and is denoted by

If and , then .
 Learn about It!

3 Difference of Sets
It is the set that contains all the elements in set which are not in set

Example:

The difference of sets and is denoted by

If and , then .
 Learn about It!

4 Complement of a Set
It is the set that contains all the elements in the universal set that are not in set 𝐴.

Example:

The complement of set is denoted by.

If and , then
 Try It!

Example 1: Consider the universal set

a. Define set as the set of the first 3 vowels and set as the
set of the first 4 consonants in the English alphabet.

b. List the elements of the union of and .

c. List the elements of the intersection of and .

 Try It!

Example 1: Consider the universal set

a. Define set as the set of the first 3 vowels and set as

the set of the first 4 consonants in the English alphabet.

Solution:
a. We list the elements of both sets and .
 Try It!

Example 1: Consider the universal set

b. List the elements of the union of and .

Solution:
b. Since we already identified and from item 1, to get the
union of the two sets, we combine all their distinct elements.
 
 Try It!

Example 1: Consider the universal set

c. List the elements of the intersection of and .

Solution:
c. Identify and list the common elements of sets and .

and

Since the two sets have no elements in common, their

intersection is a null set, or .
 Try It!

Example 2: Consider the universal set as the set of integers

from 1 to 10. Sets A and B are defined as follows:

Find the following sets:

a.
b.
c.
d.
 Try It!

Example 2: Consider the universal set as the set of integers

from 1 to 10. Sets A and B are defined as follows:

Find the following sets:

a. List in roster form:
b.  
c.
d.  
 Try It!

𝑈= {1 ,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 }
Find the following sets:
a.
b.
c.
d.

Solution:
a. To get the union of A and B, we combine their distinct
elements in a set.
 Try It!

𝑈= {1 ,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 }
Find the following sets:
a.
b.
c.
d.

Solution:
b. To get the intersection of the two sets, we get the
elements common to both sets.
 
 Try It!

𝑈= {1 ,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 }
Find the following sets:
a.
b.
c.
d.

Solution:
c. To get the difference , we list the elements in that cannot
be found in .
 
 
 Try It!

𝑈= {1 ,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 }
Find the following sets:
a.
b.
c.
d.

Solution:
d. To get the complement of , we write the elements in the
universal set that cannot be found in .
 
 Let’s Practice!

Individual Practice:

1. The universal set contains integers from 1 to 16. Find the

following:

a. Set containing all composite numbers

b. Set containing multiples of 4
c. Union of and
d. Intersection of and
 Let’s Practice!

Individual Practice:

2. Given that the universal set Find:

is the set of all integers a. b. c. d
from 1 to 20, sets and are
defined as follows:
 Let’s Practice!

Group Practice: To be done in 2 to 5 groups

A group of students were asked about their dream country

destination. The top answers from the girls include
Singapore, Maldives, Japan, Thailand, and France. The top
answers from the boys include Japan, Hongkong, France,
China, and USA.
 Let’s Practice!

Group Practice: To be done in 2 to 5 groups

Find the following:

a. Set containing the top dream destinations of the girls
b. Set containing the top dream destinations of the girls
c. Set containing all the top dream destinations of the
girls and boys
d.
e.
Key Points

Union of Sets
1 It is the set that contains all the elements of both given sets 𝐴 and 𝐵.

Intersection of Sets
2 It is the set that contains all the elements common to both given sets 𝐴 and 𝐵.

Difference of Sets
3 It is the set that contains all the elements in set 𝐴 which are not in set 𝐵.

Complement of a Set
44 It is the set that contains all the elements in the universal set that are not in set 𝐴.
 Synthesis

● In which part of your daily life can you see the concepts of
the union, intersection, and difference of two sets?

● Is there a way to see the concepts of union, intersection,

difference, and complement visually?

● How do we solve problems by the help of the concepts of

union, intersection, difference, and complement visually?