Session 8 (1h) – Sets (cont’d)

Objectives: By the end of this session you should be able to

- Write out Subsets of a give set.
- Calculate the number of Subsets of any give Set.
- State, using symbols and Venn diagram, the relationship between a Subset and
its Universal set.
- List the Complement of a Set.
- List the intersection and Union of two sets.
- Identify Disjoint Sets.
- Solve problems involving two sets.

Content:
Subsets and the Universal Set. Complement of a set, Venn Diagrams,
Intersection and Union of Sets, Problem Solving.

8.1 Subsets and the Universal Set

In any context, every set is part of a larger set. For instance, the set of girls in your
class is a Smaller Set of the set of girls in your school. The smaller set is called a
Subset and the Larger Set is called the Universal Set. ‘U’ is used to represent the
Universal Set. For any given set ‘A’ we can always define an appropriate Universal
Set ‘U’. We say A is a subset of U or
A C U. The Symbol ‘C’ means “is a subset of.”
8.2 Venn Diagrams
Venn Diagrams consist of a rectangle representing the Universal set, and circles
representing its Subsets. These diagrams were so named after the English
Mathematician John Venn who discovered their usefulness in solving problems
involving sets.
A Subset P and its Universal Set U is shown as follows:
U
P1
 P

The diagram shows that P is contained in U, i.e. P C U. There can also be other
Subsets of U. The elements of U which are not contained in P form the Complement
of P. This is written as P1.

Example 8a

If U = {Natural numbers less than 12} and

A = {Factors of 18}

(i) Show the Sets U and A on a Venn Diagram.

(ii) List the elements of A1.

Solution:

Listing the Sets we have U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}

A = {1, 2, 3, 6, 9}

You should notice that the factor 18 was not listed. This is because A should only
contain factors which are in U.

(i) Venn Diagram

U
4

A 5 7 8
 1 2

3 6

The numbers {1, 2, 3, 6, 9} are within the circle but {4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11} are outside
the circle but within the rectangle. They make up the Complement A1.
(i) A1 = {4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11}; the elements which are outside the circle but in the
rectangle.

8.3 Intersection and Union of two Sets: ∩, ∪

Two Subsets of a Universal Set can share some Common elements. If this happens
then the two subsets are said to intersect. If the subsets have no element in common,
then they are said to be disjoint.
i.e. (i) Intersecting Subsets
 The Subset A and B overlap or intersect. The shaded region represents “A ∩ B”,
i.e. the intersection of A and B.

(ii) Disjoint Subsets

The Subsets A and B have no common elements. A and B are disjoint. A ∩ B =

Ø, i.e. the intersection is empty.
Union
A union of two sets is formed by putting together all the elements of the given Sets.
If the two given Sets intersect then the Common elements are stated only once. The
Union of Sets A and B is written as A ∪ B. The number of elements in the Union is
obtained by summing the elements of A and B and subtracting the number of
elements which are common.
Example 8b
Given U = {whole numbers up to 20}
A = {prime numbers}
B = {even numbers}
(a) List the Sets A, U, B.
(b) Draw a Venn Diagram to represent the Sets.
(c) List the members of (i) A ∩ B (ii) A ∪ B.
Solution:
(a) Listing the Sets we have:-
 U = {0, 1, 2, 3 ... 20}
A = {1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19}
B = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20}
(b) Venn Diagram

Notice in the Venn Diagram that the numbers 0, 9 and 15 belong to neither
A nor B whereas the number 2 belong to both A and B.
(c) (i) A ∩ B = {2}
(ii) A ∪ B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20}
Notice that n(A) = 9, n(B) = 10, N(A∩B) = 1 , n(A ∪B) = 18 and 18 = 9 + 10 –
1. We have the relationship

n(A ∪ B) = n(A) + n(B) – N(A ∩ B)

 Activity 8a ¡ 10 Minutes

Given: U = {Natural Numbers up to 20}

A = {Multiples of 3}
C = {Odd numbers}
(i) List the Sets U, A, C.
(ii) List the members of:- (a) A1 and C1
 (b) A ∩ C
(c) A ∪ C
(d) (A ∪ C)1
(e) (A ∩ C)1
(iii) Draw a Venn Diagram to show sets U, A, C.
(iv) Show that n(A ∪ C) = n(A) + n(C) – n(A ∩ C).

8.4 Number of Subsets of a given Set.

We have learnt that Subsets are smaller sets contained in larger sets. In this section
we will form Subsets of a given Set and deduce a formula for finding how many
subsets can be formed from a given Set. We need to note that:-
(a) The empty set { } is a Subset of ever Set.
(b) Every Set is a subset of itself.
Consider the set X = {a}. This set has only 1 element. The only subsets which can be
formed are:- { } and {a} i.e., only 2 sets can be formed.
Now consider the set Y = {1, a}. This set has 2 elements and the subsets which can be
formed are:- { }, {1}, {a} and{1, a}, i.e., there are a total of four subsets.
Try to form all subsets of the set Z = {1, t, x}.
How many subsets did you get? Your answer should be 8. If there were four elements
the number of Subsets would be 16. There is a relationship between the number of
elements in the Set and the number of Subsets which can be formed.

Let us examine this relationship:-

No. of
elements 1 2 3 4 .......... n
No. of 2 4 8 16
Subsets = 21 = 22 = 23 = 24 ........... 2n

See that the number of Subsets can be expressed as a power of 2. The power
corresponds to the number of elements in the set.
No. of Subsets = 2n where n represents the number of elements in the set.
 Example: if P = {a, e, i, o, u} then
n(P) = 5, number of Subsets would be 25, which is 32.
Every increment of 1 in the number of elements results in an increase by a power of 2
in the number of Subsets. We say that the number of Subsets increases exponentially.

8.5 Problem Solving with the use of Venn Diagrams.

We have seen how Venn Diagrams can be used to show relationships between
Subsets of a Universal set. Some problems which would take much trial and error to
solve can be solved easily if represented on a Venn Diagram. Consider the following:
Example 8c:
In a class of 40 students, 25 study Music and 15 study Art. 5 students study
neither of these Subjects. How many students study:-
(i) Both subjects
(ii) Art Only
(iii) Music Only
(iv) Only one Subject
Solution: Let U represent the entire class
A represent Art students
M represent Music students
We have n(U) = 40; n(A) = 15; n(M) = 25. Five students study neither subjects, so
there must be some who are studying both subjects. Let this amount be x.
On a Venn Diagram this information can be represented as:-
 The shaded region represents A ∩ M
Notice that n(A ∩ M) = x
Since 5 students study neither subjects then the remaining 35 study either Music or
Art, or both.
i.e. n(A ∪ M) = 35.
We now have 35 = (15 – x) + (x) + (25 – x)
35 = 40 – x
x = 40 – 35
x = 5.
(i) Number of students who study both subjects = 5.
(ii) Number who study Art Only = 15 – 5 = 10
(iii) Number who study Music Only = 25 – 5 = 20
(iv) Number who study one subject = 35 – 5 = 30

 Checkpoint
 In the Venn Diagram shown, the regions 1 – 4 represent the following:

1 – Members belonging to A Only

2 – Members in A ∩ B

3 – Members in B Only

4 – Members in (A ∪B)1 i.e. neither A nor B.

n(A ∪ B) = n(A) + n(B) – n(A ∩ B)

This is the general relation between the Union and Intersection of two Sets. It is
commonly called the Two Set formula.

 Activity 8b ¡ 15 Minutes

1. A survey was carried out among 50 persons to find out which daily
newspapers they read. 35 claimed they read the Chronicle and 30 claimed they
read the Stabroek. Every person read at least one paper.
How many read:- (i) Both papers
(ii) Chronicle Only
(iii) Stabroek Only
(iv) Only one paper
Use a Venn Diagram to show your information.
2. In a club containing 25 adults, 17 played Lotto and 20 played Bingo. 4
 played neither of these games.
How many played:- (i) At least 1 game
(ii) Both games
(iii) Lotto Only
(iv) Bingo Only

 Summary: Sets

 The symbols used in Set terminology are

∈ - Membership
Ø or { } – Empty Set or Null set
C – Subset
U – Universal Set
∪ - Union
∩ - Intersection
⇋ - Equivalent Sets
1
- Complement of a set
 The number of Subsets of any given Set is 2 n where n is the number of elements
of the given set.
 n(A ∪ B) = n(A) + n(B) – n(A ∩ B) represents the relationship between union
and intersection of two sets.

Answers to Activities.
Activity 7a
1. (a) Finite (b) Infinite (c) Finite
Activity 7b
1. (a) P = { x : x ≤ 20; x ∈ N}
P = {1, 2, 3, 4 ... 20}
(b) Q = { x : -3 < x ≤ 3; x ∈ Z}
Q = {-2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3}
(c) R = { x : -3 < x ≤ 3; x ∈ R}
 i. e.

2. (i) A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}

(ii) B = {-4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1}
3. Q =

Activity 8a
1. (i) U = {1, 2, 3 ... 20}
A = {3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18}
C = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19}
(ii) (a) A1 = {1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20}
C1 = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20}
(b) A ∩ C = {3, 9, 15}
(c) A ∪ C = {1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19}
(d) (A ∪ C)1 = {2, 4, 8, 10, 14, 16, 20}
(e) (A ∩ C)1 = {1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20}
(iii) Venn Diagram.

Discussion

How can we identify the different types of sets?

State one feature that distinctly identifies a named set from another.