SET THEORY

Set Theory is a branch of mathematical logic where we learn sets and their properties. A set is a collection of objects or groups of
objects. These objects are often called elements or members of a set. For example, a group of players in a cricket team is a set.
Since the number of players in a cricket team could be only 11 at a time, thus we can say, this set is a finite set. Another example of
a finite set is a set of English vowels. But there are many sets that have infinite members such as a set of natural numbers, a set of
whole numbers, set of real numbers, set of imaginary numbers, etc.
Definition of Sets
A set is a well-defined collection of objects or people. Sets can be related to many real-life examples, such as the number of rivers in
Kenya, number of colours in a rainbow, etc.
Representation of Sets
Sets can be represented in two ways:
1. Roster Form or Tabular form
2. Set Builder Form
Roster Form
In roster form, all the elements of the set are listed, separated by commas and enclosed between curly braces { }.
Example:
If L represents a set that contains all the letters in the word ADDRESS, the proper Roster form representation would be
L = {A, D, R, E, S} = {S, E, D, A, R}
L≠ {A, D, D, R, E, S, S}
Set Builder Form
In set builder form, all the elements have a common property. This property is not applicable to the objects that do not belong to
the set.
Example: If set S has all the elements which are even prime numbers, it is represented as:
S={ x: x is an even prime number}
where ‘x’ is a symbolic representation that is used to describe the element.
‘:’ means ‘such that’
‘{}’ means ‘the set of all’
So, S = { x:x is an even prime number } is read as ‘the set of all x such that x is an even prime number’.
The roster form for this set S would be S = 2. This set contains only one element. Such sets are called singleton/unit sets.
Another Example:
F = {p: p is a set of two-digit perfect square numbers}
How?
F = {16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81}
We can see, in the above example, 16 is a square of 4, 25 is square of 5, 36 is square of 6, 49 is square of 7, 64 is square of 8 and 81
is a square of 9}.
Even though, 4, 9, 121, etc., are also perfect squares, but they are not elements of the set F, because the set is limited to only two-
digit perfect square.
Types of Sets
The sets are further categorised into different types, based on elements or types of elements. These different types of sets in basic set
theory are:
• Finite set: The number of elements is finite
• Infinite set: The number of elements are infinite
• Empty set: It has no elements
• Singleton set: It has one only element
• Equal set: Two sets are equal if they have same elements
• Equivalent set: Two sets are equivalent if they have same number of elements
• Power set: A set of every possible subset.
• Universal set: Any set that contains all the sets under consideration.
• Subset: When all the elements of set A belong to set B, then A is subset of B

1
Set Theory Symbols
There are several symbols that are adopted for common sets. They are given in the table below:

Table 1: Symbols denoting common sets

Symbol Corresponding Set

Represents the set of all Natural numbers i.e. all the positive integers.
N This can also be represented by Z+.
Examples: 9, 13, 906, 607, etc.

Represents the set of all integers

The symbol is derived from the German word Zahl, which means number.
Z
Positive and negative integers are denoted by Z+ and Z– respectively.
Examples: -12, 0, 23045, etc.

Represents the set of Rational numbers

The symbol is derived from the word Quotient. It is defined as the quotient of two integers (with non-zero denominator)
Q
Positive and negative rational numbers are denoted by Q+ and Q– respectively.
Examples: 13/9. -6/7, 14/3, etc.

Represents the Real numbers i.e. all the numbers located on the number line.
R Positive and negative real numbers are denoted by R+ and R– respectively.
Examples: 4.3, π, 4√ 3, etc.

Represents the set of Complex numbers.

C
Examples: 4 + 3i, i, etc.

Other Notations

Symbol Symbol Name

{} set

A∪B A union B

A∩B A intersection B

A⊆B A is subset of B

A⊄B A is not subset B

A⊂B proper subset / strict subset

2
 A⊃B proper superset / strict superset

A⊇B Superset

A⊅B not superset

Ø empty set

P (C) power set

A=B Equal set

Ac Complement of A

a∈B a is an element of B

x∉A x not element of A

Set Theory Formulas

• n( A ∪ B ) = n(A) +n(B) – n (A ∩ B)
• n(A∪B)=n(A)+n(B) {when A and B are disjoint sets}
• n(U)=n(A)+n(B)–n(A∩B)+n((A∪B)c)
• n(A∪B)=n(A−B)+n(B−A)+n(A∩B)
• n(A−B)=n(A∩B)−n(B)
• n(A−B)=n(A)−n(A∩B)
• n(Ac)=n(U)−n(A)
• n(PUQUR)=n(P)+n(Q)+n(R)–n(P⋂Q)–n(Q⋂R)–n(R⋂P)+n(P⋂Q⋂R)
Set Operations
The four important set operations that are widely used are:
i. Union of sets
ii. Intersection of sets
iii. Complement of sets
iv. Difference of sets
Fundamental Properties of Set operations:
Like addition and multiplication operation in algebra, the operations such as union and intersection in set theory obeys the
properties of associativity and commutativity. Also, the intersection of sets distributes over the union of sets.
Sets are used to describe one of the most important concepts in mathematics i.e. functions. Everything that you observe around you,
is achieved with mathematical models which are formulated, interpreted and solved by functions.

Problems and Solutions

Q.1: If U = {a, b, c, d, e, f}, A = {a, b, c}, B = {c, d, e, f}, C = {c, d, e},
find (A ∩ B) ∪ (A ∩ C).

3
Solution: A ∩ B = {a, b, c} ∩ {c, d, e, f}
A∩B={c}
A ∩ C = { a, b, c } ∩ { c, d, e }
A∩C={c}
∴ (A ∩ B) ∪ (A ∩ C) = { c }

Q.2: Give examples of finite sets.

Solution: The examples of finite sets are:
Set of months in a year
Set of days in a week
Set of natural numbers less than 20
Set of integers greater than -2 and less than 3

Q.3: If U = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}, A = {3, 5, 7, 9, 11} and B = {7, 8, 9, 10, 11}, Then find (A – B)′.
Solution: A – B is a set of member which belong to A but do not belong to B
∴ A – B = {3, 5, 7, 9, 11} – {7, 8, 9, 10, 11}
A – B = {3, 5}
According to formula,
(A − B)′ = U – (A – B)
∴ (A − B)′ = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11} – {3, 5}
(A − B)′ = {2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11}.

UNION OF SETS
Union of two or more sets is the set containing all the elements of the given sets. Union of sets can be written using the symbol
“⋃”.
The union of two sets X and Y can be represented as X ⋃ Y.
A universal set is a set, which contains all the elements of other sets, including its own elements.
Union of Sets Definition
The union of two sets X and Y is equal to the set of elements that are present in set X, in set Y, or in both the sets X and Y. This
operation can be represented as.
X ∪ Y = {a: a ∈ X or a ∈ Y}

Example.
If set A = {1, 3, 5} and set B = {1, 2, 4} then,
A ∪ B = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

Venn Diagram of Union of Sets

Let us consider a universal set U such that A and B are the subsets of this universal set. The union of two sets A and B is defined as
the set of all the elements which lie in set A and set B or both the elements in A and B altogether. The union of the set is denoted
by the symbol ‘∪’.

4
In the given Venn diagram, the red-coloured portion represents the union of both sets A and B.
Thus, the union of two sets A and B is given by a set C, which is also a subset of the universal set U such that C consists of all those
elements or members which are either in set A or set B or in both A and B i.e.,
C = A ∪ B = {x : x ∈ A or x ∈ B} hence the A Union B Formula
The formula for A union B indicates that each element present in A or B (leaving duplicates) is present in A U B.

Formula for Number of Elements in A union B

Consider two sets, A and B, such that the number of elements in the union of A and B can be calculated as follows.
n(A U B) = n(A) + n(B) – n(A ∩ B)
Here,
n(A U B) = Total number of elements in A U B; is called the cardinality of a set A U B
n(A) = Number of elements in A; is called the cardinality of set A
n(B) = Number of elements in B; is called the cardinality of set B
n(A ∩ B) = The number of elements that are common to both A and B; is called the cardinality of set A ∩ B, i.e. A intersection B

Properties of Union of Sets

i) Commutative Law: The union of two or more sets follows the commutative law i.e., if we have two sets A and B then,
A∪B=B∪A
Example: A = {a, b} and B = {b, c, d}
So, A∪B = {a, b, c, d}
B∪A = {b, c, d, a}
Since, in both the union, the group of elements is same. Therefore, it satisfies commutative law.
A∪B=B∪A
ii) Associative Law: The union operation follows the associative law i.e., if we have three sets A, B and C then
(A ∪ B) ∪ C = A ∪ (B ∪ C)
Example: A = {a, b} and B = {b, c, d} and C = {a, c, e}
(A ∪ B) ∪ C = {a, b, c, d} ∪ {a, c, e} = {a, b, c, d, e}
A ∪ (B ∪ C) = {a, b} ∪ {b, c, d, e} = {a, b, c, d, e}
Hence, associative law proved.
iii) Identity Law: The union of an empty set with any set A gives the set itself i.e.,
A∪∅=A
Suppose, A = {a, b, c} and ∅ = {}
then, A ∪ ∅ = {a, b, c} ∪ {} = {a, b, c}

5
iv) Idempotent Law: The union of any set A with itself gives the set A i.e.,
A∪A=A
Suppose, A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
then A ∪ A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} ∪ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} = A
v) Domination Law: The union of a universal set U with its subset A gives the universal set itself.
A∪U=U
Suppose, A = {1, 2, 4, 7} and U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}
then A ∪ U = {1, 2, 4, 7} ∪ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} = U
Hence, proved.
Go through the solved examples given below to understand the concept in a better way.
Solved Examples
Example 1:
Let U be a universal set consisting of all the natural numbers until 20 and set A and B be a subset of U defined as A = {2, 5, 9, 15,
19} and B = {8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 17}. Find A ∪ B.
Solution:
Given,
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20}
A = {2, 5, 9, 15, 19}
B = {8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 17}
A ∪ B = {2, 5, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 17, 19}
This can be represented using the following Venn diagram:

Example 2:
If set A contains 13 elements, set B contains 8 elements and the intersection of these two sets contains 5 elements, then find the
number of elements in A union B.
Solution:
Given,
Number of elements in set A = n(A) = 13
Number of elements in set B = n(B) = 8
Number of elements in A intersection B = n(A ∩ B) = 5
We know that,
n(A U B) = n(A) + n(B) – n(A ∩ B)
= 13 + 8 – 5
= 21 – 5
= 16

6
Therefore, the number of elements in A union B = n(A U B) = 16.

UNION AND INTERSECTION OF SETS

Cardinal Number of a set
The number of distinct elements or members in a finite set is known as the cardinal number of a set. Basically, through cardinality,
we define the size of a set. The cardinal number of a set A is denoted as n(A), where A is any set and n(A) is the number of
members in set A.
Consider a set A consisting of the prime numbers less than 10.
Set A ={2, 3, 5, 7}.
As the set A consists of 4 elements, therefore, the cardinal number of set A is given as n(A) = 4.
Properties related to difference, union and intersection and the cardinal number of set
i) Union of Disjoint Sets:
If A and B are two finite sets and if A ∩ B = ∅, then
n(A ∪ B) = n(A) + n(B)
In simple words if A and B are finite sets and these sets are disjoint then the cardinal number of Union of sets A and B is equal to
the sum of the cardinal number of set A and set B.

Figure 1- Disjoint sets

The union of the disjoint sets A and B represented by the Venn diagram is given by A ∪ B and it can be seen that A ∩ B = ∅
because no element is common to both the sets.
ii) Union of two sets:
If A and B are two finite sets, then
n(A ∪ B) = n(A) + n(B) – n(A ∩ B)
Simply, the number of elements in the union of set A and B is equal to the sum of cardinal numbers of the sets A and B, minus that
of their intersection.

Figure 2- Union of two sets

7
In the figure given above the differently shaded regions depict the different disjoint sets i.e. A – B, B – A and A ∩ B are three
disjoint sets as shown and the sum of these represents A ∪ B. Hence,
n (A ∪ B) = n (A – B) + n(B – A) + n(A ∩ B)
iii) Union of three sets
If A, B and C are three finite sets, then;
n(A ∪ B ∪ C) = n(A) + n(B) + n(C) – n(A ∩ B) – n(B ∩ C) – n(A ∩ C) + n(A ∩ B ∩ C)
This is clearly visible from the Venn diagram that the union of the three sets will be the sum of the cardinal number of set A, set B,
set C and the common elements of the three sets excluding the common elements of sets taken in pairs of two.

Figure 3-Union of three sets

Solved Example
Let us see an example to make our point clear.
Example: There is a total of 200 students in class XI. 120 of them study mathematics, 50 students study commerce and 30students
study both mathematics and commerce. Find the number of students who
i) Study mathematics but not commerce
ii) Study commerce but not mathematics
iii) Study mathematics or commerce
Solution: The total number of students represents the cardinal number of the universal set. Let A denote the set of students studying
mathematics and set B represent the students studying commerce.
Therefore,
n (U) = 200
n(A) = 120
n(B) = 50
n(A ∩ B) = 30
The Venn diagram represents the number of students studying mathematics and commerce.
i) Here, we are required to find the difference of sets A and B.
n(A) = n(A – B) + n(A ∩ B)
n(A-B) = n(A) – n(A ∩ B)
⇒ n (A – B) = 120 – 30 = 90
The number of students who study mathematics but not commerce is 90.
ii) Similarly here, we are required to find the difference of sets B and A
n (B) = n (B – A) + n (A ∩ B)
⇒ n (B – A) = 50 – 30 = 20

8
The number of students who study commerce but not mathematics is 20.
iii) The number of students who study mathematics or commerce
n (A ∪ B) = n(A) + n(B) – n(A ∩ B)
⇒ n(A ∪ B) = 120 + 50 – 30 = 140

COMPLEMENT OF A SET
Sets Definition
A well-defined collection of objects or elements is known as a set. Any set consisting of all the objects or elements related to a
particular context is defined as a universal set. It is represented by U.
For any set A which is a subset of the universal set U, the complement of the set A consists of those elements which are the
members or elements of the universal set U but not of the set A. The complement of any set A is denoted by A’.

Complement of a Set Definition

If U is a universal set and A be any subset of U then the complement of A is the set of all members of the universal set U which are
not the elements of A.
A′=x : x ∈ U and x ∉ A
Alternatively it can be said that the difference of the universal set U and the subset A gives us the complement of set A.
Venn Diagram for the Complement of a set
The Venn diagram to represent the complement of a set A is given by:

Complement of a Set Examples

To make it more clear consider a universal set U of all natural numbers less than or equal to 20.
Let the set A which is a subset of U be defined as the set which consists of all the prime numbers.
Thus we can see that A = {{2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19}}
Now the complement of this set A consists of all those elements which is present in the universal set but not in A. Therefore, A’ is
given by:
A’={{1,4,6,8,9,10,12,14,15,16,18,20}}
Example: Let U be the universal set which consists of all the integers greater than 5 but less than or equal to 25. Let A and B be the
subsets of U defined as:
A=x :x ∈ U and x is a perfect square
B = {7, 9, 16, 18, 24}
Find the complement of sets A and B and the intersection of both the complemented sets.
Solution: The universal set is defined as:
U = {{6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25}}
Also, A = {9,16,25} and
B = {7,9,16,18,24}

9
The complement of set A is defined as:
\(\begin{array}{l}A’ = {x~:~x~∈~U~ and ~x~∉~A}\end{array} \)
Therefore,
A’ = {6,7,8,10,11,12,13,14,15,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24}
Similarly the complement of set B can be given by:
B’ = {6,8,10,11,12,13,14,15,17,19,20,21,22,23,25}
The intersection of both the complemented sets is given by A’∩ B’.
Rightarrow A’∩ B’= {6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23}
We can see from the above discussions that if a set A is a subset of the universal set U then the complement of set A, i.e. A’ is also a
subset of U.

INTERSECTION AND DIFFERENCE OF SETS

Intersection and difference of two sets are two different set operations. In set theory, we perform different types of set operations.
Such as the intersection of sets, a difference of sets, the complement of sets and the union of sets. It is very easy to differentiate
between intersection and union operations. But what is the difference between intersections and the difference of sets? Let us
understand here in this article.
What is an Intersection of Sets?
The intersection of two sets, A and B, which are subsets of the universal set U, is the set which consists of all those elements which
are common to both A and B.
It is denoted by the “∩’ symbol. All those elements which belong to both A and B represent the intersection of A and B. Thus we
can say that,
A ∩ B = {x : x ∈ A and x ∈ B}
For n sets A1, A2, A3, …, An, where all these sets are the subset of universal set U, the intersection is the set of all the elements which
are common to all these n sets.
Depicting this pictorially, the shaded portion in the Venn diagram given below represents the intersection of the two sets A and B.

Figure 1-Intersection of two sets

10
Figure 2-Intersection of three sets

Intersection of Two sets

If A and B are two sets, then the intersection of sets is given by:
A∩B=n(A)+n(B)–n(A∪B)
where n(A) is the cardinal number of set A,
n(B) is the cardinal number of set B,
n(AUB) is the cardinal number of the union of sets A and B.
To understand this concept of intersection, let us take an example.
Example of Intersection of sets
Example: Let U be the universal set consisting of all the n – sided regular polygons where 5 ≤ n ≤ 9. If set A, B and C are defined
as:
A = {pentagon, hexagon, octagon}
B = {hexagon, nonagon, heptagon}
C = {nonagon}
Find the intersection of the sets:
i) A and B
ii) A and C
Solution: U = {pentagon , hexagon , heptagon , octagon , nonagon}
i) The intersection is given by all the elements which are common to A and B.
A ∩ B = {hexagon}

11
ii) No element is common in A and C. Therefore A ∩ C = ∅

Note: If we have two sets X and Y such that their intersection gives an empty set ∅ i.e. X ∩ Y = ∅ then these sets X and Y are
called disjoint sets.
Properties of Intersection of a Set
• Commutative Law: The intersection of two sets A and B follow the commutative law, i.e., A ∩ B = B ∩ A
• Associative Law: The intersection operation follows the associative law, i.e., If we have three sets A , B and C then (A ∩
B) ∩ C = A ∩ (B ∩ C)
• Identity Law: The intersection of an empty set with any set A gives the empty set itself i.e., A ∩ ∅ = ∅
• Idempotent Law: The intersection of any set A with itself gives the set A i.e., A ∩ A = A
• Law of U: The intersection of a universal set U with its subset A gives the set A itself. A ∩ U = A
• Distributive Law: According to this law: A ∩ (B ∪ C) = ( A ∩ B ) ∪ (A ∩ C)
What is the Difference of Sets?
The difference of the two sets A and B is the set of elements which are present in A but not in B. It is denoted as A-B. In the
following diagram, the region shaded in green represents the difference of sets A and B (A-B). And the region shaded in yellow
represents the difference of B and A (B-A).

Example of Difference of sets

Let A = {3 , 4 , 8 , 9 , 11 , 12 } and B = {1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 }. Find A – B and B – A.
Solution: We can say that A – B = { 8, 9, 11, 12} as these elements belong to A but not to B
B – A ={1, 2, 5} as these elements belong to B but not to A.

12