The Language of sets

Use of the word set as a formal mathematical term was introduced in 1879 by Georg Cantor (1845-
1918). For most mathematical purposes we can think of a set intuitively, as Cantor did, simply as a
collection of elements. For instance, if C is the set of all countries that are currently in the United
Nations, then the United States is an element of C, and if I is the set of all integers from 1 to 100,
then the number 57 is an element of I.

Notation

If S is a set, the notation x ϵ S means that x is an element of S. The notation x ∉ S means that x is not
an element of S. A set may be specified using Set-roster notation by writing its entire element
between braces. For example, {1, 2, 3} denotes the set whose elements are 1, 2, and 3. A variation of
the notation is sometimes used to describe a very large set, as when we write {1, 2, 3, … , 100} to
refer to the set of all integers from 1 to 100. A similar notation can also describe an infinite set, as
when we write {1, 2, 3, …} to refer to the set of all positive integer ( the symbol … is called an ellipsis
and is read “and so forth”.)

The axiom of extension says that a set is completely determined by what its elements are – not the
order in which they might be listed or the fact that some elements might be listed more than once.

Example: (using the Set-Roster Notation)

a. Let A={1,2,3}, B={3,1,2} and C={1,1,2,3,3,3}. What are the elements of A, B, C? How are A, B,
and C related?
b. Is {0}=0
c. How many elements are in the set {1, {1}}?
d. For each nonnegative integer n, let Un= {n,-n}. Find U1, U2, and U0.

Solution:

a. A, B, and C have exactly the same three elements: 1, 2, and 3. Therefore, A, B and C are
simply different ways to represent the same set.
b. {0} ≠ 0 because {0} is a set with one element, namely 0, whereas 0 is just the symbol that
represents the number 0.
c. The set {1, {1}} has two elements: 1 and the set whose only element is 1.
d. U1={1,-1}, U2={2,-2}, U0={0,-0}={0,0}={0}.

Certain sets of numbers are so frequently referred to that they are given special symbols names.
These are summarized in the ff.:

R – Set of all real numbers

Z – Set of all integers
Q – Set of all rational numbers, or quotients of integers.
Addition of the superscript + and – or the nonneg indicates that only the positive or negative or
nonnegative elements of the set, respectively, are to be included. Thus R+ denotes the set of positive
real numbers, and Znonneg refers to the set of nonnegative integers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Some
authors refer to the set of nonnegative integers as the set of natural numbers and denote it as N.
other authors call only the positive integers natural numbers.

The set of real numbers is usually pictured as the set of all points on a line, as shown below. The
number 0 corresponds to a middle point, called the origin. A unit of distance is marked off, and
each point to the right of the origin corresponds to a positive real number found by computing its
distance from the origin. Each point to the left of the origin corresponds to a negative real number,
which is denoted by computing its distance from the origin and putting a minus sign in front of the
resulting number. The set of real numbers is therefore divided into three parts: the set of positive
real numbers, the set of negative real numbers, and the number 0. Note that 0 is neither positive
nor negative. Labels are given for a few real numbers corresponding to points on the line shown
below.

The real number line is called continuous because it is imagined to have no holes. The set of
integers corresponds to a collection of points located at fixed intervals along the real number line.
Thus every integer is a real number, and because the integers are all separated from each other, the
set of integer is discrete. The name discrete mathematics comes from the distinction between
continuous and discrete mathematics objects.

Another way to specify a set uses what is called the set-builder notation.

Set-Builder Notation

Let S denote a set and let P(x) be a property that elements of S may or may not satisfy. We may
define a new set to be the set of all elements x in S such that P(x) is true. We denote this set as
follows: {x ϵ S|P(x)}

Occasionally we will write {x|P(x)} without being specific about where the element x comes from. In
turns out that unrestricted use of this notation can lead to genuine contradictions in set theory.

Example: Using the Set-Builder Notation

Given that R denotes the set of all real number, Z the set of all integers, and Z+ the set of all positive
integers, describe each of the following sets.

a. { x ϵ R | -2 < x < 5 }
b. { x ϵ Z | -2 < x < 5 }
c. { x ϵ Z+| -2 < x < 5 }
Solution:

a. { x ϵ R | -2 < x < 5 } is the open interval of real numbers (strictly) between -2 and 5. It is
pictured as follows:

b. { x ϵ Z | -2 < x < 5 } is the set of all integers (strictly) between -2 and 5. It is equal to the set {
-1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 }.
c. Since all the integers in Z+ are positive, { x ϵ Z+ | -2 < x < 5 } = {1, 2, 3, 4 }

Subsets

A basic relation between sets is that of subset.

Subset

If A and B are sets, then A is called a subset of B, written A ⊆ B, if, and only if, every element of A is
also an element of B.

Symbolically:

A ⊆ B means that for all elements x, if x ϵ A then x ϵ B.

The phrases A is contained in B and B contains A are alternative ways of saying that A is a subset of
B.

If follows from the definition of subset that for a set A not to be a subset of a set B means that there
is at least one element of A that is not an element of B. symbolically.

A ⊄ B means that there is at least one element x such that x ϵ A and x ∉ B.

Proper Subset

Let A and B be sets. A is a proper subset of B if, and only if, every element of A is in A but there is at
least one element of B that is not in A.

Example: Subsets

Let A = Z+, B = { n ϵ Z | 0 ≤ n ≤ 100 }, and C = {100, 200, 300, 400, 500 }. Evaluate the truth and falsity
of each of the following statements.

a. B⊆ A
b. C is a proper subset of A
c. C and B have at least one element in common
d. C⊆ B
e. C⊆ C
Solution:

a. False. Zero is not a positive integer. Thus zero is in B but zero is not in A, and so B ⊄ A.
b. True. Each element in C is a positive integer and, hence, is in A, but there are elements in A
that are not in C. For instance, 1 is in A and not in C.
c. True. For example, 100 is in both C and B.
d. False. For example, 200 is in C but not in B.
e. True. Every element in C is in C. In general, the definition of subset implies that all sets are
subsets of themselves.

Example: Distinction between ϵ and ⊆

Which of the following are true statements?

a. 2 ϵ { 1, 2, 3 }
b. {2} ϵ {1, 2, 3 }
c. 2 ⊆ { 1, 2, 3 }
d. {2} ⊆ { 1, 2, 3 }
e. {2} ⊆ {{1},{2}}
f. {2} ϵ {{1}, {2}}

Solution

Only (a), (d) and (f) are true.

For (b) to be true, the set {1, 2, 3} would have to contain the element {2}. But the only
elements of {1, 2, 3} are 1, 2, and 3, and 2 is not equal to {2}. Hence (b) is false.

For (c) to be true, the number 2 would have to be a set and every element in the set 2 would
have to be an element of {1, 2, 3}. This is not the case, so (c) is false.

For (e) to be true, every element in the set containing only the number 2 would have to be
an element of the set whose elements are {1} and {2}. But 2 is not equal to either {1} or {2}, and so
(e) is false.

Cartesian Products

With the introduction of Georg Cantor’s set theory in the late nineteenth century, it began to seem
possible to put mathematics on a firm logical foundation by developing all of its various branches
from set theory and logic alone. A major stumbling block was how to use sets to define an ordered
pair because the definition of a set is unaffected by the order in which its elements are listed. For
example, {a,b} and {b,a} represent the same set, whereas in an ordered pair we want to be able to
indicate which element comes first.

In 1914 crucial breakthroughs were made by Norbert Weiner (1894-1964), a young American who
had recently received his Ph.D. from Harvard and the German mathematician Felix Hausdorff
(1868-1942). Both gave definitions showing that an ordered pair can be defined as a certain type of
set, but both definitions were somewhat awkward. Finally, in 1921, the Polish mathematician
Kazimierz Kuratowski (1896-1980) published the following definition, which has since become
standard. It says that an ordered pair is a set of the form {{a},{a,b}}.

This set has elements, {a} and {a,b}. If a ≠ b, then the two sets are distinct and a is in both sets
whereas b is not. This allows us to distinguish between a and b and say that a is the first element of
the ordered pair and b is the second element of the pair. If a = b, then we can simply say that a is
both the first and the second element of the pair. In this case the set that defines the ordered pair
becomes {{a},{a,a}}, which equals {{a}}.

However, it was only long after ordered pairs had been used extensively in mathematics that
mathematicians realized that it was possible to define them entirely in terms of sets, and, in any
case, the set notation would be cumbersome to use on regular basis. The usual notation for ordered
pairs refers to {{a},{a,b}} more simple as (a,b).

Ordered Pair

Given elements a and b, the symbol (a,b) denotes the ordered pair consisting of a and b together
with the specification that a is the first element of the pair and b is the second element. Two
ordered pairs (a,b) and (c,d) are equal if, and only if, a=c and b=d. symbolically:

(a,b)=(c,d) means that a=c and b=d.

Example: Ordered Pairs

a. Is (1,2)=(2,1)?
b. Is (3,5/10)=(/9 ,1/2)?
c. What is the first element of (1,1)?

Solution:

a. No, by definition of equality of ordered pairs, (1,2)=(2,1) if and only if 1=2 and 2=1. But 1 is
not equal to 2, and so the ordered pairs are not equal.
b. Yes
c. In the ordered pair (1,1) the first and the second elements are both 1.

Cartesian Product

Given sets A and B, the Cartesian product of A and B, denoted A×B and read “A cross B” is the set of
all ordered pairs (a,b), where a is in A and b is in B. symbolically: A×B={(a,b)|a ϵ A and b ϵ B}

Example: Cartesian Product

Let A={1,2,3} and B={u,v}

a. Find A×B, B×A and B×B.

b. How many elements are in A×B, B×A, and B×B.
c. Let R denoted the set of all real numbers, describe R×R