Chapter I
Set Theory
INTRODUCTION
This chapter treats some of the elementary ideas and concepts of set theory which are
necessary for a modern introduction to probability theory.
SETS, ELEMENTS
Any well defined list or collection of objects is called a set; the objects comprising the
set are called its elements or members. We write
p EA if p is an element in the set A
If every element of A also belongs to a set B, i.e. if p E A implies p E B, then A is called a
subset of B or is said to be contained in B; this is denoted by
A c B or B 3 A
Two sets are equaZ if each is contained in the other; that is,
A =B if and only if A c B and B c A
The negations of p E A , A c B and A = B are written p A , A $ZB and A + B respectively.
We specify a particular set by either listing its elements or by stating properties which
characterize the elements of the set. For example,
A = {I,3, 5,7, 9}
means A is the set consisting of the numbers 1,3,5,7 and 9; and
B = {x : x is a prime number, x < 15)
means that B is the set of prime numbers less than 15.
Unless otherwise stated, all sets under investigation are assumed to be subsets of some
fixed set called the universal set and denoted (in this chapter) by U. We also use 9 to denote
the emptg or nuZZ set, i.e. the set which contains no elements; this set is regarded as a subset
of every other set. Thus for any set A , we have 9 C A C U .
Example 1.1: The sets A and B above can also be written as
A = {x : x is an odd number, z < 10) and B = {2,3,6, 7,11,13}
Observe that 9 E A but 9 4 B , and 11 E B but 11 4 A ; whereas 3 E A and 3 EB, and
6 B A and 6 B B .
1
2 SET THEORY [CHAP. 1
Example 1.2: We use the following special symbols:
N = the set of positive integers: 1,2, 3, . . .
Z = the set of integers: . . ., -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, . . .
R = the set of real numbers.
Thus we have N C Z C R .
Example 1.3: Intervals on the real line, defined below, appear very often in mathematics. Here
a and b are real numbers with a < b.
Open interval from a to b = (a,b ) = {x : a < x < b}
Closed interval from a to b = [a,b] = {x : a f x 4 b}
Open-closed interval from a to b = (a, b] = {x : a < x f b}
Closed-open interval from a to b = [a,b ) = {x : a f x < b}
The open-closed and closed-open intervals are also called half-open intervals.
Example 1.4: In human population studies, the universal set consists of all the people in the
world.
Example 15: Let C = {x : x2 = 4, x is odd}. Then C = (B; that is, C is the empty set.
The following theorem applies.
Theorem 1.1: Let A , B and C be any sets. Then: (i) A C A ; (ii) if A c B and B C A then
A = B ; and (iii) if A c B and B c C then A c e .
We emphasize that A c B does not exclude the possibility that A = B. However, if
A C B but A # B, then we say that A is a proper subset of B. (Some authors use the symbol
c for a subset and the symbol c only for a proper subset.)
SET OPERATIONS
Let A and B be arbitrary sets. The union of A and B, denoted by A U B , is the set of
elements which belong to A or to B:
AUB = { x : x E A or x E B }
Here “or” is used in the sense of and/or.
The intersection of A and B, denoted by A n B , is the set of elements which belong to
both A and B:
A n B = { x : x E A and x E B }
If A n B = @, that is, if A and B do not have any elements in common, then A and B
are said to be disjoint.
The differenceof A and B or the relative complement of B with respect to A , denoted by
A \ B, is the set of elements which belong to A but not to B:
A\B = { x : x E A ,x 4 B )
Observe that A\B and B are disjoint, i.e. (A\B) n B = @.
The absolute complement or, simply, complement of A, denoted by A“, is the set of
elements which do not belong to A :
Ac = ( x : x E U , x B A )
That is, A” is the difference of the universal set U and A .
CHAP. 11 SET THEORY 3
Example 1.6: The following diagrams, called Venn diagrams, illustrate the above set operations.
Here sets a r e represented by simple plane areas and U, the universal set, by
the area in the entire rectangle.
Example 1.7: Let A = {1,2,3,4} and B = {3,4,5, 6} where U = {1,2,3, . ..}. Then
A U B = (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) A n B = {3,4}
A\B = {1,2} Ac = (5, 6, 7, ...}
Sets under the above operations satisfy various laws or identities which are listed
in the table below (Table 1). In fact, we state
Theorem 1.2: Sets satisfy the laws in Table 1.
~ ~~
LAWS OF THE ALGEBRA OF SETS
Idempotent Laws
la. A u A = A lb. A n A = A
Associative Laws
2a. ( A u B ) u C = A u ( B u C ) 2b. ( A n B ) n C = A n ( B n C )
Commutative Laws
3a. A u B = B u A 3b. A n B = B n A
Distributive Laws
4a. A u ( B n C ) = ( A u B ) n ( A u C ) 4b. A n ( B u C ) = ( A n B ) u ( A n C )
Identity Laws
6a. A U @ = A 5b. A n U = A
6a. A U U = U 6b. A n @ = @
Complement Laws
7a. A uAC = U 7b. A n A c = @
8a. (Ac)c = A 8b. Uc = @, @C =U
De Morgan’s Laws
9a. ( A u B ) ~= A c n Bc 9b. (AnB)c = A c u BE
Table 1
4 SET THEORY [CHAP. 1
Remark: Each of the above laws follows from an analogous logical law. For example,
A n B = { x : x E A and x E B } = { x : x E B and x E A } = B n A
Here we use the fact that the composite statement “ p and q”, written p ~ is qlogically
~
equivalent to the composite statement “ q and p”, i.e. q A p.
The relationship between set inclusion and the above set operations follows:
Theorem 1.3: Each of the following conditions is equivalent to ACB:
(i) A n B = A (iii) B c c A c (v) BUAc = U
(ii) A U B = B (iv) A n B C = 9
FINITE AND COUNTABLE SETS
Sets can be finite or infinite. A set is finite if it is empty or if it consists of exactly n
elements where n is a positive integer; otherwise it is infinite.
Example 1.8: Let M be the set of the days of the week; that is,
M = {Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday}
Then M is finite.
Example 1.9: Let P = {z : x is a river on the earth}. Although it may be difficult to count the
number of rivers on the earth, P is a finite set.
Example 1.10: Let Y be the set of (positive) even integers, i.e. Y = {2,4,6, .. .}. Then Y is an
infinite set.
Example 1.U: Let Z be the unit interval of real numbers, i.e. Z = { x : 0 f z f 1). Then Z is
also an infinite set.
A set is countable if it is finite or if its elements can be arranged in the form of a
sequence, in which case it is said to be countablg infinite; otherwise the set is uncountable.
The set in Example 1.10 is countably infinite, whereas it can be shown that the set in
Example 1.11 is uncountable.
PRODUCT SETS
Let A and B be two sets. The product set of A and Bydenoted by A X B, consists of all
ordered pairs (a,b) where a E A and b E B:
AxB = { ( a , b ) :a E A , b E B }
The product of a set with itself, say A x A , is denoted by A2.
Example 1.12: The reader is familiar with the cartesian plane R2 = R X R as shown below.
Here each point P represents an ordered pair (a,b) of real numbers, and vice versa.
2
b ?P
1
, o 0 0 1
-3 -2 -1 i i a i
Example 1.13: Let A = (1,2,3} and B = {a,b}. Then
CHAP. 11 SET THEORY 5
The concept of product set is extended to any finite number of sets in a natural way.
The product set of the sets AI,A2, . . .,A,, written A1 x A2 x - x A,, is the set of all
ordered m-tuples (a1,a ~.,. .,am) where ai E At for each i.
CLASSES OF SETS
Frequently the members of a set are sets themselves. For example, each line in a set
of lines is a set of points. To help clarify these situations, we usually use the word class
or family for such a set. The words subclass and subfamily have meanings analogous to
subset.
Example 1.14: The members of the class {{2,3}, {2}, {5,6}} are the sets {2,3}, (2) and (5, 6}.
Example 1.15: Consider any set A . The power set of A , denoted by "(A), is the class of all sub-
sets of A . In particular, if A = {a,b, c}, then
w,
W A ) = { A , {a, {a,c), { b , cl, {a>,{a>, {c>, P}
In general, if A is finite and has n elements, then T(A) will have 2n elements.
A partition of a set X is a subdivision of X into nonempty subsets which are disjoint and
whose union is X , i.e. is a class of nonempty subsets of X such that each a E X belongs to
a unique subset. The subsets in a partition are called ct?ZZs.
Then (i) is not a partition of X since 7 € X but 7 does not belong to any of the cells.
Furthermore, (ii) is not a partition of X since 5 E X and 5 belongs to both {1,3,5}
and {5,7,9}. On the other hand, (iii) is a partition of X since each element of X
belongs to exactly one cell.
When we speak of an indexed class of sets {A*: i E I ) or simply {Ai},we mean that there
is a set Ai assigned to each element i E I . The set I is called the indexing set and the sets
At are said to be indexed by I . When the indexing set is the set N of positive integers, the
indexed class {A1,A2, . . . } is called a sequence of sets. By the union of these A*, denoted
by UiEr At (or simply U iAi), we mean the set of elements each belonging to a t least one of
the Ai; and by the intersection of the Ai, denoted by niE1 At (or simply n Ai), we mean the
set of elements each belonging to every Ai. We also write
U,"=, Ai = ArUAzU and n;=, Ai = A 1 n A 2 n
for the union and intersection, respectively, of a sequence of sets.
Definition: A nonempty class CA of subsets of U is called an algebra (U-algebra)of sets if:
(i) the complement of any set in eA belongs to C A ; and
(ii) the union of any finite (countable) number of sets in CA belongs to C A ;
that is, if CA is closed under complements and finite (countable) unions.
It is simple to show (Problem 1.30) that an algebra (a-algebra) of sets contains U and
Iz, and is also closed under finite (countable) intersections.
6 SET THEORY [CHAP. 1
Solved Problems
SETS, ELEMENTS, SUBSETS
1.1. Let A = { x : 3 x = 6 } . Does A = 2 ?
A is the set which consists of the single element 2, that is, A = (2). The number 2 belongs
to A ; i t does not equal A. There is a basic difference between an element p and the singleton
set (PI.
1.2. Which of these sets are equal: {r,s, t}, { t, s, r } , {s, r, t } , { t, r, s} ?
They are all equal. Order does not change a set.
1.3. Determine whether or not each set is the null set:
(i) X = {x:x2 = 9, 2x = 4}, (ii) Y = {x:x # x}, (iii) 2 = {x:x + 8 = 8}.
(i) There is no number which satisfies both = 9 and 22 = 4; hence X is empty, i.e. X = 9.
22
(ii) We interpret “=” to mean “is identical with” and so Y is also empty. In fact, some texts define
the empty set as follows: @ ( 2 : z#z).
(iii) The number zero satisfies x + 8 = 8; hence 2 = (0). Accordingly, 2 is not the empty set
since it contains 0. That is, 2 # (B.
1.4. Prove that A = {2,3,4,5} is not a subset of B = {x :x is even).
It is necessary to show that a t least one element in A does not belong to B. Now 3 € A and,
since B consists of even numbers, 3 B B; hence A is not a subset of B.
1.5. Let V = { d } , W = {c, d } , X = {a,b, c } , Y = {a,b} and Z = {a,b , d } . Determine
whether each statement is true or false:
(i) Y c X, (ii) W f: 2, (iii) Z V, (iv) V c X, (v) X = W, (vi) W c Y.
(i) Since each element in Y is a member of X, Y c X is true.
(ii) Now a E 2 but a B W ;hence W # 2 is true.
(iii) The only element in V is d and i t also belongs to 2;hence 23 V is true.
(iv) V is not a subset ofX since d E V but d B X;hence V C X is false.
(v) Now a E X but a B W; hence X = W is false.
(vi) W is not a subset of Y since c E W but c 6Z Y; hence W c Y is false.
1.6. Prove: If A is a subset of the empty set Q), then A = 9.
The null set Q, is a subset of every set; in particular, @ C A . But, by hypothesis, A c g ;
hence A = 9.
1.7. Prove Theorem l.l(iii): If A c B and B c C, then A C C.
We must show that each element in A also belongs to C. Let z E A. Now A C B implies
x E B. But B c C; hence z E C. We have shown that 2: E A implies z E C, that is, that A C C.
1.8. Which of the following sets are finite?
(i) The months of the year. (iv) The set Q of rational numbers.
(ii) {I,2,3, . . .,99,100). (v) The set R of real numbers.
(iii) The number of people living on the earth.
The first three sets are finite; the last two are infinite. (It can be shown that Q is countable
but R is uncountable.)
CHAP. 13 SET THEORY 7
1.9. Consider the following sets of figures in the Euclidean plane:
A = {x : x is a quadrilateral) C = {x : x is a rhombus}
B = {z : x is a rectangle} D = {x : x is a square}
Determine which sets are proper subsets of any of the others.
Since a square has 4 right angles i t is a rectangle, since i t has 4 equal sides i t is a rhombus,
and since i t has 4 sides it is a quadrilateral. Thus
DcA, DcB and DCCC
that is, D is a subset of the other three. Also, since there are examples of rectangles, rhombuses and
quadrilaterals which are not squares, D is a proper subset of the other three.
In a similar manner we see that B is a proper subset of A and C is a proper subset of A. There
are no other relations among the sets.
1.10. Determine which of the following sets are equal: @ {0}, {Iz)).
Each is different from the other. The set (0) contains one element, the number zero. The
set (b contains no elements; it is the empty set. The set {(b} also contains one element, the null set.
SET OPERATIONS
1.11. Let U = { l , Z , . . .,8,9}, A = {1,2,3,4}, B = {2,4,6,8} and C = {3,4,5,6}. Find:
(i) Ac, (ii) A n C , (iii) (AnC)", (iv) A u B, (v) B\C.
(i) Ac cansists of the elements in U that are not in A; hence Ac = {6,6,7,8,9}.
(ii) A nC consists of the elements in both A and C; hence A n C = {3,4).
(iii) (A n C)" consists of the elements in U that are not in A nC. Now by (ii), A nC = {3,4} and
so (AnC)C = {1,2,5,6,7,8,9).
(iv) A u B consists of the elements in A or B (or both): hence A U B = {1,2,3,4,6,8).
(v) B \ C consists of the elements in B which are not in C; hence B \ C = {2,8).
1.12. Let U = { a , b , c , d , e } , A = { a , b , d } and B = { b , d , e } . Find:
(i) A U B (iii) Bc (v) A c n B (vii) A c n B c (ix) (AnB)c
(ii) B n A (iv) B\A (vi) AUBc (viii) BC\Ac (x) (AM?)"
(i) The union of A and B consists of the elements in A or in B (or both); hence A UB = {a,b, d, 6).
(ii) The intersection of A and B consists of those elements which belong to both A and B; hence
AnB = {b,d}.
(iii) The complement of B consists of the letters in U but not in B; hence Bc = (a,c).
(iv) The difference B\A consists of the elements of B which do not belong to A ; hence
B\A = (e).
(v) Ac = {a, e) and B = {b, d, e); then A c n B = {e).
(vi) A = {a,b, d } and Bc = (a,c}; then A uBc = (a,b, c, d).
(vii) and (viii). Ac = {c, e) and Bc = {U,c); then
A c n B c = {c} and Bc\Ac = {U)
(ix) From (ii), A nB = { b , d); hence (A nB)c = (a,c, e).
(x) From (i), A u B = {a, b, d, e); hence (A uB)c = {c).
8 SET THEORY [CHAP. 1
1.13. In the Venn diagram below, shade: (i) Bc, (ii) (A uB)c,(iii) (B\A)c, (iv) A c n B c .
Bc consists of the elements which do not belong to B; hence shade the area outside B as follows:
Bc is shaded.
First shade A U B ; then (A uB)c is the area outside A UB:
A U B is shaded. (A uB)c is shaded.
First shade B\A, the area in B which does not lie in A; then (B\A)c is the area outside
B\A:
B \ A is shaded. ( B \ A)c is shaded.
First shade Ac, the area outside of A, with strokes slanting upward to the right (////), and
then shade Bc with strokes slanting downward to the right (\\\\); then AcnBc is the
cross-hatched area:
Ac and Bc are shaded. Acn Bc is shaded.
Observe that (A u B ) =
~ ACnBc, as expected by De Morgan's law.
CHAP. 11 SET THEORY 9
1.14. Prove: B\A = BnAc. Thus the set operation of difference can be written in
terms of the operations of intersection and complementation.
B\A = {z: x E B , z 4 A } = { z : x E R , z E A c } = B n A c
1.15. Prove: For any sets A and B, A n B c A c A U B .
Let 2: E A n B ; then z E A and 1~ E B. In particular, z E A. Since x E A nB implies 5 € A ,
A nB c A . Furthermore if x E A , then z E A or z E Byi.e. x E A UB. Hence A c A UB. In other
words, A n B c A c A u B .
1.16. Prove Theorem 1.3(i): A c B if and only if A nB = A .
Suppose A c B . Let z E A ; then by hypothesis, z E B. Hence 1~ E A and x E B, i.e. 1~ E A nB.
Accordingly, A c A nB. On the other hand, it is always true (Problem 1.15) that A n B c A .
Thus A n B = A .
Now suppose that A n B = A . Then in particular, A c A n B . But it is always true that
A n B c B. Thus A c A n B c B and so, by Theorem 1.1, A c B.
PRODUCT SETS
1.17. Let M = {Tom, Marc, Erik} and W = {Audrey, Betty}. Find M X W.
M X W consists of all ordered pairs (a,b) where a E M and b E W. Hence
M X W = ((Tom, Audrey), (Tom, Betty), (Marc, Audrey),
(Marc, Betty), (Erik, Audrey), (Erik, Betty)}
1.18. Let A = {1,2,3}, B = {2,4} and C = {3,4,5}. Find A x B X C .
A convenient method of finding A X B X C is through the so-called “tree diagram” shown below:
The “tree” is constructed from the left to the right. A X B X C consists of the ordered triples
listed to the right of the “tree”.
1.19. Let A = { a , b } , B = {2,3} and C = {3,4}. Find:
(i) A x (BuC), (ii) (A x B) U ( A x C), (iii) A x (BnC), (iv) ( Ax B) n (A x C).
(i) First compute BUC = {2,3,4}. Then
A x (BUC) = {(a,21, (a,3), (a,41, ( b , 21, (b,3)s (b,4))
10 SET THEORY [CHAP.1
Then compute the union of the two sets:
( A x B ) U ( A x C) = {(a,2), (a,3), ( 6 , 2), ( b , 3), (a,4), ( b , 4))
Observe from (i) and (ii) that .
Ax(BuC) = ( A x B ) u ( A X C )
(iv) Now A X B and A x C were computed above. The intersection of A X B and A X C consists of
those ordered pairs which belong to both sets:
( A x B ) n ( A x C) = {(a,3), (6,311
Observe from (iii) and (iv) that
A x (BnC) = ( A x B ) n ( A x C)
1.20. Prove: A x (BnC) = ( A x 23) n (A x C).
-4 x (BnC) = {(x,y) : x € A , y E B n C }
= {(x,y) : x E A , y E B, y E C}
= {(x,2/): (%?h E A x B , (% E!AIx)c>
= ( A x B ) n ( A x C)
1.21. Let S = { a , b } , W = {1,2,3,4,5,6}and V = {3,5,7,9}. Find (SX W) n (SX V ) .
The product set (SX W) n (S X V) can be found by first computing S X W and S X V, and
then computing the intersection of these sets. On the other hand, by the preceding problem,
(Sx W) n (S X V ) = S x ( W n V). Now W n V = {3,5}, and so
( S x W ) n ( S x V ) = S x ( W n v ) = {(a,3), (a,5 ) , ( b , 3), ( b , 5 ) )
1.22. Prove: Let A cB and CCD ; then ( A x C) c ( B x D).
Let (x,y) be any arbitrary element in A X C ; then x: E A and y E C. By hypothesis, A C B and
C c D ; hence x E B and y E D . Accordingly (x,y) belongs to B X D . We have shown that
(2,y) E A X C implies (2,y) E B X D ; hence ( A X C) c ( B X D ) .
CLASSES OF SETS
1.23. Consider the class A = {{2,3}, ( 4 3 1 , (6)). Which statements are incorrect and
why? (i) {4,5}C A , (ii) {4,5} E A , (iii) { {4,5}}cA.
The members of A are the sets {2,3}, (4,6) and (6). Therefore (ii) is correct but (i) is a n
incorrect statement. Moreover, (iii) is also a correct statement since the set consisting of the single
element {4,5} is a subclass of A .
1.24. Find the power set T(S) of the set S = { 1,2,3}.
The power set T(S) of S is the class of all subsets of S; these are {1,2,3}, {1,2}, {1,3), {2,3},
{l}, {2}, (3) and the empty set @. Hence
T(S) = {S, {1,3), {2,3}, {1,2), {I}, (21, (311 @I
Note that there are 23 = 8 subsets of S.
CHAP. 13 SET THEORY 11
1.25. Let X = (a, b, c, d, e, f , g } , and let:
(i) A I = { a , c , e } , A2 = { b } , A3 = { d , g } ;
(ii) B1 = { a , e , g } , BZ= { c , d } , B3 = { b , e , f } ;
(iii) CI = { a , b , e , g } , C Z = { c } , C3 = { d , f } ;
(iv) D1 = {a, b, c , d , e, f , s > .
Which of (AI,A2, A3}, {BI,Bz, B3}, {CI,CZ,C3}, (01)are partitions of X ?
(i) {Al,A2,A3} is not a partition of X since f E X but f does not belong to either A,, AS, or A,.
(ii) { B l , B,, B3) is not a partition of X since e E X belongs t o both Bl and B3.
(iii) {C1,C2,C3} is a partition of X since each element in X belongs to exactly one cell, i.e.
X = ClUC2UC3 and the sets are pairwise disjoint.
(iv) {Ill} is a partition of X.
1.27. Let N be the set of positive integers and, for each n E N, let
A, = {x : x is a multiple of n} == {n,2n,3n, . . .}
Find (i) A3nA5, (ii) A 4 n A s , (iii) U ~ E Ai,
P where! P is the set of prime numbers,
2,3,5,7,11,... .
(i) Those numbers which are multiples of both 3 and 6 are the multiples of 15; hence A , n A 5 = A15.
(ii) The multiples of 12 and no other numbers belong to both A4 and A,; hence A 4 n A , = A12.
(iii) Every positive integer except 1 is a multiple of at least one prime number; hence
1.28. Prove: Let {Ai : i E I } be an indexed class of sets and let io E I . Then
niErAi c Ai, c UiEi Ai
Let x E niEI Ai; then x E Ai for every i E I. In particular, x E Aio. Hence niEI Ai c Aio.
Now let y E Ai,. Since io E I, y E U j E I Ai. Hence Aio c u ~ E A
I i.
1.29. Prove (De Morgan's law): For any indexed class (Ai : i E I } , ( U iAi)' = ni A:.
(uiA,)c =: {x : z B u i A i ) = {x : x @ A i for every i} = (x : x € A t for every i} = n i A t
1.30. Let CA be an algebra (a-algebra) of subsets of U . Show that: (i) U and 9 belong to
CA; and (ii) d is closed under finite (countable) intersections.
Recall that CA is closed under complements and finite (countable) unions.
(i) Since CA is nonempty, there is a set A E CA. Hence the complement Ac E CA, and the union
U =A u A E ~ CA. Also the complement (3 = Uc E CA..
(ii) Let {Ai} be a finite (countable) class of sets belonging to CA. By De Morgan's law (Problem 1.29),
(uiA;)c = n i A T = n,A,. Hence n i A i belongs to CA, as required.
