Course Code:MTH 101
Course Title: ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS I
MODULE ONE
Unit 1 Elementary Sets Theory
Unit 2 Basic Set Operations
Unit 3 Set of Numbers
Module 2 .......................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Unit 1..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Unit 2..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Unit 3..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
MODULE ONE
Unit 1 Elementary Sets Theory
Unit 2 Basic Set Operations
Unit 3 Set of Numbers
UNIT 1:
Elementary SetsTheory
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Body
3.1 Sets
3.1.1 Notation
3.1.2 Finite and Infinite sets
3.1.3 Equality of sets
3.1.4 Null Set
3.2 Subsets
3.2.1 Proper subsets
3.2.2 Comparability
3.2.3 Set of sets
3.2.4 Universal set
3.2.5 Power set
3.2.6 Disjoint sets
3.3 Venn-Euler diagrams
3.4 Axiomatic development of set theory
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked assignment
7.0 References and Further readings
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The theory of sets lies at the foundation of mathematics. It is a concept that
rears its head in almost all fields of mathematics; pure and applied.
This unit aims at introducing basic concepts that would be explained further in
subsequent units. There will be definition of terms and lots of examples and
exercises to help you as you go along.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
Identify sets from some given statements
Rewrite sets in the different set notation
Identify the different kinds of sets with examples
3.0 MAIN BODY
3.1 SETS
As mentioned in the introduction, a fundamental concept in all a branch of
mathematics is that of set. Here is a definition “A set is any well-defined list,
collection or class of objects”.
The objects in sets, as we shall see from examples, can be anything: But for
clarity, we now list ten particular examples of sets:
Example 1.1 The numbers 0, 2, 4, 6, 8
Example 1.2 The solutions of the equation x²+ 2x+1 = 0
Example 1.3 The vowels of the alphabet: a, e, i, o, u
Example 1.4 The people living on earth
Example 1.5 The students Tom, Dick and Harry Example
1.6 The students who are absent from school Example 1.7
The countries England, France and Denmark Example 1.8
The capital cities of Nigeria
Example 1.9 The number 1, 3, 7, and 10
Example 1.10 The Rivers in Nigeria
Note that the sets in the odd numbered examples are defined, that is, presented,
by actually listing its members; and the sets in the even numbered examples
are defined by stating properties that is, rules, which decide whether or not a
particular object is a member of the set.
3.1.1 Notation
Sets will usually be denoted by capital letters;
A, B, X, Y,......
Lower case letters will usually represent the elements in our sets:
Lets take as an example; if we define a particular set by actually listing its
members, for example, let A consist of numbers 1,3,7, and 10, then we write
A={1,3,7,10}
That is, the elements are separated by commas and enclosed in brackets { }.
We call this the tabular form of a set
Now, try your hand on this
Exercise 1.1
State in words and then write in tabular form
1. A = {x}│x ² = 4²}
2. B = {x}│x – 2 = 5}
3. C = {x}│x is positive, x is negative}
4. D = {x}│x is a letter in the word “correct”}
Solution:
1. It reads “A is the set of x such that x squared equals four”. The only
numbers which when squared give four are 2 and -2. Hence A = {2, -2}
2. It reads “B is the set of x such that x minus 2 equals 5”. The only
solution is 7; hence B = {7}
3. It read “C is the set of x such that x is positive and x is negative”. There
is no number which is both positive and negative; hence C is empty, that
is, C=Ø
4. It reads “D is the set of x such that x is letter in the work ‘correct’. The
indicated letters a re c,o,r,e and t; thus D = {c,o,r,e,t}
But if we define a particular set by stating properties which its elements must
satisfy, for example, let B be the set of all even numbers, then we use a letter,
usually x, to represent an arbitrary element and we write:
B = {x│x is even}
Which reads “B is the set of numbers x such that x is even”. We call this the
set builders form of a set. Notice that the vertical line “│” is read “such as”.
In order to illustrate the use of the above notations, we rewrite the sets in
examples 1.1-1.10. We denote the sets by A 1, A 2, ..... A10 respectively.
Example 2.1: A1 = {0, 2, 4, 6, 8}
Example 2.2: A2 = {x│x²+2x + 1 = 0}
Example 2.3: A3 = {a, e, i, o, u}
Example 2.4: A4 = {x │x is a person living on the earth}
Example 2.5: A5 = {Tom, Dick, Harry}
