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Subset - Wikipedia

A set A is a subset of set B if all elements of A are also elements of B. A is a proper subset of B if A is a subset of B but the sets are not equal. The relationship between a subset and the set it is contained in is called inclusion. Subsets form a partial order and the power set of any set under the subset relation forms a Boolean algebra.

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21 views

Subset - Wikipedia

A set A is a subset of set B if all elements of A are also elements of B. A is a proper subset of B if A is a subset of B but the sets are not equal. The relationship between a subset and the set it is contained in is called inclusion. Subsets form a partial order and the power set of any set under the subset relation forms a Boolean algebra.

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Nani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Subset

In mathematics, a set A is a subset of a


set B if all elements of A are also elements
of B; B is then a superset of A. It is
possible for A and B to be equal; if they are
unequal, then A is a proper subset of B.
The relationship of one set being a subset
of another is called inclusion (or
sometimes containment). A is a subset of
B may also be expressed as B includes (or
contains) A or A is included (or contained)
in B.

Euler diagram showing


A is a proper subset of B,  A⊂B,  and conversely B is a
proper superset of A.

The subset relation defines a partial order


on sets. In fact, the subsets of a given set
form a Boolean algebra under the subset
relation, in which the join and meet are
given by intersection and union, and the
subset relation itself is the Boolean
inclusion relation.

Definitions
If A and B are sets and every element of A
is also an element of B, then:

A is a subset of B, denoted by
or equivalently
B is a superset of A, denoted by
[1]

If A is a subset of B, but A is not equal to B


(i.e. there exists at least one element of B
which is not an element of A), then:
A is a proper (or strict) subset of B,
denoted by (or [1][2]).

Or equivalently,
B is a proper (or strict) superset of A,
denoted by (or [1]).

The empty set, written { } or ∅, is a


subset of any set X and a proper
subset of any set except itself.

For any set S, the inclusion relation ⊆ is a


partial order on the set (the power
set of S—the set of all subsets of S[3])
defined by . We
may also partially order by reverse
set inclusion by defining
When quantified, A ⊆ B is represented as
∀x(x ∈ A → x ∈ B).[4]

We can prove the statement A ⊆ B by


applying a proof technique known as the
element argument[5]:

Let sets A and B be given. To


prove that A ⊆ B,

1. suppose that a is a
particular but arbitrarily
chosen element of A,
2. show that a is an element
of B.
The validity of this technique can be seen
as a consequence of Universal
generalization: the technique shows
c ∈ A → c ∈ B for an arbitrarily chosen
element c. Universal generalisation then
implies ∀x(x ∈ A → x ∈ B), which is
equivalent to A ⊆ B, as stated above.

Properties
A set A is a subset of B if and only if
their intersection is equal to A.
Formally:

A set A is a subset of B if and only if


their union is equal to B.
Formally:

A finite set A is a subset of B, if and only


if the cardinality of their intersection is
equal to the cardinality of A.
Formally:

⊂ and ⊃ symbols
Some authors use the symbols ⊂ and ⊃ to
indicate subset and superset respectively;
that is, with the same meaning and instead
of the symbols, ⊆ and ⊇.[6] For example,
for these authors, it is true of every set A
that A ⊂ A.
Other authors prefer to use the symbols ⊂
and ⊃ to indicate proper (also called strict)
subset and proper superset respectively;
that is, with the same meaning and instead
of the symbols, ⊊ and ⊋.[7][1] This usage
makes ⊆ and ⊂ analogous to the inequality
symbols ≤ and <. For example, if x ≤ y, then
x may or may not equal y, but if x < y, then
x definitely does not equal y, and is less
than y. Similarly, using the convention that
⊂ is proper subset, if A ⊆ B, then A may or
may not equal B, but if A ⊂ B, then A
definitely does not equal B.

Examples of subsets
The regular polygons form a subset of the polygons

The set A = {1, 2} is a proper subset of B


= {1, 2, 3}, thus both expressions A ⊆ B
and A ⊊ B are true.
The set D = {1, 2, 3} is a subset (but not
a proper subset) of E = {1, 2, 3}, thus D ⊆
E is true, and D ⊊ E is not true (false).
Any set is a subset of itself, but not a
proper subset. (X ⊆ X is true, and X ⊊ X
is false for any set X.)
The set {x: x is a prime number greater
than 10} is a proper subset of {x: x is an
odd number greater than 10}
The set of natural numbers is a proper
subset of the set of rational numbers;
likewise, the set of points in a line
segment is a proper subset of the set of
points in a line. These are two examples
in which both the subset and the whole
set are infinite, and the subset has the
same cardinality (the concept that
corresponds to size, that is, the number
of elements, of a finite set) as the whole;
such cases can run counter to one's
initial intuition.
The set of rational numbers is a proper
subset of the set of real numbers. In this
example, both sets are infinite, but the
latter set has a larger cardinality (or
power) than the former set.

Another example in an Euler diagram:


A is a proper subset of B

C is a subset but not a proper subset of B

Other properties of inclusion


A ⊆ B and B ⊆ C implies A ⊆ C

Inclusion is the canonical partial order, in


the sense that every partially ordered set
(X, ) is isomorphic to some collection of
sets ordered by inclusion. The ordinal
numbers are a simple example: if each
ordinal n is identified with the set [n] of all
ordinals less than or equal to n, then a ≤ b
if and only if [a] ⊆ [b].

For the power set of a set S, the


inclusion partial order is—up to an order
isomorphism—the Cartesian product of k =
|S| (the cardinality of S) copies of the
partial order on {0,1} for which 0 < 1. This
can be illustrated by enumerating S = {s1,
s2, ..., sk}, and associating with each
subset T ⊆ S (i.e., each element of 2S) the
k-tuple from {0,1}k, of which the ith
coordinate is 1 if and only if si is a member
of T.

See also
Inclusion order
Region
Subset sum problem
Total subset
References
1. "Comprehensive List of Set Theory
Symbols" . Math Vault. 2020-04-11.
Retrieved 2020-08-23.
2. "Introduction to Sets" .
www.mathsisfun.com. Retrieved
2020-08-23.
3. Weisstein, Eric W. "Subset" .
mathworld.wolfram.com. Retrieved
2020-08-23.
4. Rosen, Kenneth H. (2012). Discrete
Mathematics and Its Applications
(7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
p. 119 . ISBN 978-0-07-338309-5.
5. Epp, Susanna S. (2011). Discrete
Mathematics with Applications (Fourth
ed.). p. 337. ISBN 978-0-495-39132-6.
. Rudin, Walter (1987), Real and
complex analysis (3rd ed.), New York:
McGraw-Hill, p. 6, ISBN 978-0-07-
054234-1, MR 0924157
7. Subsets and Proper Subsets (PDF),
archived from the original (PDF) on
2013-01-23, retrieved 2012-09-07

Bibliography
Jech, Thomas (2002). Set Theory.
Springer-Verlag. ISBN 3-540-44085-2.

External links
Media related to Subsets at Wikimedia
Commons
Weisstein, Eric W. "Subset" . MathWorld.

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