Four Basic Concepts

The four basic concepts to be discussed include sets, relations,

functions, and binary operations. It is important to be familiar with these
basic concepts and understand how they are used.

Sets

A set is a collection of objects, mostly mathematical objects such as

numbers, points in space or other sets. We denote a set using capital letters
of the English alphabet and the symbol ϵ for set membership. Thus, if 𝐴 is a
set and 3 is an element of this set, we may write it in symbol as 3 ϵ 𝐴 which
is read 3 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐴 or 3 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝐴.

A is the set of counting numbers

A = { 1,2,3,4,5,6…}

B is the set of whole numbers

B= { 0,1,2,3,4,5,6…}

C is the set even whole numbers greater than 2 but less than 10
C = { 4,6,8}

Types of Set
1. Finite Set – is a set whose elements can be counted.
Examples
{2,4,6,8}

English Alphabet

2. Infinite set- is a set whose elements cannot be counted.

Examples
The set of stars in the sky
The set of counting numbers {1,2,3,4,5,6…}
The set of whole numbers (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,…}

3. Empty Set or Null Set – is a set with no elements.May be written as { }

or ∅.

Example
The set of counting numbers between 8 and 9.
The set of whole numbers less than 0
 There are three common ways to denote a specific set.

1. Roster method. Some sets have few elements which makes it possible
to provide a list of its members. One way of denoting a set is by the
roster method where we list its elements inside curly brackets: {2, 3, 5,
7, 11, 13, 17, 19}, for example, is the set whose elements are the eight
numbers 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, and 19.

Examples

1. A is the set of whole numbers less than 6 (Rule)

A = { 0,1,2,3,4,5} (roster)

2. C is the set of letters in the word “excellent” (rule)

C = {e,x,c,l,n,t} (Roster)

2. Use of dots. Most sets are too large and they are often infinite. A
second way to denote sets is to use three dots to imply a list that is
too long to write down: for example, the expressions {1, 2, 3, … , 100} and
{2, 4, 6, 8, … } represent the set of all positive integers up to 100 and the
set of all positive even numbers, respectively. The three dots are col-
lectively called ellipsis.

3. Rule method/Set Builder Notation. A third way is to define a set using

a property or a description. An example that shows how this is done is
the expression {𝑥 ∶ 𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 < 20}. To read this expression, we
first say, The set of, because of the curly brackets. Next, we read the
symbol that occurs before the colon. The colon itself we read as such
that. Finally, we read what comes after the colon, which is the prop-
erty that determines the elements of the set. In this example, we say,
The set of all x such that x is prime and x is less than 20, which
is equal to the set
{2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19}.
 2 = 2.1
3 = 3.1
5 = 5.1
7 = 7.1
11=11.1

Composite
4= 4.1
2.2

6 = 6.1
3.2

8= 8.1
4.2

9= 9.1
3.3

So set builder notation will be

A = { x | x is an even natural number, x ≤ 12} ( Set Builder Notation)

A = { 2,4,6,8,10,12} ( Roster Method)

Many sentences of mathematics can be written in set-theoretic terms.

For example, the sentence 5 < 10 could be written as 5 ϵ {𝑛 ∶ 𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙
𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛 < 10}. Why is there a need for such if it is easier to understand

5 < 10? In some instances, doing so would be convenient.

An example of this is when we translate geometry to algebra using

Cartesian coordinates. Geometric objects were defined as sets of points,
where points were expressed as pairs or triples of numbers. For example,
the set {(𝑥, 𝑦) ∶ 𝑥2 + 𝑦2 = 1} represents a circle of radius 1 about the origin (0,
0). This was based on Pythagorean theorem which says that the square of
the distance from (0, 0) to (𝑥, 𝑦) is 𝑥2 + 𝑦2 so the sentence 𝑥2 + 𝑦2 = 1 can be re-
expressed geometrically as the distance from (0, 0) to (𝑥, 𝑦) is √1 = 1.

Sets allow one to reduce the number of parts of speech that one needs,
turning almost all of them into nouns. For example, with the help of the
membership symbol ϵ one can do without adjectives. The translation of 5 is
a prime number (where “prime” functions as an adjective) will simply be 5 ϵ 𝑃.

Given two sets 𝐴 and 𝐵, it is possible to “multiply” them to produce a

new set denoted as 𝐴 × 𝐵. This operation is called the Cartesian product. To
understand it, we must first understand the idea of an ordered pair.

The Universal Set is the totality of elements under a consideration and is

denoted by the capital letter U. A is a subset of a Universal set U if all the
elements of A belong to U. This relationship is denoted by A U, and is
read as “ A is a subset of U”.

The Union of sets A and B , denoted by A U B and read as “ A Union B” is

the set of all elements that belongs to set A or set B.

A = { 1,2,4,5,7,8}
B = { 2,4,6,8,10,12,14}

AUB = { 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,10,12,14}

The intersection of sets A and B, denoted by A ∩ B, and read as “A

intersection B” , is the set of all elements common to set A and set B. Two
sets that have no common elements are called disjoint sets.

A = { 1,2,4,5,7,8}
B = { 2,4,6,8,10,12,14}

A ∩ B = { 2,4,8}

The complement of a set A, denote by A’ or Ac , is the set of all elements

that belong to the universal set but do not belong to A.

U = { 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}

A = { 1,4,6,8,10}
Ac = { 2,3,5,7,9}

B= { 3,6,9}

Bc = {1,2,4,5,7,8,10}

U = ( a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l}

A = { a, c, e, i,k}
Ac= { b,d,f,g,h,j, l}

Two sets A and B are equal , denoted by A=B, if they have exactly the same
elements.

A = { 2,4,6,8)
B = { 3,6,9,12}

A=B

Two sets A and B are equal are equivalent , denoted by A ↔B , if there exists
a one-to-one correspondence between their elements.

A = { 1,3,6,7}
B = { 3,1,7,6}

DEFINITION 2.3 (ordered pair)

An ordered pair is a list (𝑥, 𝑦) of two things 𝑥 and 𝑦, enclosed in parentheses and
separated by a comma.

We take note that (2,4) is an ordered pair different from another ordered
pair (4,2). We write (2,4) ≠ (4,2). Right away you can see that ordered pairs
can be used to describe points on the plane, as was done in calculus, but
they are not limited to just that. Letters, for example, may be expressed as
ordered pairs like (𝑚, 𝑙). Now we are ready to define the Cartesian product.

Cartesian Product

A = { 1,3,5,6}
B = { 2,4,6,8}

A x B = { (1,2), (1,4),(1,6),(1,8), (3,2),(3,4), (3,6,),(3,8), (5,2),(5,4),(5,6),(5,8),

(6,2),(6,4),(6,6) , (6 ,8)}

B x A = { (2,1), (2,3), (2,5),(2,6),(4,1),(4,3), (4,5),(4,6), ( 6,1), (6,3)……

DEFINITION 2.4 (Cartesian product)

The Cartesian product of two sets 𝐴 and 𝐵 is another set, denoted as 𝐴 × 𝐵 and defined
as 𝐴 × 𝐵 = {(𝑎,𝑏) ∶ 𝑎 ∈ 𝐴, 𝑏 ∈ 𝐵} .

The set 𝐴 × 𝐵 is a set of ordered pairs of elements from 𝐴 and 𝐵. For

example, if 𝐴 = {𝑘, 𝑙, 𝑚} and 𝐵 = {1,2},then

𝐴 × 𝐵 = {(𝑘, 1), (𝑘, 2), (𝑙, 1), (𝑙, 2), (𝑚, 1), (𝑚, 2)}

B x A = { (1,k), (1,l), (1,m), (2,k),(2,l),(2,m)}

Learning Activity 6

Direction. Write the following sets using the rule method.

Example

{2,4,6,8,10} {2𝑛 ∶ 𝑛 ϵ
ℤ , 1 ≤ 𝑛 ≤ 5}

Start Here:

1. The first 12 natural numbers.

2. {3,6,9,12,15, … }
3. {1,4,9,16,25,36, … }
 4. {… , −15, −10, −5,0,5,10,15, …}
5. {… , −45, −30, −15,0,15,30,45, … }

Sets have other properties. It can happen that all elements of some set
𝐴 are also elements of another set 𝐵. For example, each element of 𝐴 = {1,3,4}
is also an element of 𝐵 = {0,1,2,3,4}. When 𝐴 and 𝐵 are related this way we
say that 𝐴 is a subset of 𝐵.

DEFINITION 2.5 (subset)

Suppose 𝐴 and 𝐵 are sets. If every element of 𝐴 is also an element of 𝐵, then we say 𝐴
is a subset of 𝐵, and we denote this as 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵.

We write 𝐴 ⊈ 𝐵 if 𝐴 is not a subset of 𝐵, that is, if it is not true that every element of 𝐴
is also an element of 𝐵. Thus 𝐴 ⊈ 𝐵 means that there is at least one element of 𝐴 that
is not an element of 𝐵.

Just as numbers are combined with operations such as addition,

subtraction and multiplication, there are various operations that can be
applied to sets. The Cartesian product is one such operation; given sets 𝐴
and 𝐵, we can combine them with × to get a new set 𝐴 × 𝐵. Here are three
operations called union, intersection and difference.

DEFINITION 2.6 (set union, intersection, and difference)

Suppose 𝐴 and 𝐵 are sets.

• The union of 𝐴 and 𝐵 is the set 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = { 𝑥 ∶ 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 or 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵 }.

• The intersection of 𝐴 and 𝐵 is the set 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = { 𝑥 ∶ 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 and 𝑥 ∈ 𝐵 }.
• The difference of 𝐴 and 𝐵 is the set 𝐴 − 𝐵 = { 𝑥 ∶ 𝑥 ∈ 𝐴 and 𝑥 ∉ 𝐵} .

In words, the union 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 is the set of all things that are in 𝐴 or in 𝐵 (or in both).
The intersection 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 is the set of all things in both 𝐴 and 𝐵. The difference 𝐴 − 𝐵
is the set of all things that are in 𝐴 but not in 𝐵.
A relation is a set of ordered pairs . The set of all the first
elements on the ordered pairs is called the domain of the
relation., while the set of all the second elements of the ordered
pairs is called the range of the relation.

(1,2), (1,4),(1,6),(1,8), (3,2),(3,4), (3,6,),(3,8), (5,2),(5,4),(5,6),(5,8), (6,2),(6,4),

(6,6),(6,8)}

Domain-
Range -

A function is a relation in which no two ordered pairs have the

same ordered pairs have the same first element. It is also a rule
or relationship that associates with each element X at one set X
exactly one element Y of another set Y. Set X is the domain of the
function , while set y is the range of the function.
( 2,5),(3,7), (9,8), (8,4) Function

(1,2), (1,4),(1,6),(1,8), (3,2),(3,4), (3,6,),(3,8), (5,2),(5,4),(5,6),(5,8), (6,2),(6,4),

(6,6),(6,8)} Not Functiom

(3,5), (2,5),(-7,5), (0,5) Function

A set of ordered pairs is said to have a one-to-one

correspondence if every element in the domain is paired to
exactly one element in the range.
A set of ordered pairs is said to have a many-to-one
correspondence if at least two elements in the domain are all
paired to exactly one element in the range.

A set of ordered pairs is said to have a one-to-many

correspondence if an element in the domain is paired to at least
two elements in the range.

A function involves two sets, namely, the domain and the range,
and the rule of correspondence the two sets. The rule of
correspondence may be denoted by the notation y = f(x) , which is
read as “ f of x is equal to y” and indicates that the value of he
function f at x is equal to y.

Try this
A. Determine whether each of the following represents a
relation or not. If it represents a relation, determine
whether the relation is a function or not.
1. { (5,5), (-5,6), (6,-6) , (6,6)}
2. { (3,4), (4,5), (5,1), (6,1)}
3. {( 1,1), ( 1,2), (2,2), (3,1)}
4. { ( 2,-2), (3,-2), (4,-2),(5,-2)}
5. { (x,y)/ y + 2x =5

B. State the domain and the range of the function described in

the tables below.Give the equation y = f(x) for each table.
1.
X 0 1 2 3 4 5
 Y 0 1 2 3 4 5
Domain:(0,1,2,3,4,5 ) Range: (0,1,2,3,4,5)
Equation: y= x

2.
X 0 1 2 3 4 5
Y 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5
Domain:______________ Range:_______________
Equation:_____________________________

3.
X 0 1 2 3 4 5
Y 0 2 4 6 8 10
Domain:______________ Range:_______________
Equation:_____________________________

4.
X 0 1 2 3 4 5
Y 2 1 4 9 16 25
Domain:______________ Range:_______________
Equation:_____________________________

1. One to one correspondence

2. One to many correspondence
3. Many to one Correspondence

MODULE 3

The Nature of Mathematics: Problem Solving and Reasoning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzCPff7eQ2w
3.1 Introduction
Central to the study of mathematics is its ability to solve problems even
outside the field. Different professions deal with different problems. Most
professionals are required to have good problem solving skills. In the
previous module, you built a clear understanding of mathematics as a
language and improved your skills in translating mathematical sentences to
symbols. This skill is so important for you to become a better problem
solver.
In this module, our main focus is on how you solve a problem in a
systematic manner.
3.2 Learning Outcomes
After finishing this module, you are expected to

1. discuss ways to solve a problem;

2. solve problems using inductive and deductive reasoning; and
3. solve problems using Polya’s strategy.

3.3 What You Need to Know

A mathematical problem is a situation that you may confront for which
the
method and solution is not immediately known to you. There are different
ways to come up with the solution of a problem. Good comprehension and
reasoning are necessary.
3.3.1 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
We start by describing two processes of reaching a conclusion:
inductive and deductive reasoning.
3.3.1.1 Inductive Reasoning
The type of reasoning that comes up to a conclusion by examining
specific examples is called inductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning also
involve observing and looking for a pattern and the make an educated guest
based on the pattern. The educated guess bases on the pattern is called
inductive reasoning.A conclusion that is made by applying inductive
reasoning is called a conjecture. A conjecture is a conclusion you reached
based on inductive reasoning.Conjectures may or may not be correct.
An example of this type of reasoning is applied when we want to find
the next number in a list of numbers which follows a pattern.
Example 1. Use inductive reasoning to predict the next number in the
lists.
 1, 3, 6, 8, 11, ?
Solution.
The first two numbers differ by 2, the second and the third by 3,
the third and fourth by 2 again. It appears that when two numbers
differ by 2, the next difference would be 3, followed again by 2, then by
3. Since the difference between 8 and 11 is 3, we predict the number
next to 11 to be a number 2 more than 11, which is 13.
We used inductive reasoning when we predicted the number next to
11.
Example 2. Use inductive reasoning to make a conjecture.
Perform the following steps:
Pick a number. Multiply it by 4. Add 6 to the product. Divide the sum
by 2. Subtract 3.
Use this procedure in different numbers and conjecture on the resulting
number.
Solution.
We may construct a table to examine the results.
Original number Result
5 10
6 12
7 14
10 20
100 200

If you pick the number 5, the procedure will give a result of 10. For 6, it
will give 12; for 7, 14; for 10, 20; and for 100, 200. We observe that the
resulting numbers are twice the original number. Thus, we conjecture that
the process will produce a number which is twice the original.
We used inductive reasoning in making a conjecture in the previous
example. We must take note that though it can be helpful to use inductive
reasoning to arrive at a conclusion, extra care must be observed when
performing procedure. Conclusions based on inductive reasoning may not
be correct. The following example illustrates this instance.
Example 3. Consider the polynomial 𝑛2 + 19𝑛 − 19 where 𝑛 is a counting
number.

If we conjecture on the results for 𝑛 ≥ 2, we first check on several

values of 𝑛.

𝑛 𝑛2 + 19𝑛 − 19
2 23
3 47
4 73
5 101
6 131
7 163

4 + 38-19 = 23

We notice that the results are prime numbers. Thus, we conjecture

that for 𝑛 ≥ 2, then 𝑛2 + 19𝑛 − 19 is a prime number. To test our
conjecture, we need to check results for other values. We have

𝑛 𝑛2 + 19𝑛 − 19
8 23
9 47
10 73
11 101
12 131

We see that the results are consistent and that our conjecture
seems correct. If we continue checking on the next results, we get 397,
443, 491, 541, 593, and 647. All these numbers are prime. However, if
𝑛 = 19, we get 703 which is the product of 19 and 37. This makes us
conclude that our conjecture is incorrect.
Example 4.
Find the next three terms of the sequences 17,25,33…

Not all conjecture are true. When we find example showing that
conjecture is false, this example is called a counterexample.

A counterexample is a single example that shows a generalization to be

false. When making a conjecture, remember that it is an educated guess.
Sometimes it may be true or sometimes it may be false.
Example. Suggest a possible counterexamples for each conclusion.
1. All birds can fly.
Possible counterexample. An ostrich is a bird that cannot
fly.

2. All numbers are less than zero

Possible counterexample. 3 is a number that is not less
than zero

Try this.

A.
1. If a quadrilateral has four equal sides , it has four equal angles.
2. If a quadrilateral has a pair of parallel sides, it has a pair of equal
sides.
3. All roses are red.
4. All rectangle are squares
5. All triangle are equiangular.
6. All corn is yellow.
7. All triangle are isosceles.

b.

1. 4, 8, 12, 16,20, 24, ____ ,_____,_____

2. 3, 5, 9, 15, 23, 33, ___ ,_____,_____
3. 80, 70, 61,53, 46, 40, ____ ,____,____
4. 2, 7, −3,2,−8, −3, −13, −8, −18, ____ ,____,____
5. 64,56,48,40,___,____,_____
6. 17,21,25,29,____,____,_____
7. 15,23,31,39,_____,_____,____
8. 98,90,82,74,66,58,50,42.___,______,______