Discrete Structures

Topic 9 – Basic Structures: Sets

(Ch 2.1)*

CMPS 211 – American University of Beirut

* Extracted from Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications book slides

1
Sets
 A set is an unordered collection of objects
 The students in this class
 The chairs in this room

 The objects in a set are called the elements, or

members of the set

 A set is said to contain its elements

 The notation a ∈ A denotes that a is an element of the
set A
 If a is not a member of A, we write a ∉ A
2
Describing a Set: Roster Method
 S = {a,b,c,d}
 Order not important
S = {a,b,c,d} = {b,c,a,d}
 Each distinct object is either a member or not

 Listing an element more than once does not change the set
S = {a,b,c,d} = {a,b,c,b,c,d}

 Dots (…) may be used to describe a set without listing all of

the members when the pattern is clear
S = {a,b,c,d, ……,z }

3
Roster Method – Example Sets
 Set of all vowels in the English alphabet:
V = {a,e,i,o,u}

 Set of all odd positive integers less than 10:

O = {1,3,5,7,9}

 Set of all positive integers less than 100:

S = {1,2,3,……..,99}

 Set of all integers less than 0:

S = {…., -3,-2,-1}

4
Some Important Sets
 N = natural numbers = {0,1,2,3….}
 Z = integers = {…,-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3,…}
 Z⁺ = positive integers = {1,2,3,…..}
 R = set of real numbers
 R+ = set of positive real numbers
 C = set of complex numbers
 Q = set of rational numbers

5
Set-Builder Notation
 Specify the property or properties that all members
must satisfy:
 S = {x | x is a positive integer less than 100}
 O = {x | x is an odd positive integer less than 10}
 O = {x ∈ Z⁺ | x is odd and x < 10}
 Positive rational numbers:
Q+ = {x ∈ R | x = p/q, for some positive integers p,q}

 A predicate may be also used: S = {x | P(x)}

 Example: S = {x | Prime(x)}

6
Interval Notation
 Some times, sets are described as intervals:
 [a,b] = {x | a ≤ x ≤ b} – closed interval
 [a,b) = {x | a ≤ x < b}
 (a,b] = {x | a < x ≤ b}
 (a,b) = {x | a < x < b} – open interval

7
Universal Set and Empty Set
 The universal set U is the set containing everything
currently under consideration
 Sometimes implicit
 Sometimes explicitly stated
 Contents depend on the context

 The empty set is the set with no elements

 Symbolized ∅, but {} also used

8
Venn Diagram
 We can represent sets visually using a diagram
called the Venn Diagram
 Represent the universal set using a rectangle
 Represent any set using an oval inside the universal
John Venn
set rectangle (1834-1923)
Cambridge, UK
 Example:
 U is the set of English alphabet Venn Diagram U
 V is the set of vowels

aei
V ou

9
Some things to remember
 Sets can be elements of sets
 {{1,2,3},a,{b, c}}
 {N,Z,Q,R}

 The empty set is different from a set containing the

empty set
 ∅ ≠{∅}

10
Set Equality
 Two sets are equal if and only if they have the same
elements
 We write A = B if A and B are equal sets
 A = B if and only if

{1,3,5} = {3,5,1}
{1,5,5,5,3,3,1} = {1,3,5}

11
Subsets
 The set A is a subset of B, if and only if every element of
A is also an element of B
 The notation A ⊆ B is used to indicate that A is a subset of
the set B
 A ⊆ B holds if and only if

12
Subsets (cont.)
 The empty set ∅ is a subset of every set S
(i.e., ∅ ⊆ S, for every set S)
 Since a ∈ ∅ is always false for any element a
 Thus, ∀x (x ∈ ∅ → x ∈ S) is true

 Every set S is a subset of itself

(i.e., S ⊆ S, for every set S)
 Since a ∈ S → a ∈ S for any element a
 Thus, ∀x (x ∈ S → x ∈ S) is true

13
Showing a Set is or isn’t a Subset of Another Set
 Showing that A is a Subset of B:
 To show that A ⊆ B, show that if x belongs to A, then x also
belongs to B
 Showing that A is not a Subset of B:
 To show that A is not a subset of B, A ⊈ B, find an element x ∈ A
where x ∉ B
 Such an x is a counterexample to the claim that x ∈ A implies x ∈ B

 Examples:
1. The set of all computer science majors at your school is a
subset of all students at your school
2. The set of integers with squares less than 100 is not a subset of
the set of nonnegative integers

14
Another Look at Equality of Sets
 Recall that two sets A and B are equal, denoted by
A = B, iff

 Using logical equivalences we have that A = B iff

 This is equivalent to
A⊆B and B⊆A

15
Proper Subsets
 If A ⊆ B, but A ≠B, then we say A is a proper subset of
B, denoted by A ⊂ B

 That is, if A ⊂ B, then

U
B
A

16
Set Cardinality
 If there are exactly n distinct elements in S where n is a
nonnegative integer, we say that S is finite
 Otherwise it is infinite
 The cardinality of a finite set A, denoted by |A|, is the
number of (distinct) elements of A
 Examples:
1. |ø| = 0
2. If S is the set of letters of the English alphabet, then |S| =
26
3. |{1,2,3}| = 3
4. |{ø}| = 1
5. The set of integers is infinite

17
Power Sets
 The set of all subsets of a set A, denoted P(A), is called
the power set of A

 Example: If A = {a,b} then

P(A) = {ø, {a},{b},{a,b}}

 In general, if a set has n elements, then the cardinality

of the power set is 2ⁿ

 In Chapters 5 and 6 (Induction and Counting), we will

discuss different ways to show this

18
Tuples
 The ordered n-tuple (a1,a2,…..,an) is the ordered
collection that has a1 as its first element and a2 as its
second element and so on until an as its last element

 Two n-tuples are equal if and only if their

corresponding elements are equal

 2-tuples are called ordered pairs

 The ordered pairs (a,b) and (c,d) are equal if and only
if a = c and b = d
19
Cartesian Product
 The Cartesian Product of two sets A and B,
denoted by A × B is the set of ordered pairs
(a,b) where a ∈ A and b ∈ B René Descartes
(1596-1650)

 Example:
 A = {a,b} and B = {1,2,3}
 A × B = {(a,1),(a,2),(a,3),(b,1),(b,2),(b,3)}

20
Cartesian Product (cont.)
 The Cartesian Product of the sets A1,A2,……,An, denoted
by A1 × A2 × …… × An , is the set of ordered n-tuples
(a1,a2,……,an) where ai belongs to Ai , for i = 1, … n

 Example:
 A = {0,1}, B = {1,2} and C = {0,1,2}
 A ×B × C =
{(0,1,0),(0,1,1),(0,1,2),(0,2,0),(0,2,1),(0,2,2),(1,1,0),(1,1,1),
(1,1,2),(1,2,0),(1,2,1),(1,1,2)}

21
 Any Questions?

22