Explore the full ebook collection and download it now at textbookfull.

com

Book of proof Hammack R

https://textbookfull.com/product/book-of-proof-hammack-r/

OR CLICK HERE

DOWLOAD EBOOK

Browse and Get More Ebook Downloads Instantly at https://textbookfull.com

Click here to visit textbookfull.com and download textbook now
 Your digital treasures (PDF, ePub, MOBI) await
Download instantly and pick your perfect format...

Read anywhere, anytime, on any device!

Book of proof Hammack

https://textbookfull.com/product/book-of-proof-hammack/

textbookfull.com

Book of Proof Richard Hammack

https://textbookfull.com/product/book-of-proof-richard-hammack/

textbookfull.com

Book of Proof 3rd Edition Richard Hammack

https://textbookfull.com/product/book-of-proof-3rd-edition-richard-
hammack/

textbookfull.com

Book of Proof (Edition 3.2) Richard Hammack

https://textbookfull.com/product/book-of-proof-edition-3-2-richard-
hammack/

textbookfull.com
Analysis with an introduction to proof. Fifth Edition,
Pearson New International Edition Steven R. Lay

https://textbookfull.com/product/analysis-with-an-introduction-to-
proof-fifth-edition-pearson-new-international-edition-steven-r-lay/

textbookfull.com

A Transition to Proof An Introduction to Advanced

Mathematics Textbooks in Mathematics 1st Edition Neil R.
Nicholson
https://textbookfull.com/product/a-transition-to-proof-an-
introduction-to-advanced-mathematics-textbooks-in-mathematics-1st-
edition-neil-r-nicholson/
textbookfull.com

Fundamentals of Public Utilities Management Book 1st

Edition Frank R. Spellman

https://textbookfull.com/product/fundamentals-of-public-utilities-
management-book-1st-edition-frank-r-spellman/

textbookfull.com

Three Laws of Nature A Little Book on Thermodynamics R.

Stephen Berry

https://textbookfull.com/product/three-laws-of-nature-a-little-book-
on-thermodynamics-r-stephen-berry/

textbookfull.com

The Vaccine Book 2nd Edition Barry R. Bloom

https://textbookfull.com/product/the-vaccine-book-2nd-edition-barry-r-
bloom/

textbookfull.com
 Book of Proof

Richard Hammack
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richard Hammack (publisher)
Department of Mathematics & Applied Mathematics
P.O. Box 842014
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia, 23284

Book of Proof

Edition 2.2

© 2013 by Richard Hammack

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0
License

Typeset in 11pt TEX Gyre Schola using PDFLATEX

To my students
 Contents

Preface vii

Introduction viii

I Fundamentals

1. Sets 3
1.1. Introduction to Sets 3
1.2. The Cartesian Product 8
1.3. Subsets 11
1.4. Power Sets 14
1.5. Union, Intersection, Difference 17
1.6. Complement 19
1.7. Venn Diagrams 21
1.8. Indexed Sets 24
1.9. Sets that Are Number Systems 29
1.10. Russell’s Paradox 31

2. Logic 33
2.1. Statements 34
2.2. And, Or, Not 38
2.3. Conditional Statements 41
2.4. Biconditional Statements 44
2.5. Truth Tables for Statements 46
2.6. Logical Equivalence 49
2.7. Quantifiers 51
2.8. More on Conditional Statements 54
2.9. Translating English to Symbolic Logic 55
2.10. Negating Statements 57
2.11. Logical Inference 61
2.12. An Important Note 62

3. Counting 63
3.1. Counting Lists 63
3.2. Factorials 70
3.3. Counting Subsets 73
3.4. Pascal’s Triangle and the Binomial Theorem 78
3.5. Inclusion-Exclusion 81
 v

II How to Prove Conditional Statements

4. Direct Proof 87
4.1. Theorems 87
4.2. Definitions 89
4.3. Direct Proof 92
4.4. Using Cases 98
4.5. Treating Similar Cases 99

5. Contrapositive Proof 102

5.1. Contrapositive Proof 102
5.2. Congruence of Integers 105
5.3. Mathematical Writing 107

6. Proof by Contradiction 111

6.1. Proving Statements with Contradiction 112
6.2. Proving Conditional Statements by Contradiction 115
6.3. Combining Techniques 116
6.4. Some Words of Advice 117

III More on Proof

7. Proving Non-Conditional Statements 121

7.1. If-and-Only-If Proof 121
7.2. Equivalent Statements 123
7.3. Existence Proofs; Existence and Uniqueness Proofs 124
7.4. Constructive Versus Non-Constructive Proofs 128

8. Proofs Involving Sets 131

8.1. How to Prove a ∈ A 131
8.2. How to Prove A ⊆ B 133
8.3. How to Prove A = B 136
8.4. Examples: Perfect Numbers 139

9. Disproof 146
9.1. Counterexamples 148
9.2. Disproving Existence Statements 150
9.3. Disproof by Contradiction 152

10. Mathematical Induction 154

10.1. Proof by Strong Induction 161
10.2. Proof by Smallest Counterexample 165
10.3. Fibonacci Numbers 167
vi

IV Relations, Functions and Cardinality

11. Relations 175

11.1. Properties of Relations 179
11.2. Equivalence Relations 184
11.3. Equivalence Classes and Partitions 188
11.4. The Integers Modulo n 191
11.5. Relations Between Sets 194

12. Functions 196

12.1. Functions 196
12.2. Injective and Surjective Functions 201
12.3. The Pigeonhole Principle 205
12.4. Composition 208
12.5. Inverse Functions 211
12.6. Image and Preimage 214

13. Cardinality of Sets 217

13.1. Sets with Equal Cardinalities 217
13.2. Countable and Uncountable Sets 223
13.3. Comparing Cardinalities 228
13.4. The Cantor-Bernstein-Schröeder Theorem 232

Conclusion 239

Solutions 240

Index 301
 Preface

n writing this book I have been motivated by the desire to create a

I high-quality textbook that costs almost nothing.
The book is available on my web page for free, and the paperback
version (produced through an on-demand press) costs considerably less
than comparable traditional textbooks. Any revisions or new editions
will be issued solely for the purpose of correcting mistakes and clarifying
exposition. New exercises may be added, but the existing ones will not be
unnecessarily changed or renumbered.
This text is an expansion and refinement of lecture notes I developed
while teaching proofs courses over the past fourteen years at Virginia
Commonwealth University (a large state university) and Randolph-Macon
College (a small liberal arts college). I found the needs of these two
audiences to be nearly identical, and I wrote this book for them. But I am
mindful of a larger audience. I believe this book is suitable for almost any
undergraduate mathematics program.
This second edition incorporates many minor corrections and additions
that were suggested by readers around the world. In addition, several
new examples and exercises have been added, and a section on the Cantor-
Bernstein-Schröeder theorem has been added to Chapter 13.

Richard Hammack Richmond, Virginia

May 25, 2013
 Introduction

his is a book about how to prove theorems.

T Until this point in your education, mathematics has probably been
presented as a primarily computational discipline. You have learned to
solve equations, compute derivatives and integrals, multiply matrices
and find determinants; and you have seen how these things can answer
practical questions about the real world. In this setting, your primary goal
in using mathematics has been to compute answers.
But there is another side of mathematics that is more theoretical than
computational. Here the primary goal is to understand mathematical
structures, to prove mathematical statements, and even to invent or
discover new mathematical theorems and theories. The mathematical
techniques and procedures that you have learned and used up until now
are founded on this theoretical side of mathematics. For example, in
computing the area under a curve, you use the fundamental theorem of
calculus. It is because this theorem is true that your answer is correct.
However, in learning calculus you were probably far more concerned with
how that theorem could be applied than in understanding why it is true.
But how do we know it is true? How can we convince ourselves or others
of its validity? Questions of this nature belong to the theoretical realm of
mathematics. This book is an introduction to that realm.
This book will initiate you into an esoteric world. You will learn and
apply the methods of thought that mathematicians use to verify theorems,
explore mathematical truth and create new mathematical theories. This
will prepare you for advanced mathematics courses, for you will be better
able to understand proofs, write your own proofs and think critically and
inquisitively about mathematics.
 ix

The book is organized into four parts, as outlined below.

PART I Fundamentals
• Chapter 1: Sets
• Chapter 2: Logic
• Chapter 3: Counting
Chapters 1 and 2 lay out the language and conventions used in all advanced
mathematics. Sets are fundamental because every mathematical structure,
object or entity can be described as a set. Logic is fundamental because it
allows us to understand the meanings of statements, to deduce information
about mathematical structures and to uncover further structures. All
subsequent chapters will build on these first two chapters. Chapter 3
is included partly because its topics are central to many branches of
mathematics, but also because it is a source of many examples and exercises
that occur throughout the book. (However, the course instructor may choose
to omit Chapter 3.)

PART II Proving Conditional Statements

• Chapter 4: Direct Proof
• Chapter 5: Contrapositive Proof
• Chapter 6: Proof by Contradiction
Chapters 4 through 6 are concerned with three main techniques used for
proving theorems that have the “conditional” form “If P , then Q.”

PART III More on Proof

• Chapter 7: Proving Non-Conditional Statements
• Chapter 8: Proofs Involving Sets
• Chapter 9: Disproof
• Chapter 10: Mathematical Induction
These chapters deal with useful variations, embellishments and conse-
quences of the proof techniques introduced in Chapters 4 through 6.

PART IV Relations, Functions and Cardinality

• Chapter 11: Relations
• Chapter 12: Functions
• Chapter 13: Cardinality of Sets
These final chapters are mainly concerned with the idea of functions, which
are central to all of mathematics. Upon mastering this material you will be
ready for advanced mathematics courses such as combinatorics, abstract
algebra, theory of computation, analysis and topology.
x Introduction

To the instructor. The book is designed for a three credit course. Here
is a possible timetable for a fourteen-week semester.

Week Monday Wednesday Friday

1 Section 1.1 Section 1.2 Sections 1.3, 1.4
2 Sections 1.5, 1.6, 1.7 Section 1.8 Sections 1.9∗ , 2.1
3 Section 2.2 Sections 2.3, 2.4 Sections 2.5, 2.6
4 Section 2.7 Sections 2.8∗ , 2.9 Sections 2.10, 2.11∗ , 2.12∗
5 Sections 3.1, 3.2 Section 3.3 Sections 3.4, 3.5∗
6 EXAM Sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 Sections 4.3, 4.4, 4.5∗
7 Sections 5.1, 5.2, 5.3∗ Section 6.1 Sections 6.2 6.3∗
8 Sections 7.1, 7.2∗ , 7.3 Sections 8.1, 8.2 Section 8.3
9 Section 8.4 Sections 9.1, 9.2, 9.3∗ Section 10.0
10 Sections 10.0, 10.3∗ Sections 10.1, 10.2 EXAM
11 Sections 11.0, 11.1 Sections 11.2, 11.3 Sections 11.4, 11.5
12 Section 12.1 Section 12.2 Section 12.2
13 Sections 12.3, 12.4∗ Section 12.5 Sections 12.5, 12.6∗
14 Section 13.1 Section 13.2 Sections 13.3, 13.4∗

Sections marked with ∗ may require only the briefest mention in class, or
may be best left for the students to digest on their own. Some instructors
may prefer to omit Chapter 3.

Acknowledgments. I thank my students in VCU’s MATH 300 courses

for offering feedback as they read the first edition of this book. Thanks
especially to Cory Colbert and Lauren Pace for rooting out typographical
mistakes and inconsistencies. I am especially indebted to Cory for reading
early drafts of each chapter and catching numerous mistakes before I
posted the final draft on my web page. Cory also created the index,
suggested some interesting exercises, and wrote some solutions. Thanks
to Andy Lewis and Sean Cox for suggesting many improvements while
teaching from the book. I am indebted to Lon Mitchell, whose expertise
with typesetting and on-demand publishing made the print version of this
book a reality.
And thanks to countless readers all over the world who contacted me
concerning errors and omissions. Because of you, this is a better book.
 Part I

Fundamentals
 CHAPTER 1

Sets

ll of mathematics can be described with sets. This becomes more and

A more apparent the deeper into mathematics you go. It will be apparent
in most of your upper level courses, and certainly in this course. The
theory of sets is a language that is perfectly suited to describing and
explaining all types of mathematical structures.
1.1 Introduction to Sets
A set is a collection of things. The things in the collection are called
elements of the set. We are mainly concerned with sets whose elements
are mathematical entities, such as numbers, points, functions, etc.
A set is often expressed by listing its elements between commas, en-
© ª
closed by braces. For example, the collection 2, 4, 6, 8 is a set which has
four elements, the numbers 2, 4, 6 and 8. Some sets have infinitely many
elements. For example, consider the collection of all integers,
© ª
. . . , −4, −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . .

Here the dots indicate a pattern of numbers that continues forever in both
the positive and negative directions. A set is called an infinite set if it
has infinitely many elements; otherwise it is called a finite set.
Two sets are equal if they contain exactly the same elements. Thus
© ª © ª
2, 4, 6, 8 = 4, 2, 8, 6 because even though they are listed in a different
© ª © ª
order, the elements are identical; but 2, 4, 6, 8 6= 2, 4, 6, 7 . Also
© ª © ª
. . . − 4, −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 . . . = 0, −1, 1, −2, 2, −3, 3, −4, 4, . . . .

We often let uppercase letters stand for sets. In discussing the set
© ª © ª
2, 4, 6, 8 we might declare A = 2, 4, 6, 8 and then use A to stand for
© ª
2, 4, 6, 8 . To express that 2 is an element of the set A , we write 2 ∈ A, and
read this as “2 is an element of A ,” or “2 is in A ,” or just “2 in A .” We also
have 4 ∈ A , 6 ∈ A and 8 ∈ A , but 5 ∉ A . We read this last expression as “5 is
not an element of A ,” or “5 not in A .” Expressions like 6, 2 ∈ A or 2, 4, 8 ∈ A
are used to indicate that several things are in a set.
4 Sets

Some sets are so significant and prevalent that we reserve special

symbols for them. The set of natural numbers (i.e., the positive whole
numbers) is denoted by N, that is,

N = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, . . . .
© ª

The set of integers

Z = . . . , −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, . . .

© ª

is another fundamental set. The symbol R stands for the set of all real
numbers, a set that is undoubtedly familiar to you from calculus. Other
special sets will be listed later in this section.
© ª
Sets need not have just numbers as elements. The set B = T, F consists
of two letters, perhaps representing the values “true” and “false.” The set
© ª
C = a, e, i, o, u consists of the lowercase vowels in the English alphabet.
© ª
The set D = (0, 0), (1, 0), (0, 1), (1, 1) has as elements the four corner points
of a square on the x- y coordinate plane. Thus (0, 0) ∈ D , (1, 0) ∈ D , etc., but
(1, 2) ∉ D (for instance). It is even possible for a set to have other sets
© © ª© ªª
as elements. Consider E = 1, 2, 3 , 2, 4 , which has three elements: the
© ª © ª © ª
number 1, the set 2, 3 and the set 2, 4 . Thus 1 ∈ E and 2, 3 ∈ E and
© ª
2, 4 ∈ E . But note that 2 ∉ E , 3 ∉ E and 4 ∉ E .
Consider the set M = 00 00 , 10 01 , 11 01 of three two-by-two matrices.
©£ ¤ £ ¤ £ ¤ª

We have 00 00 ∈ M , but 10 11 ∉ M . Letters can serve as symbols denoting a

£ ¤ £ ¤

set’s elements: If a = 0 0 , b = 10 01 and c = 11 01 , then M = a, b, c .

£0 0¤ £ ¤ £ ¤ © ª

If X is a finite set, its cardinality or size is the number of elements

it has, and this number is denoted as | X |. Thus for the sets above, | A | = 4,
|B| = 2, |C | = 5, |D | = 4, |E | = 3 and | M | = 3.
There is a special set that, although small, plays a big role. The
©ª ©ª
empty set is the set that has no elements. We denote it as ;, so ; = .
©ª
Whenever you see the symbol ;, it stands for . Observe that |;| = 0. The
empty set is the only set whose cardinality is zero.
© ª
Be careful in writing the empty set. Don’t write ; when you mean ;.
© ª
These sets can’t be equal because ; contains nothing while ; contains
one thing, namely the empty set. If this is confusing, think of a set as a
© ª
box with things in it, so, for example, 2, 4, 6, 8 is a “box” containing four
©ª © ª
numbers. The empty set ; = is an empty box. By contrast, ; is a box
with an empty box inside it. Obviously, there’s a difference: An empty box
© ª
is not the same as a box with an empty box inside it. Thus ; 6= ; . (You
¯© ª¯ © ª
might also note |;| = 0 and ¯ ; ¯ = 1 as additional evidence that ; 6= ; .)
Introduction to Sets 5

© © ª ©© ªªª
This box analogy can help us think about sets. The set F = ;, ; , ;
may look strange but it is really very simple. Think of it as a box containing
three things: an empty box, a box containing an empty box, and a box
containing a box containing an empty box. Thus |F | = 3. The set G = N, Z
© ª

is a box containing two boxes, the box of natural numbers and the box of
integers. Thus |G | = 2.
A special notation called set-builder notation is used to describe sets
that are too big or complex to list between braces. Consider the infinite
© ª
set of even integers E = . . . , −6, −4, −2, 0, 2, 4, 6, . . . . In set-builder notation
this set is written as
E = 2n : n ∈ Z .
© ª

We read the first brace as “the set of all things of form,” and the colon as
“such that.” So the expression E = 2n : n ∈ Z is read as “E equals the set of
© ª

all things of form 2n, such that n is an element of Z.” The idea is that E
consists of all possible values of 2n, where n takes on all values in Z.
In general, a set X written with set-builder notation has the syntax
© ª
X = expression : rule ,

where the elements of X are understood to be all values of “expression”

that are specified by “rule.” For example, the set E above is the set
of all values the expression 2n that satisfy the rule n ∈ Z. There can
be many ways to express the same set. For example, E = 2n : n ∈ Z =
© ª

n : n is an even integer = n : n = 2 k, k ∈ Z . Another common way of

© ª © ª

writing it is
E = n ∈ Z : n is even ,
© ª

read “E is the set of all n in Z such that n is even.” Some writers use a bar
instead of a colon; for example, E = n ∈ Z | n is even . We use the colon.
© ª

Example 1.1 Here are some further illustrations of set-builder notation.

© ª © ª
1. n : n is a prime number = 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, . . .
2. n ∈ N : n is prime = 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, . . .
© ª © ª

3. n2 : n ∈ Z = 0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, . . .
© ª © ª
©p p ª
4. x ∈ R : x2 − 2 = 0 =
© ª
2, − 2
5. x ∈ Z : x2 − 2 = 0 = ;
© ª

6. x ∈ Z : | x| < 4 = − 3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3

© ª © ª

7. 2 x : x ∈ Z, | x| < 4 = − 6, −4, −2, 0, 2, 4, 6

© ª © ª

8. x ∈ Z : |2 x| < 4 = − 1, 0, 1
© ª © ª
6 Sets

These last three examples highlight a conflict of notation that we must

always be alert to. The expression | X | means absolute value if X is a number
and cardinality if X is a set. The distinction should always be clear from
context. Consider x ∈ Z : | x| < 4 in Example 1.1 (6) above. Here x ∈ Z, so x
© ª

is a number (not a set), and thus the bars in | x| must mean absolute value,
©© ª© ª © ªª
not cardinality. On the other hand, suppose A = 1, 2 , 3, 4, 5, 6 , 7 and
© ª
B = X ∈ A : | X | < 3 . The elements of A are sets (not numbers), so the | X |
©© ª © ªª
in the expression for B must mean cardinality. Therefore B = 1, 2 , 7 .
We close this section with a summary of special sets. These are sets or
types of sets that come up so often that they are given special names and
symbols.
©ª
• The empty set: ; =
• The natural numbers: N = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, . . .
© ª

• The integers: Z = . . . , −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, . . .

© ª

m
• The rational numbers: Q = x : x = , where m, n ∈ Z and n 6= 0
© ª
n
• The real numbers: R (the set of all real numbers on the number line)
Notice that Q is the set of all numbers that can be expressed as a fraction
p p
of two integers. You are surely aware that Q 6= R, as 2 ∉ Q but 2 ∈ R.
Following are some other special sets that you will recall from your
study of calculus. Given two numbers a, b ∈ R with a < b, we can form
various intervals on the number line.
• Closed interval: [a, b] = x ∈ R : a ≤ x ≤ b
© ª

• Half open interval: (a, b] = x ∈ R : a < x ≤ b

© ª

• Half open interval: [a, b) = x ∈ R : a ≤ x < b

© ª

• Open interval: (a, b) = x ∈ R : a < x < b

© ª

• Infinite interval: (a, ∞) = x ∈ R : a < x

© ª

• Infinite interval: [a, ∞) = x ∈ R : a ≤ x

© ª

• Infinite interval: (−∞, b) = x ∈ R : x < b

© ª

• Infinite interval: (−∞, b] = x ∈ R : x ≤ b

© ª

Remember that these are intervals on the number line, so they have in-
finitely many elements. The set (0.1, 0.2) contains infinitely many numbers,
even though the end points may be close together. It is an unfortunate
notational accident that (a, b) can denote both an interval on the line and
a point on the plane. The difference is usually clear from context. In the
next section we will see still another meaning of (a, b).
 Introduction to Sets 7

Exercises for Section 1.1

A. Write each of the following sets by listing their elements between braces.
1. 5 x − 1 : x ∈ Z x ∈ R : sin π x = 0
© ª © ª
9.
2. 3 x + 2 : x ∈ Z x ∈ R : cos x = 1
© ª © ª
10.
x ∈ Z : −2 ≤ x < 7 x ∈ Z : | x| < 5
© ª © ª
3. 11.
x ∈ N : −2 < x ≤ 7 x ∈ Z : |2 x | < 5
© ª © ª
4. 12.
x ∈ R : x2 = 3 x ∈ Z : |6 x | < 5
© ª © ª
5. 13.
x ∈ R : x2 = 9 5 x : x ∈ Z, |2 x| ≤ 8
© ª © ª
6. 14.
x ∈ R : x2 + 5 x = −6 5a + 2 b : a, b ∈ Z
© ª © ª
7. 15.
x ∈ R : x3 + 5 x2 = −6 x 6a + 2 b : a, b ∈ Z
© ª © ª
8. 16.

B. Write each of the following sets in set-builder notation.

© ª © ª
17. 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 . . . 23. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
© ª © ª
18. 0, 4, 16, 36, 64, 100, . . . 24. − 4, −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2
. . . , 81 , 14 , 21 , 1, 2, 4, 8, . . .
© ª © ª
19. . . . , −6, −3, 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, . . . 25.
1 1 1
© ª © ª
20. . . . , −8, −3, 2, 7, 12, 17, . . . 26. . . . , 27 , 9 , 3 , 1, 3, 9, 27, . . .
. . . , −π, − π2 , 0, π2 , π, 32π , 2π, 52π , . . .
© ª © ª
21. 0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, . . . 27.
. . . , − 32 , − 43 , 0, 34 , 23 , 94 , 3, 15 9
© ª © ª
22. 3, 6, 11, 18, 27, 38, . . . 28. 4 , 2,...

C. Find the following cardinalities.

34. ¯ x ∈ N : | x| < 10 ¯
¯©© ª © © ªª ª¯ ¯© ª¯
29. ¯ 1 , 2, 3, 4 , ; ¯
35. ¯ x ∈ Z : x2 < 10 ¯
¯©© ª ©© ªª © ªª¯ ¯© ª¯
30. ¯ 1, 4 , a, b, 3, 4 , ; ¯
36. ¯ x ∈ N : x2 < 10 ¯
¯©©© ª © © ªª ªª¯ ¯© ª¯
31. ¯ 1 , 2, 3, 4 , ; ¯
37. ¯ x ∈ N : x2 < 0 ¯
¯©©© ª ©© ªª © ªªª¯ ¯© ª¯
32. ¯ 1, 4 , a, b, 3, 4 , ; ¯
33. ¯ x ∈ Z : | x| < 10 ¯ 38. ¯ x ∈ N : 5 x ≤ 20 ¯
¯© ª¯ ¯© ª¯

D. Sketch the following sets of points in the x- y plane.

46. ( x, y) : x, y ∈ R, x2 + y2 ≤ 1
© ª © ª
39. ( x, y) : x ∈ [1, 2], y ∈ [1, 2]
47. ( x, y) : x, y ∈ R, y ≥ x2 − 1
© ª © ª
40. ( x, y) : x ∈ [0, 1], y ∈ [1, 2]
48. ( x, y) : x, y ∈ R, x > 1
© ª © ª
41. ( x, y) : x ∈ [−1, 1], y = 1
49. ( x, x + y) : x ∈ R, y ∈ Z
© ª © ª
42. ( x, y) : x = 2, y ∈ [0, 1]
2
50. ( x, xy ) : x ∈ R, y ∈ N
© ª © ª
43. ( x, y) : | x| = 2, y ∈ [0, 1]
44. ( x, x2 ) : x ∈ R 51. ( x, y) ∈ R2 : ( y − x)( y + x) = 0
© ª © ª

45. ( x, y) : x, y ∈ R, x2 + y2 = 1 52. ( x, y) ∈ R2 : ( y − x2 )( y + x2 ) = 0
© ª © ª
8 Sets

1.2 The Cartesian Product

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.

Definition 1.1 An ordered pair is a list ( x, y) of two things x and y,

enclosed in parentheses and separated by a comma.

For example, (2, 4) is an ordered pair, as is (4, 2). These ordered pairs
are different because even though they have the same things in them,
the order is different. We write (2, 4) 6= (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. The things in an ordered
pair don’t have to be numbers. You can have ordered pairs of letters, such
as ( m, `), ordered pairs of sets such as ( 2, 5 , 3, 2 ), even ordered pairs
© ª© ª

of ordered pairs like ((2, 4), (4, 2)). The following are also ordered pairs:
(2, 1, 2, 3 ), (R, (0, 0)). Any list of two things enclosed by parentheses is an
© ª

ordered pair. Now we are ready to define the Cartesian product.

Definition 1.2 The Cartesian product of two sets A and B is another

© ª
set, denoted as A × B and defined as A × B = (a, b) : a ∈ A, b ∈ B .

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

example, if A = k, `, m and B = q, r , then
© ª © ª

A × B = ( k, q), ( k, r ), (`, q), (`, r ), ( m, q), ( m, r ) .

© ª

Figure 1.1 shows how to make a schematic diagram of A × B. Line up the

elements of A horizontally and line up the elements of B vertically, as if A
and B form an x- and y-axis. Then fill in the ordered pairs so that each
element ( x, y) is in the column headed by x and the row headed by y.

B A×B
r ( k, r ) (`, r ) ( m, r )
q ( k, q) (`, q) ( m, q)

k ` m A

Figure 1.1. A diagram of a Cartesian product

The Cartesian Product 9

© ª © ª © ª
For another example, 0, 1 × 2, 1 = (0, 2), (0, 1), (1, 2), (1, 1) . If you are
a visual thinker, you may wish to draw a diagram similar to Figure 1.1.
The rectangular array of such diagrams give us the following general fact.
Fact 1.1 If A and B are finite sets, then | A × B| = | A | · |B|.
The set R × R = ( x, y) : x, y ∈ R should be very familiar. It can be viewed
© ª

as the set of points on the Cartesian plane, and is drawn in Figure 1.2(a).
The set R × N = ( x, y) : x ∈ R, y ∈ N can be regarded as all of the points on
© ª

the Cartesian plane whose second coordinate is a natural number. This

is illustrated in Figure 1.2(b), which shows that R × N looks like infinitely
many horizontal lines at integer heights above the x axis. The set N × N
can be visualized as the set of all points on the Cartesian plane whose
coordinates are both natural numbers. It looks like a grid of dots in the
first quadrant, as illustrated in Figure 1.2(c).

y y y

x x x
R×R R×N N×N

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 1.2. Drawings of some Cartesian products

It is even possible for one factor of a Cartesian product to be a Cartesian

product itself, as in R × (N × Z) = ( x, ( y, z)) : x ∈ R, ( y, z) ∈ N × Z .
© ª

We can also define Cartesian products of three or more sets by moving

beyond ordered pairs. An ordered triple is a list ( x, y, z). The Cartesian
product of the three sets R, N and Z is R × N × Z = ( x, y, z) : x ∈ R, y ∈ N, z ∈ Z .
© ª

Of course there is no reason to stop with ordered triples. In general,

© ª
A 1 × A 2 × · · · × A n = ( x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ) : x i ∈ A i for each i = 1, 2, . . . , n .

Be mindful of parentheses. There is a slight difference between R×(N×Z)

and R × N × Z. The first is a Cartesian product of two sets; its elements are
ordered pairs ( x, ( y, z)). The second is a Cartesian product of three sets; its
elements look like ( x, y, z). To be sure, in many situations there is no harm
in blurring the distinction between expressions like ( x, ( y, z)) and ( x, y, z),
but for now we consider them as different.
 10 Sets

We can also take Cartesian powers of sets. For any set A and positive
integer n, the power A n is the Cartesian product of A with itself n times:

A n = A × A × · · · × A = ( x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ) : x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ∈ A .
© ª

In this way, R2 is the familiar Cartesian plane and R3 is three-dimensional

space. You can visualize how, if R2 is the plane, then Z2 = ( m, n) : m, n ∈ Z
© ª

is a grid of points on the plane. Likewise, as R3 is 3-dimensional space,

Z3 = ( m, n, p) : m, n, p ∈ Z is a grid of points in space.
© ª

In other courses you may encounter sets that are very similar to Rn ,
but yet have slightly different shades of meaning. Consider, for example,
the set of all two-by-three matrices with entries from R:
©£ uv w¤
: u, v, w, x, y, z ∈ R .
ª
M= x y z

This is not really all that different from the set

R6 = ( u, v, w, x, y, z) : u, v, w, x, y, z ∈ R .
© ª

The elements of these sets are merely certain arrangements of six real
numbers. Despite their similarity, we maintain that M 6= R6 , for two-by-
three matrices are not the same things as sequences of six numbers.

Exercises for Section 1.2

A. Write out the indicated
© ª
sets by listing
© ª
their elements between braces.
1. Suppose A = 1, 2, 3, 4 and B = a, c .
(a) A × B (c) A × A (e) ; × B (g) A × (B × B)
(b) B × A (d) B × B (f) ( A × B) × B (h) B3
2. Suppose A = π, e, 0 and B = 0, 1 .
© ª © ª

(a) A × B (c) A × A (e) A × ; (g) A × (B × B)

(b) B × A (d) B × B (f) ( A × B) × B (h) A × B × B
3. x ∈ R : x2 = 2 × a, c, e 6. x ∈ R : x2 = x × x ∈ N : x2 = x
© ª © ª © ª © ª

4. n ∈ Z : 2 < n < 5 × n ∈ Z : | n| = 5
© ª © ª© ª © ª © ª
7. ; × 0, ; × 0, 1
ª4
5. x ∈ R : x2 = 2 × x ∈ R : | x| = 2
© ª © ª ©
8. 0, 1
B. Sketch these Cartesian products on the x- y plane R2 (or R3 for the last two).
© ª © ª © ª
9. 1, 2, 3 × − 1, 0, 1 15. 1 × [0, 1]
© ª © ª © ª
10. − 1, 0, 1 × 1, 2, 3 16. [0, 1] × 1
11. [0, 1] × [0, 1] 17. N×Z
12. [−1, 1] × [1, 2] 18. Z×Z
© ª
13. 1, 1.5, 2 × [1, 2] 19. [0, 1] × [0, 1] × [0, 1]
( x, y) ∈ R2 : x2 + y2 ≤ 1 × [0, 1]
© ª © ª
14. [1, 2] × 1, 1.5, 2 20.
Subsets 11

1.3 Subsets
It can happen that every element of some set A is also an element of
© ª
another set B. For example, each element of A = 0, 2, 4 is also an element
© ª
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 1.3 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 6⊆ 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 6⊆ B means that
there is at least one element of A that is not an element of B.

Example 1.2 Be sure you understand why each of the following is true.
© ª © ª
1. 2, 3, 7 ⊆ 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
© ª © ª
2. 2, 3, 7 6⊆ 2, 4, 5, 6, 7
© ª © ª
3. 2, 3, 7 ⊆ 2, 3, 7
2n : n ∈ Z ⊆ Z
© ª
4.
( x, sin( x)) : x ∈ R ⊆ R2
© ª
5.
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, . . . ⊆ N
© ª
6.
7. N ⊆ Z ⊆ Q ⊆ R
8. R × N ⊆ R × R

This brings us to a significant fact: If B is any set whatsoever, then

; ⊆ B. To see why this is true, look at the last sentence of Definition 1.3.
It says that ; 6⊆ B would mean that there is at least one element of ;
that is not an element of B. But this cannot be so because ; contains no
elements! Thus it is not the case that ; 6⊆ B, so it must be that ; ⊆ B.

Fact 1.2 The empty set is a subset of every set, that is, ; ⊆ B for any set B.

Here is another way to look at it. Imagine a subset of B as a thing you

©ª
make by starting with braces , then filling them with selections from B.
© ª ©ª
For example, to make one particular subset of B = a, b, c , start with ,
©ª © ª
select b and c from B and insert them into to form the subset b, c .
© ª
Alternatively, you could have chosen just a to make a , and so on. But
one option is to simply select nothing from B. This leaves you with the
©ª ©ª
subset . Thus ⊆ B. More often we write it as ; ⊆ B.
12 Sets

This idea of “making” a subset can help us list out all the subsets of
© ª
a given set B. As an example, let B = a, b, c . Let’s list all of its subsets.
One way of approaching this is to make a tree-like structure. Begin with
©ª
the subset , which is shown on the left of Figure 1.3. Considering the
©ª
element a of B, we have a choice: insert it or not. The lines from point
©ª © ª
to what we get depending whether or not we insert a, either or a . Now
move on to the element b of B. For each of the sets just formed we can
either insert or not insert b, and the lines on the diagram point to the
©ª © ª © ª © ª
resulting sets , b , a , or a, b . Finally, to each of these sets, we can
either insert c or not insert it, and this gives us, on the far right-hand
©ª © ª © ª © ª © ª © ª © ª © ª
column, the sets , c , b , b, c , a , a, c , a, b and a, b, c . These are
© ª
the eight subsets of B = a, b, c .

Insert a ? Insert b ? Insert c ?

©ª
©ª No
Yes © ª
©ª
No c
© ª
Yes b
© ª No
No b
Yes © ª
©ª b, c
© ª
a
© ª No
Yes a
Yes © ª
© ª
No a, c
a © ª
Yes a, b
© ª No
a, b
Yes © ª
a, b, c

Figure 1.3. A “tree” for listing subsets

We can see from the way this tree branches out that if it happened that
© ª
B = a , then B would have just two subsets, those in the second column
© ª
of the diagram. If it happened that B = a, b , then B would have four
subsets, those listed in the third column, and so on. At each branching of
the tree, the number of subsets doubles. Thus in general, if |B| = n, then
B must have 2n subsets.

Fact 1.3 If a finite set has n elements, then it has 2n subsets.

Subsets 13

For a slightly more complex example, consider listing the subsets of

© © ªª © ª
B = 1, 2, 1, 3 . This B has just three elements: 1, 2 and 1, 3 . At this
point you probably don’t even have to draw a tree to list out B’s subsets.
You just make all the possible selections from B and put them between
braces to get
©ª © ª © ª ©© ªª © ª © © ªª © © ªª © © ªª
, 1 , 2 , 1, 3 , 1, 2 , 1, 1, 3 , 2, 1, 3 , 1, 2, 1, 3 .

These are the eight subsets of B. Exercises like this help you identify what
© ª
is and isn’t a subset. You know immediately that a set such as 1, 3 is not
a subset of B because it can’t be made by selecting elements from B, as
the 3 is not an element of B and thus is not a valid selection. Notice that
© ª © ª ©© ªª
although 1, 3 6⊆ B, it is true that 1, 3 ∈ B. Also, 1, 3 ⊆ B.
Example 1.3 Be sure you understand why the following statements are
true. Each illustrates an aspect of set theory that you’ve learned so far.
© © ªª © © ªª
1. 1 ∈ 1, 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 is the first element listed in 1, 1
© © ªª
2. 1 6⊆ 1, 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . because 1 is not a set
© ª © © ªª © ª © © ªª
3. 1 ∈ 1, 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 is the second element listed in 1, 1
© ª © © ªª © ª © © ªª
4. 1 ⊆ 1, 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . make subset 1 by selecting 1 from 1, 1
©© ªª © © ªª © © ªª © ª ©© ªª
5. 1 ∉ 1, 1 . . . . . . . . . . . because 1, 1 contains only 1 and 1 , and not 1
©© ªª © © ªª ©© ªª © ª © © ªª
6. 1 ⊆ 1, 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .make subset 1 by selecting 1 from 1, 1
7. N ∉ N . . . . . . . . .because N is a set (not a number) and N contains only numbers
8. N ⊆ N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . because X ⊆ X for every set X
9. ; ∉ N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . because the set N contains only numbers and no sets
10. ; ⊆ N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . because ; is a subset of every set
11. N ∈ N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .because N has just one element, the set N
© ª © ª

N 6⊆ N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . because, for instance, 1 ∈ N but 1 ∉ N

© ª © ª
12.
; ∉ N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . note that the only element of N is N, and N 6= ;
© ª © ª
13.
; ⊆ N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . because ; is a subset of every set
© ª
14.
; ∈ ;, N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; is the first element listed in ;, N
© ª © ª
15.
; ⊆ ;, N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .because ; is a subset of every set
© ª
16.
N ⊆ ;, N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . make subset N by selecting N from ;, N
© ª © ª © ª © ª
17.
N 6⊆ ;, N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . because N ∉ ;, N
© ª © © ªª © © ªª
18.
N ∈ ;, N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N is the second element listed in ;, N
© ª © © ªª © ª © © ªª
19.
(1, 2), (2, 2), (7, 1) ⊆ N × N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . each of (1, 2), (2, 2), (7, 1) is in N × N
© ª
20.

Though they should help you understand the concept of subset, the
above examples are somewhat artificial. But in general, subsets arise very
 14 Sets

naturally. For instance, consider the unit circle C = ( x, y) ∈ R2 : x2 + y2 = 1 .

© ª

This is a subset C ⊆ R2 . Likewise the graph of a function y = f ( x) is a set

of points G = ( x, f ( x)) : x ∈ R , and G ⊆ R2 . Surely sets such as C and G
© ª

are more easily understood or visualized when regarded as subsets of R2 .

Mathematics is filled with such instances where it is important to regard
one set as a subset of another.

Exercises for Section 1.3

A. List all the subsets of the following sets.
© ª © ª
1. 1, 2, 3, 4 5. ;
6. R, Q, N
© ª © ª
2. 1, 2, ;
R 7. R, Q, N
©© ªª © © ªª
3.
©© ª© © ªª © ª ª
4. ; 8. 0, 1 , 0, 1, 2 , 0

B. Write out the following sets by listing their elements between braces.
© © ª ª © © ª ª
9. X : X ⊆ 3, 2, a and | X | = 2 11. X : X ⊆ 3, 2, a and | X | = 4
10. X ⊆ N : | X | ≤ 1
© ª © © ª ª
12. X : X ⊆ 3, 2, a and | X | = 1

C. Decide if the following statements are true or false. Explain.

13. R3 ⊆ R3 15. ( x, y) : x − 1 = 0 ⊆ ( x, y) : x2 − x = 0
© ª © ª

14. R2 ⊆ R3 16. ( x, y) : x2 − x = 0 ⊆ ( x, y) : x − 1 = 0
© ª © ª

1.4 Power Sets

Given a set, you can form a new set with the power set operation, defined
as follows.
Definition 1.4 If A is a set, the power set of A is another set, denoted
as P ( A ) and defined to be the set of all subsets of A . In symbols, P ( A ) =
© ª
X:X⊆A .
© ª
For example, suppose A = 1, 2, 3 . The power set of A is the set of all
subsets of A . We learned how to find these subsets in the previous section,
©ª © ª © ª © ª © ª © ª © ª © ª
and they are , 1 , 2 , 3 , 1, 2 , 1, 3 , 2, 3 and 1, 2, 3 . Therefore the
power set of A is

P ( A ) = ;, 1 , 2 , 3 , 1, 2 , 1, 3 , 2, 3 , 1, 2, 3 .
© © ª © ª © ª © ª © ª © ª © ªª

As we saw in the previous section, if a finite set A has n elements, then

it has 2n subsets, and thus its power set has 2n elements.
Power Sets 15

Fact 1.4 If A is a finite set, then |P ( A )| = 2| A | .

Example 1.4 You should examine the following statements and make
sure you understand how the answers were obtained. In particular, notice
that in each instance the equation |P ( A )| = 2| A | is true.
1. P 0, 1, 3 = ;, 0 , 1 , 3 , 0, 1 , 0, 3 , 1, 3 , 0, 1, 3
¡© ª¢ © © ª © ª © ª © ª © ª © ª © ªª

2. P 1, 2 = ;, 1 , 2 , 1, 2
¡© ª¢ © © ª © ª © ªª

3. P 1 = ;, 1
¡© ª¢ © © ªª

4. P (;) = ;
© ª

5. P a = ;, a
¡© ª¢ © © ªª

6. P ; = ;, ;
¡© ª¢ © © ªª

7. P a × P ; = (;, ;), ;, ; , a , ; , a , ;
¡© ª¢ ¡© ª¢ © ¡ © ª¢ ¡© ª ¢ ¡© ª © ª¢ ª

8. P P ; = ;, ; , ; , ;, ;
¡ ¡© ª¢¢ © © ª ©© ªª © © ªª ª

9. P 1, 1, 2 = ;, 1 , 1, 2 , 1, 1, 2
¡© © ªª¢ © © ª ©© ªª © © ªª ª

10. P Z, N = ;, Z , N , Z, N
¡© ª¢ © © ª © ª © ªª

Next are some that are wrong. See if you can determine why they are wrong
and make sure you understand the explanation on the right.
11. P (1) = ;, 1
© © ªª
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . meaningless because 1 is not a set
12. P 1, 1, 2 = ;, 1 , 1, 2 , 1, 1, 2
¡© © ªª¢ © © ª © ª© © ªªª © ª © © ªª
. . . . . . . . wrong because 1, 2 6⊆ 1, 1, 2
13. P 1, 1, 2 = ;, 1 , 1, 2 , ;, 1, 2 . . . . . wrong because 1 6⊆ 1, 1, 2
¡© © ªª¢ © ©© ªª ©© ªª © © ªªª ©© ªª © © ªª

If A is finite, it is possible (though maybe not practical) to list out P ( A )

between braces as was done in the above example. That is not possible if
A is infinite. For example, consider P (N). If you start listing its elements
you quickly discover that N has infinitely many subsets, and it’s not clear
how (or if) they could be arranged as a list with a definite pattern:

P (N) = ;, 1 , 2 , . . . , 1, 2 , 1, 3 , . . . , 39, 47 ,
© © ª© ª © ª© ª © ª
© ª © ª ª
. . . , 3, 87, 131 , . . . , 2, 4, 6, 8, . . . , . . . ? . . . .

The set P (R2 ) is mind boggling. Think of R2 = ( x, y) : x, y ∈ R as the set

© ª

of all points on the Cartesian plane. A subset of R2 (that is, an element

of P (R2 )) is a set of points in the plane. Let’s look at some of these sets.
Since (0, 0), (1, 1) ⊆ R2 , we know that (0, 0), (1, 1) ∈ P (R2 ). We can even
© ª © ª

draw a picture of this subset, as in Figure 1.4(a). For another example, the
graph of the equation y = x2 is the set of points G = ( x, x2 ) : x ∈ R and this
© ª

is a subset of R2 , so G ∈ P (R2 ). Figure 1.4(b) is a picture of G . Because

this can be done for any function, the graph of any imaginable function
f : R → R is an element of P (R2 ).
 16 Sets

y y y

x x x

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 1.4. Three of the many, many sets in P (R2 )

In fact, any black-and-white image on the plane can be thought of as a

subset of R2 , where the black points belong to the subset and the white
points do not. So the text “INFINITE” in Figure 1.4(c) is a subset of R2
and therefore an element of P (R2 ). By that token, P (R2 ) contains a copy
of the page you are reading now.
Thus in addition to containing every imaginable function and every
imaginable black-and-white image, P (R2 ) also contains the full text of
every book that was ever written, those that are yet to be written and
those that will never be written. Inside of P (R2 ) is a detailed biography of
your life, from beginning to end, as well as the biographies of all of your
unborn descendants. It is startling that the five symbols used to write
P (R2 ) can express such an incomprehensibly large set.
Homework: Think about P (P (R2 )).

Exercises for Section 1.4

A. Find the indicated sets.
1. P 7. P a, b × P 0, 1
¡©© ª © ªª¢ ¡© ª¢ ¡© ª¢
a, b , c
P 1, 2, 3, 4 8. P 1, 2 × 3
¡© ª¢ ¡© ª © ª¢
2.
P ; ,5 9. P a, b × 0
¡©© ª ª¢ ¡© ª © ª¢
3.
P R, Q X ∈P
¡© ª¢ © ¡©ª¢ ª
4. 10. 1, 2, 3 : | X | ≤ 1
P P 2 11. X ⊆ P 1, 2, 3 : | X | ≤ 1
¡ ¡© ª¢¢ © ¡© ª¢ ª
5.
P 1, 2 × P 3 12. X ∈ P 1, 2, 3 : 2 ∈ X
¡© ª¢ ¡© ª¢ © ¡© ª¢ ª
6.

B. Suppose that | A | = m and |B| = n. Find the following cardinalities.

13. |P (P (P ( A )))| 17. ¯ X ∈ P ( A ) : | X | ≤ 1 ¯
¯© ª¯

14. |P (P ( A ))| 18. |P ( A × P (B))|

15. |P ( A × B)| 19. |P (P (P ( A × ;)))|
16. |P ( A ) × P (B)| 20. ¯ X ⊆ P ( A ) : | X | ≤ 1 ¯
¯© ª¯
Union, Intersection, Difference 17

1.5 Union, Intersection, Difference

Just as numbers are combined with operations such as addition, subtrac-
tion and multiplication, there are various operations that can be applied to
sets. The Cartesian product (defined in Section 1.2) is one such operation;
given sets A and B, we can combine them with × to get a new set A × B.
Here are three new operations called union, intersection and difference.
Definition 1.5 Suppose A and B are sets. © ª
The union of A and B is the set A ∪ B = x : x ∈ A or x ∈ B .
© ª
The intersection of A and B is the set A ∩ B = x : x ∈ A and x ∈ B .
© ª
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 © ª © ª
Example 1.5 Suppose A = a, b, c, d, e , B = d, e, f and C = 1, 2, 3 .
© ª
1. A ∪ B = a, b, c, d, e, f
© ª
2. A ∩ B = d, e
© ª
3. A − B = a, b, c
© ª
4. B − A = f
© ª
5. ( A − B) ∪ (B − A ) = a, b, c, f
© ª
6. A ∪ C = a, b, c, d, e, 1, 2, 3
7. A ∩ C = ;
© ª
8. A − C = a, b, c, d, e
© ª
9. ( A ∩ C ) ∪ ( A − C ) = a, b, c, d, e
© ª
10. ( A ∩ B) × B = ( d, d ), ( d, e), ( d, f ), ( e, d ), ( e, e), ( e, f )
© ª
11. ( A × C ) ∩ (B × C ) = ( d, 1), (d, 2), ( d, 3), ( e, 1), ( e, 2), ( e, 3)

Observe that for any sets X and Y it is always true that X ∪ Y = Y ∪ X

and X ∩ Y = Y ∩ X , but in general X − Y 6= Y − X .
Continuing the example, parts 12–15 below use the interval notation
discussed in Section 1.1, so [2, 5] = x ∈ R : 2 ≤ x ≤ 5 , etc. Sketching these
© ª

examples on the number line may help you understand them.

12. [2, 5] ∪ [3, 6] = [2, 6]
13. [2, 5] ∩ [3, 6] = [3, 5]
14. [2, 5] − [3, 6] = [2, 3)
15. [0, 3] − [1, 2] = [0, 1) ∪ (2, 3]
18 Sets

A∪B A−B
B A∩B

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 1.5. The union, intersection and difference of sets A and B

Example 1.6 Let A = ( x, x2 ) : x ∈ R be the graph of the equation y = x2

© ª

and let B = ( x, x + 2) : x ∈ R be the graph of the equation y = x + 2. These sets

© ª

are subsets of R2 . They are sketched together in Figure 1.5(a). Figure 1.5(b)
shows A ∪ B, the set of all points ( x, y) that are on one (or both) of the two
© ª
graphs. Observe that A ∩ B = (−1, 1), (2, 4) consists of just two elements,
the two points where the graphs intersect, as illustrated in Figure 1.5(c).
Figure 1.5(d) shows A − B, which is the set A with “holes” where B crossed it.
In set builder notation, we could write A ∪ B = ( x, y) : x ∈ R, y = x2 or y = x + 2
© ª

and A − B = ( x, x2 ) : x ∈ R − − 1, 2 .
© © ªª

Exercises for Section 1.5

© ª © ª © ª
1. Suppose A = 4, 3, 6, 7, 1, 9 , B = 5, 6, 8, 4 and C = 5, 8, 4 . Find:
(a) A ∪ B (d) A − C (g) B ∩ C
(b) A ∩ B (e) B − A (h) B ∪ C
(c) A − B (f) A ∩ C (i) C − B
© ª © ª © ª
2. Suppose A = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 , B = 1, 3, 5, 7 and C = 2, 8, 4 . Find:
(a) A ∪ B (d) A − C (g) B ∩ C
(b) A ∩ B (e) B − A (h) C − A
(c) A − B (f) A ∩ C (i) C − B
© ª © ª
3. Suppose A = 0, 1 and B = 1, 2 . Find:
(a) ( A × B) ∩ (B × B) (d) ( A ∩ B) × A (g) P ( A ) − P (B)
(b) ( A × B) ∪ (B × B) (e) ( A × B) ∩ B (h) P ( A ∩ B)
(c) ( A × B) − (B × B) (f) P ( A ) ∩ P (B) (i) P ( A × B)
© ª © ª
4. Suppose A = b, c, d and B = a, b . Find:
(a) ( A × B) ∩ (B × B) (d) ( A ∩ B) × A (g) P ( A ) − P (B)
(b) ( A × B) ∪ (B × B) (e) ( A × B) ∩ B (h) P ( A ∩ B)
(c) ( A × B) − (B × B) (f) P ( A ) ∩ P (B) (i) P ( A ) × P (B)
 Complement 19

5. Sketch the sets X = [1, 3] × [1, 3] and Y = [2, 4] × [2, 4] on the plane R2 . On separate
drawings, shade in the sets X ∪ Y , X ∩ Y , X − Y and Y − X . (Hint: X and Y are
Cartesian products of intervals. You may wish to review how you drew sets
like [1, 3] × [1, 3] in the exercises for Section 1.2.)
6. Sketch the sets X = [−1, 3] × [0, 2] and Y = [0, 3] × [1, 4] on the plane R2 . On
separate drawings, shade in the sets X ∪ Y , X ∩ Y , X − Y and Y − X .
7. Sketch the sets X = ( x, y) ∈ R2 : x2 + y2 ≤ 1 and Y = ( x, y) ∈ R2 : x ≥ 0 on R2 . On
© ª © ª

separate drawings, shade in the sets X ∪ Y , X ∩ Y , X − Y and Y − X .

8. Sketch the sets X = ( x, y) ∈ R2 : x2 + y2 ≤ 1 and Y = ( x, y) ∈ R2 : −1 ≤ y ≤ 0 on R2 .
© ª © ª

On separate drawings, shade in the sets X ∪ Y , X ∩ Y , X − Y and Y − X .

9. Is the statement (R × Z) ∩ (Z × R) = Z × Z true or false? What about the statement
(R × Z) ∪ (Z × R) = R × R?
10. Do you think the statement (R − Z) × N = (R × N) − (Z × N) is true, or false? Justify.

1.6 Complement
This section introduces yet another set operation, called the set complement.
The definition requires the idea of a universal set, which we now discuss.
When dealing with a set, we almost always regard it as a subset
of some larger set. For example, consider the set of prime numbers
© ª
P = 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, . . . . If asked to name some things that are not in P , we
might mention some composite numbers like 4 or 6 or 423. It probably
would not occur to us to say that Vladimir Putin is not in P . True, Vladimir
Putin is not in P , but he lies entirely outside of the discussion of what is
a prime number and what is not. We have an unstated assumption that

P ⊆N

because N is the most natural setting in which to discuss prime numbers.

In this context, anything not in P should still be in N. This larger set N is
called the universal set or universe for P .
Almost every useful set in mathematics can be regarded as having
some natural universal set. For instance, the unit circle is the set C =
( x, y) ∈ R2 : x2 + y2 = 1 , and since all these points are in the plane R2 it is
© ª

natural to regard R2 as the universal set for C . In the absence of specifics,

if A is a set, then its universal set is often denoted as U . We are now
ready to define the complement operation.
Definition 1.6 Let A be a set with a universal set U . The complement
of A , denoted A , is the set A = U − A .
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
 “I’ll not promise to be civil to her if I stop,” the other growled.
“The mere thought of yellow-haired women is nauseating to me.
Why on earth, man, if you must make a stark-staring lunatic of
yourself, could you not hit on a decent and reputable colour?”
“Never a dye has touched it,” protested David. “It’s as natural as
the sunshine—and as radiant.”
“Then you’re a ruined man, Davie,” the Earl gravely declared,
between puffs at his pipe. “There may be some saving quality in a
woman who merely dyes her hair. An honest nature may persist
beneath the painted wig, in spite of her endeavours. But if she’s a
tortoise-shell tabby born, then you might better be dead than sitting
there mooning about her. I give you up as a lost creature!”
“Then all the more reason you should help me to cook a fine
breakfast, to confront my doom upon,” replied Mosscrop, lightly. “I
didn’t quite promise that I’d call her in time to assist. It will be more
of a surprise to have it all ready, spread in her honour, when she
comes in. What do you think of soft roes grilled on toast, eh? You
can get them in tins. And some little lamb cutlets—or perhaps
venison—and then some eggs Bercy—you do those fit for a queen,
and we might have——”
“The truth is,” put in the other, reflectively, “that black is the only
wholly satisfying hair for a woman. The intervening compromises—
all the browns and chestnuts and reds and auburns—are a delusion.
I see that very clearly now. Give me the hair that throws a purplish
shadow, glossy and thick and growing well down upon the forehead,
and then a straight-nosed face, wide between the eyes and rounded
under the chin, and a complexion of a soft, pale olive. There’s
nothing else worth talking about.”
“I had thought of those small Italian sausages, but I don’t know
that in hot weather they——”
“Oh rot!” said the nobleman. “Who wants to talk about muffins
and ham fat at this time of night? Have you no poetry in you, man?
There was a divine creature on the steamer coming over—great eyes
like a sloe, and the face of a Circassian princess, calm, regal,
languid, yet with depths of passion underneath that seemed to call
out to you to risk your immortal soul for the sake of drowning in
them——”
“My word, here is cheek, if you like!” burst in Mosscrop, stormily.
“You won’t let me talk about my girl at all; you sneer and gibe and
croak evil suspicions, and make a general nuisance of yourself at the
least mention of her—and then you suppose I’m going to sit
patiently and listen to such blithering twaddle as this. Damn it all, a
man’s got some rights in his own room!”
“I’m told not,” commented the Earl, grimly.
“Now, why hark back to that?” demanded David, with a show of
petulance. “It’s all settled and done with, hours ago. But what I was
saying was, it isn’t the decent thing for you to—to obtrude talk of
that sort just to throw ridicule on a subject that I feel very keen
about.”
Drumpipes yawned frankly. “It’s time you turned in, Davie,” he
remarked. “The lack of sleep aye makes you silly. I’ve no wish to
ridicule your subject, as you call her. It’s not at all necessary. You’ll
see for yourself how ridiculous it is in the morning. It merely
occurred to me that if we must talk of women, I’d something in my
mind worth the while—no strolling yellow-headed vagrant picked up
at random on a bridge, but a gentlewoman in education and means
and manners. Man, you should see her teeth when she smiles!”
“Archie,” replied David, solemnly, “I should think your own better
instincts might prompt you to recall that you’ve only been a widower
four months.”
“Four months?—Four hundred years!” cried the Earl, stoutly. He
reached round and replenished his glass. “It is with the greatest
difficulty that I recall any detail of the matrimonial state. Already the
memory of my first pair of breeks is infinitely fresher to me than any
of it. In another week or so the last vestige of a recollection of it will
be clean gone. And a good riddance, too!”
“It was an ill thought to remind you of it,” admitted Mosscrop.
“Devil take all women—or all but one——”
“And she black-haired,” interposed the Earl.
“Deuce seize them all but two, then, for the rest of the night.
Where have you been the long year-and-a-half, Archie?”
“Just looking about me,” replied the other, with nonchalance.
“Bechuanaland for a time, but it’s sore overrated. Then I had a shy
at the Gaboon country, but there’s a conspiracy among the niggers
to protect the gorilla—I think he’s a sort of uncle of theirs—and a
white man can do no good by himself. I thought there might be
some decent sport over in Brazil, where they advertised a revolution
on, and I tried to travel around with the rebels for a while, but it
wasn’t up to much. You brought down an occasional half-breed
Portugueser with epaulettes on, but you couldn’t eat ’em, and you
didn’t want ’em stuffed at any price; and besides, when you came to
find out, the whole war was merely a fight between two firms of
coffee-traders in New York, and that wasn’t good enough. I tell you
what, though,” he went on, with more animation, “Arizona is
damned good fun. I haven’t seen anything better anywhere than a
good, square cattle-lifter hunt. They got up three or four, just on my
account, I imagine, after they found I could ride, and shoot at a
gallop. The charm of the thing is that there’s no close season for
cattle-thieves, and they’re game to the death, I tell you. I got potted
twice, and once they let daylight straight through me. I had to lie up
for repairs for nearly three weeks. They went and hung the fellow
while I was in bed. We had words about that. I insisted it wasn’t
sportsmanlike—and that they ought to have given him a horse, and
then sprung him out of a trap or something of that sort, and let him
have a run for his money, the same as we do with rabbits that the
ferrets bring up. But they couldn’t see it, and so I turned it up and
came North. They’ll ruin the whole thing, though, if they don’t chuck
that foolish hanging business. The first thing they know, everybody’ll
stop running off cattle, just as a protest, and then their place won’t
be worth living in. It’ll be a pity, because a cow-boy gone wrong is
really the best thing there is. He’s as good as a Bengal tiger and a
Russian wolf together, with a grizzly bear thrown in. You may quote
me as saying so.”
“I shall not fail to do so,” said David. “Come, drink up your liquor,
and we’ll toddle. I’m fair glad to see you back whole and sound,
laddie—and more still, a free man.”
He brought forth from the bedroom a pillow and some blankets,
and began arranging them upon the sofa. “And are the Americans so
daft about lords and titles as they’re made out?” he asked as he
worked. “Did they humble themselves before the handle to your
name?”
Drumpipes sat up. “Do you suppose I’m such an abandoned ass
as to travel with a title?” he demanded. “Man, if you knew what it
cost me, even without it, it would turn your hair grey. Ten dollars
here, twenty dollars there, seven dollars and a-half somewhere else
—one steady and endless drain on the purse, till the marvel is I was
able to get out at all! And there’s no third-class on the railways
whatever. It’s just terrible, Davie! And as ill-luck would have it, I
couldn’t even come home steerage on the steamer. There were
passengers that I knew in the first cabin, and so I had to throw
away more money there. And I’m not like you—I’ve no ten-pound
notes to spare for my day’s amusement.”
“No, you’re not like me,” responded Moss-crop, in no sympathetic
tone. “I have my magnificent £432 per annum, which is over eight
guineas a week. And you—you have only a paltry four thousand odd,
not more than ten times as much. I wonder you’ve kept off the rates
so long, Archie.”
“Ah, I know all that,” protested the Earl. “But you have no damned
position to keep up. You must remember that, Davie, It’s a very
important fact. It makes all the difference in the world.”
“But you only keep it up in your own mind, and that’s not an
expensive place. There’s been no year since I first knew you, either
as Master of Linkhaw or since you came into the whole of it, that
you’ve spent the half of your income. To hear you talk, one would
think you’d been scattering your capital as well with both hands.”
“Ah, but those lawyers’ bills, Davie! What think you now should
they be like? Six hundred, eh? Or may be seven?”
“You’ll know soon enough. I’ll not encourage you to pass a
sleepless night. Come now. You’ve got things in your bag here,
haven’t you? I can let you have whatever you lack.”
“No, you keep your bed. I’ll sleep out here,” said Drumpipes. “I’m
a deal more used to roughing it than you are. I give you my word, I
shall sleep here like a top.”
Mosscrop strove to resist, but his friend was resolute, and the sofa
had to be surrendered to him. He rose, yawning, and began to
throw off his outer garments. “I’ve paid as high as eleven shillings
for a bedroom for one night in New York city!” he affirmed, drowsily,
“although, to give the Devil his due, they make no charge for
candles and soap. Man, if they’d known I was an Earl, they’d have
lifted all seven of my skins.”
“Oh, but they have a reputation for acumen,” urged Mosscrop,
drily. “They’d have comprehended fine that you were but a Scotch
Earl. Good night!”
 The broad daylight woke David up nearly an hour later than it
should have done. He had produced upon himself during the night
an impression of sleeping very little—and that a light and dainty
slumber, ready and eager on the instant of need to dissolve into
utter wakefulness. Yet it was the fact, none the less, that he had
ingloriously overslept himself. The watch on his table pointed to
halfpast eight.
He hurriedly drew on some of his garments, and stepped into the
sitting-room to rouse the Earl. To his great surprise that nobleman
had disappeared. The tumbled bed-clothes showed where he had
slept. There was his hand-bag, duly packed and closed, at the foot
of the sofa.
Reasoning that Drumpipes had not promised to breakfast, and
was a perverse creature anyway, and probably had been worried by
early brooding over those lawyers’ bills into a restless mood,
Mosscrop returned to his room, and completed the work of dressing.
He shaved with exceptional care, and bestowed thought upon the
selection of a neck-tie. It occurred to him that he had some better
clothes than those he had worn yesterday, and, though he
begrudged the time, the temptation to make the change was
irresistible. He did not regret yielding, when he surveyed his full-
length image in the mirror on his wardrobe door. He seemed to
himself to look years younger than he had done before that
momentous birthday. He smiled and nodded knowingly at the happy
and confident face in the glass.
Under the circumstances, he should need help with the breakfast.
The midnight notion of getting everything ready before he called his
guest, submitted to abandonment without a murmur. He reverted
joyfully to the original idea of letting her share all the delightful fun
of preparing the meal. His fancy played with sportive tenderness
about the picture of her, here in his tiny scullery which served as a
kitchen, her sleeves rolled up, a towel pinned round her waist for an
apron, actually cooking things for them both to eat. Very likely he
knew more about that sort of thing than she did; he beheld himself
giving her instructions, as they bent together over the big gas
cooking-stove. Could anything be more deliciously homelike than
that?
That contrary, cross-grained Drumpipes had predicted that the
whole thing would seem ridiculous to him in the morning. He
affirmed to himself with fervour that it seemed more charming than
ever as he went out into the passage, and knocked on the opposite
door.
There seemed to be no answering sound, and he struck the panel
more sharply, with his ear lowered to the keyhole. Still no response
came.
“I am going to Covent Garden for a few minutes,” he called
through the keyhole; “shall I find you ready to help me when I get
back?”
Since this, too, brought no reply, he took out his duplicate key and
cautiously opened the door. The question, repeated in a much louder
tone, died away in profound silence. The glass eyes of a moose on
the wall opposite stared at him with an uncomfortable fixity.
The bedroom door was ajar, and David was emboldened to stride
forward and beat smartly on it with his fist. Again he did this, and
then, while a strange excitement welled upward within him—or was
it a sinking movement instead?—flung the door open and looked in.
There was no Vestalia here at all!
The details that the bed was neatly made up, that the room
showed no trace of recent occupancy, and that the dressing-bag was
gone, soaked themselves vaguely through his mind. He looked
about, both in this and the outer apartment, for a message of some
kind, quite in vain.
His pained attention wandered again in haphazard fashion to the
head of the moose, fastened between two windows. The fatuous
emptiness of its point-blank gaze suddenly infuriated him, and he
dealt its foolishly elongated snout a resounding whack with his open
hand. The huge trophy toppled under the blow, swung half-loose on
its fastening, then pitched with a crash to the floor.
Mosscrop kicked it violently again and again where it lay.
 CHAPTER VIL

M
osscrop had not the heart to breakfast alone in his deserted
lodgings.
The impulse to get away mastered him on the instant of
its appearance. He strode forth as if delay were fraught with sore
perils. At a shabby luncheon-bar in the Strand below he consumed a
cup of abominable coffee and a dry sausage-roll in the same nervous
haste. The barmaid in attendance was known to him. She annoyed
him now by displaying in her manner the assumption that he wished
to laugh and joke with her as usual. He glowered at her instead, and
met her advances to conversation with a curt nod.
“You must have got out of the wrong side of the bed this
morning,” she commented loftily.
“Very likely,” he answered with cold brevity, counting out the
necessary coppers and turning on his heel.
Outside he seemed to himself to choose the direction of his steps
quite at random. He walked slowly, trying to fasten his brain down to
the task of conjecturing what on earth it all meant. Alas, his mind
was as empty as those desolate rooms up at the top of Dunstan’s
Inn. The power of coherent speculation had left him. It was hardly
possible even to arrange in decent sequence the details of what had
happened. An indefinitely sweeping rage at destiny in general
oppressed all his faculties. He muttered meaningless oaths under his
breath as he went along, directed at an intangible “it” which was
equally without form and personality, a mere abstract symbol of the
universal beastliness of things.
The notion of cursing Vestalia did not suggest itself. So far as he
had any intelligible thoughts about her, they were instinctively
exculpatory. She seemed indeed to have behaved stupidly, but it
must have been under a misapprehension of some sort. Something
perverse had happened to lead her off into a foolish course of
action. He resolutely declined to open his mind to any other view of
her. She must have quitted the Inn for some reason which wholly
satisfied her sense of honourable conduct. What was this reason?
Had she conjured it up out of her own meditations, or had it been
furnished to her from an external source?
All at once he stopped short, mental and bodily progress alike
arrested by a striking thought. “Damn him!” he murmured to
himself, as he turned this new idea over. How that it had come to
him, he fairly marvelled at the dulness which had failed to discover it
at the beginning. It was as plain as the nose on one’s face—the Earl
had bidden Vestalia to begone. “Ah, that miserly, meddling fool of a
Drumpipes!” he groaned, between clenched teeth.
This laying bare of the mystery brought no consolation. The day
was as irretrievably ruined, the tender little romance as ruthlessly
crushed, as ever. A certain doubtful solace seemed to offer itself in
the shape of a quarrel with Drumpipes, but Mosscrop shook his head
despondently at it. What good would that do? And for that matter,
how should one go to work to quarrel with that tough-hided,
fatuous, conceited, dense-witted, imperturbable, and impenetrable
idiot? He would never even perceive that the attempt was being
made. David piled up in reverie the loathly epithets upon the over-
large bald head of his friend with a savage satisfaction. “You
preposterous clown!” he snarled at the burly blond image of the
absent nobleman in his mind’s eye. “You gratuitous and wanton ass!
Oh, you unthinkable duffer!”
And somehow there was after all a kind of relief in these
comminatory exercises. The dim light of a possible diversion began
to filter through the storm-cloud of Mosscrop’s wrath. He was still
bitterly depressed, and furious as well, of course, but self-possession
was returning to him, and with it the capacity for planning and
ordering his movements. It occurred to him that he ought to do
something to turn his thoughts temporarily at least from this world-
weary sadness.
Up on the opposite corner his eye caught the legend “Savoy
Street.” He stared at the small sign, perched above the dingy brick
cornice of the first-floor, for a moment with an unreflecting gaze.
Then he turned and walked briskly down the steep hillside
thoroughfare, and into the courtyard of the great hotel which, like
the street and the quarter, commemorates in its name the first of a
long and steadfast line of needy Continental princes whose
maintenance the British tax-payer has found himself fated to
provide.
At the desk, he wrote out a card and sent it up as an
accompaniment to the inquiry whether Mr. Laban Skinner was in or
not.
No, it was reported presently; Mr. Skinner had gone out—but the
young lady was in.
David pondered this unexpected intelligence. “Did she tell you that
she was in?” he asked the boy, suspiciously.
Yes; she had done so.
Mosscrop discovered that he had been quite unprepared for this.
He knit his brows and ruminated upon it. His impression had been at
the time that the girl disliked him, or at least disliked the proposition
which her absurd father had made. It seemed to him, moreover, that
he disliked, her in turn. She had stared rudely at poor Vestalia—but
then it should be remembered in fairness that all women did that to
one another. Her attitude towards him had been ostentatiously
apathetic, almost to the point of insolence; and yet he recalled that
in that moment when he had caught her unawares, she had been
displaying a notable interest in what was going on. The notion that
there had been a sort of challenge underlying the mask of studied
indifference she had presented to him returned to his mind. And he
still needed diversion, too, as much as ever.
 “If you will show the way,” he said to the boy at this juncture.
The lift bore them a long distance upward, quite to the roof it
seemed. David formed the impression that rents must be cheap at
that altitude; hut when he took the first glance round the sitting-
room into which he found himself presently ushered, the idea
vanished.
It was a large and imposingly-appointed room, exhaling, as it
were, an effect of high-priced luxury. The broad windows at the
front came down to the floor, and opened upon a balcony. There
were awnings hung outside to ward off the sunshine, and this threw
the whole apartment into a mellow twilight, contrasting sharply with
the brightness of the corridor Mosscrop had just quitted.
He looked about him, hesitatingly, to make sure that there really
was no one in the room. The glimpse of some white drapery
fluttering against the edge of a chair out on the balcony caught his
eye, and he moved across to the nearest open window. The noble
prospect of the Thames viewed from this height impressed itself with
great vividness upon his mind, even in advance of his perception
that he had indeed found Miss Skinner. He looked downward with a
gaze which embraced both the girl and the river, and for a moment
they preserved an equally unconscious aspect.
The young lady then lifted her head, sidewise, and acknowledged
Mosscrop’s presence by a slow drooping movement of her black
lashes. “How do you do?” she remarked, placidly. “Bring out a chair
for yourself.”
He did as he was told, and seated himself near the balustrade, so
that he partially faced her; but he looked again at the wonderful
picture below, to collect his thoughts.
“I had no idea it was so magnificent up here,” he said at last.
“Indeed,” commented his companion. It was impossible to say
whether the remark was in the nature of an exclamation or an
inquiry. Mosscrop found himself compelled to glance up, if only to
determine this open question.
The realisation that she was extremely well worth looking at swept
over him like a flood, at the instant of his lifting his eyes. It suited
her to be hare-headed, and to wear just the creamy white cashmere
house-gown that he beheld her in. The glossy plaits and masses of
her hair were wonderful. In the softened, tinted half-shadow of the
awning her dark skin glowed with a dusky radiance which fascinated
him. Her mien was as imperious as ever, but it suggested now an
empress disposed to play, a sultana whose inclination was for
amusement.
“Did you come up to see the view? I daresay it is even better from
the leads. You call them leads here, don’t you? Your novels always
do, I know.”
This speech of hers, languidly delivered, had its impertinent side,
without doubt, but Mosscrop caught in its tone a not unamiable
intention. She did not smile in response to the puzzled questioning
of his swift glance, but he convinced himself none the less that it
was a pleasantry. He noted in this instant of confused speculation
that she had a book in her lap—a large, red-covered volume with
much gilt on the binding—and that she kept a finger in it to mark
some particular place.
“Your father was good enough to ask me to call,” he reminded her,
with gentleness.
“I asked for him, and I——”
“You are disappointed to find him out?” Yes; there could be no
doubt she was amusing herself. “Oh, that depends,” ventured David,
with temerity.
The girl surveyed him at her leisure. “If I remember aright,” she
said, “you were invited conditionally. You were to come, or rather to
communicate with us, if you decided to close with my father’s offer.
So I suppose you’ve made up your mind to accept.”
“Well, I should like to talk more about it; get a clearer idea of
what was proposed.”
“My father takes great pains in expressing himself. I should have
said his explanation was as full as anything could well be on this
earth.”
“To speak frankly,” replied David, “I got the idea that you didn’t
care much about your father’s scheme—in fact, that you disliked it.
That’s what I wanted to be clear about. It would be ridiculous for me
to be going round, delivering instructive lectures to you on
antiquities and ruins and so forth, and you hating me all the while
for a bore and a nuisance. It would place us both in a false position.”
“And you can’t stand false positions, eh?”
Mosscrop rose. “I’m afraid I can’t stand this one, at all events,” he
answered, with dignified brevity.
“Oh, you mustn’t think of going!” his hostess protested, with a
momentary ring of animation in her voice. “My father’s liable to
return any minute, and he’d be greatly put out to find he’d missed
you.”
“I could wait for him in the reception room downstairs,” he
suggested, moodily—“or, for that matter, I don’t know that it’s very
important that we should meet at all.”
“I don’t call that a bit polite,” she commented.
“I’m afraid your standards of politeness are beyond me,” he
began, formally. Then the absurdity of the thing struck him, and he
grinned in a reluctant fashion. “Do you really want me to stay?” he
asked, with the spirit of banter in his tone.
 “Oh that depends,” she mocked back at him. “If you can be
amusing, yes.”
“Just how amusing must I be?” He propped into his chair again,
and this time laid his hat aside.
“Oh, say as much so as you were yesterday with the young lady of
the butter-coloured hair. I think that would about fill the bill.”
Mosscrop ground his teeth with swift annoyance. Then he
chuckled in a mood of saturnine mirth. Finally he sighed, and
dolefully shook his head.
“Ah, yesterday!” he mourned, drawing a still deeper breath.
“You were extremely entertaining, then,” pursued the other,
ignoring his emotions. “Do you find yourself—as a usual thing, I
mean—varying a good deal from day to day? I ask entirely from
curiosity. I’ve never met anyone before in precisely your position.”
“No, I should think not!” he assented, with gloomy emphasis. “I
can well believe that my position is unique in the history of mankind.
Such grotesque luck could scarcely repeat itself. But I beg your
pardon—it isn’t a thing that would interest you; I had no business to
mention it at all.”
“It was I who mentioned it, I believe,” she corrected him calmly.
There was obvious meaning in her insistence. He looked up at her
in vague surprise, the while he mentally retraced the steps by which
the conversation had reached this point. There was undoubtedly a
very knowing expression in her eyes. Clearly she had meant to
associate Vestalia with what she described as his position—the
position which she deemed so unusual; it was equally plain that she
desired him to understand that she did so. It was impossible that
she should know anything of what had happened. He searched his
memory, and made sure that no personal hint of any sort had drifted
into that rambling discourse of his in the Assyrian corridors, which
the Americans had more or less overheard. What then was she
talking about?
Ah, what indeed? She lay back in her chair, and met his gaze of
bewildered interrogation with a fine show of composure. She looked
at him tranquilly through lazy, halfclosed eyelids. His suspicions
discerned beneath the passive surface of this regard animated
under-currents of ironical amusement and triumph. There was
nothing overt upon which he could found the challenge to an
explanation, but as he continued to scrutinise her, he could fancy
that her whole presence radiated the suggestion of repressed glee.
Whatever the mystery might be, she was extracting great delight
from her possession of a clue to it.
“Yes, it was you who mentioned my position,” he remarked,
groping lamely for some sure footing on which to redress his
disadvantage. “I don’t know that! quite follow you; wherein do you
find my position, as you term it, so exceptional?
“You yourself have boasted that it couldn’t be matched in all
history,” she reminded him. Her tone was casual enough, but the
sense of sport began to gleam unmistakably in her eyes.
“Now you argue in a circle,” he remonstrated, with a shade of
professional acerbity in his voice. “Your remark came before mine,
and hence cannot possibly have been based upon my subsequent
comment. If I may be permitted the observation, they seem to teach
logic but indifferently in the United States.”
“Oh, that is why we came here,” retorted the girl, with
ostentatious naïveté. The conceit pleased her so much that she bent
forward, and assumed the manner of one communicating an
important fact. “That is why I had my father make you an offer at
once. You know, most professors, and teachers, and so on, are so
hard to understand. But the moment I laid eyes on you I said,
‘There’s a man that I can see through as if he were plate-glass; I
can read him like a book.’ And, of course, that must be the most
valuable of all qualities in an instructor.”
“So I am entirely transparent, am I? I present no secrets to your
gaze?” Mosscrop spoke like one in whom pique and a sense of the
comical struggled for mastery. “Then I cannot do better than beg
you to tell me some things about myself. Why, for example, do I sit
here patiently and submit to be laughed at, heckled, satirised, and
generally bully-ragged by a young lady, whose title to do these
things is not in the least apparent to me?”
“Why, don’t you remember? You’re waiting for papa.”
“And incidentally providing his offspring, in the interim, with much
harmless and chaste entertainment,” put in Mosscrop, drily. “I am
charmed to have diverted you so successfully. It occurs to me, since
you are so readily amused, that you must have been wofully bored
before I made my happy appearance.”
“Oh, quite the contrary,” exclaimed the girl, with a sudden stress
in her tone, which hinted that this was what she had been waiting
for. She opened the volume, as she spoke, at the place marked by
her finger. “I was reading in the Peerage, you know. It is a most
entrancing book. I am never dull when I am reading about earls and
things.”
“I have heard that the work enjoys a remarkable popularity in
your country,” David remarked, sourly.
“There is such romance in it!” she went on, in mock rhapsody; “it
makes such appeals to the imagination! It puts you at once in an
atmosphere of chivalry, of knightly adventures and exploits, of
tournaments and chain-armour, and courts of love——”
“And of divorce, and bankruptcy, too,” he interposed. “Don’t forget
those.”
The girl looked grave for a moment, and nodded her head as if in
relenting apology. Then she recovered her high spirits by as swift a
transition.
“And such splendid old names as you get, too!” she continued,
with her eyes on the open page. “Listen to this, for example. Could
anything be finer?”
DRUMPIPES, Earl of. (Sir Archibald-Coro-nach-Dugal-Strathspey-
Malcolm- Linkhaw) Viscount Dunfugle of Inverdummie, and Baron
Pilliewillie of Slug-Angus, Morayshire, all in the peerage of Scotland,
and a Baronet of Nova Scotia. Born August 24th, 1866. Succeeded
his grandfather as 19th Earl January 10th, 1888. Married May 2nd,
1890, Janet-Eustasia-Marjory, 3rd daughter of the Master of Craigie-
whaup by his wife, the Hon. Tryphena Pincock (who deceased March
6th, 1879), elder daughter of the 4th Baron Dubb of Kilwhissel. Seat,
Skirl Castle, near Lossiewink, Elgin. Club, Wanderers.
She read it all with marked deliberation and distinctness of
utterance. When she finished, silence reigned for some time on the
balcony.
“Well, am I not right?” she asked at last, lifting her head, and
flashing the full richness of her black eyes into Mosscrop’s face.
“Don’t you admit the inspiration of such names?”
David answered in a hesitating, dubious manner. “I am more
curious about the source—and scope—of your inspiration,” he said.
“Unhappily, it cannot be pretended that you are transparent. You
confront me with an opacity against which my feeble wits beat in
vain. I can see that it is known to you that I know Drumpipes. But
why this fact should assume in your mind such portentous and
mysterious dimensions, and why you should treat it with the air of
one who has unearthed a great conspiracy, a terrible secret, I can’t
for the life of me comprehend.”
“Ah, you are more complicated than I had thought,” she replied. “I
did not imagine you would keep up the defence so long.”
 “Me?—a defence? never,” cried David, incited in some vague way
by this remark to an accession of assurance. “I defend nothing. I
surrender with eagerness. I roll myself at your feet, Miss Skinner. All
I crave in return is that you will put a label on my submission. It may
be weak, but I should dearly like to know what it is that I am
abandoning.”
“What I should suggest that you give up is your attempt to
deceive me—us—as to your identity.”
“Ah! am I indeed someone else, then? Upon my word, I can’t
congratulate the other fellow.”
“You wrote your name down for my father yesterday, and again on
this card here this morning, as Mosscrop—David Mosscrop.”
He assented by a nod, and allowed the beginnings of an abashed
and contrite look to gather upon his face.
“Well, it just happened that, the moment I first laid eyes on you, I
knew who you really were. By the merest accident, your picture had
been shown to me—by a gentleman who knows you intimately, and
is indeed distantly related to you—on shipboard coming over. I
recognised you instantly, there in the Museum, and I made papa
speak to you. I was curious to see what you would say and do.”
“I’m afraid you were disappointed. Did you think I would shout
and dance, or what?” He struggled with some degree of success to
speak impassively.
“I had never met any one before in your position in life, and I had
the whim to experiment on my own account.” She said this as if
defending her action to herself more than to her auditor.
“And may I have my little whim gratified too?” he asked. “I am
extremely curious to know how you like your experiment as far as
you have got with it.”
 She did not answer immediately, and he occupied the interval by
an earnest mental scuffle after some clue to what she was driving
at. He knew of no man who possessed his portrait—at least among
those who went down to the sea in ships. He had had no
photograph taken for years, to begin with. A distant relation of his,
she had said, and on a very recent voyage from America. Who the
deuce could it be? What acquaintance of his had been of late in
America? All at once the answer leaped upward in his mind. He
laughed aloud, with an abruptness which took him not less than his
companion by surprise. But then a puzzled scowl overshadowed the
grin on his countenance. He saw a little way farther into the
millstone, but that was all.
“I hope you don’t regret your experiment,” he repeated. “It would
have been simpler, perhaps, if your father had mentioned that you
were friends of Mr. Linkhaw’s. That in itself would have been an
ample introduction.”
“Perhaps we should have done so, had you been alone.” Her tone
was cool to the verge of haughtiness.
He rapidly considered what this might mean. Her remark clearly
indicated that Vestalia’s presence had seemed to her reprehensible.
Why? There was some intricacy here which he could not fathom.
That confounded Drumpipes had told her—what? Eureka! He had it!
The picture that she had seen was a little cheap ambrotype of
Drumpipes and himself, standing together, which had been made by
a poor devil of a wayside photographer, two Derby days before.
Undoubtedly that was what the Earl had shown her—the only one he
could have shown her. And—why of course—Drumpipes had pointed
him, David, out as the Earl. What his motive could have been,
heaven only knew, but this was palpably the key to the riddle.
He grasped this key with decision, on the instant. He straightened
himself, frowned a little, and laboriously stiffened the tell-tale
muscles about his mouth.
 “I don’t think I quite like this notion of Linkhaw’s babbling about
me and my affairs,” he said, with austerity.
“Oh, I assure you,” she protested, anxiously, “he was very
cautious. He only gave the most sparing answers to my questions. I
had to literally drag things from him.”
“But what business had he showing my picture about to begin
with? He shall hear what I think of it! Men’s allowances have been
stopped for less than that.”
“It will be very unjust indeed if you visit it upon him,” the girl
urged, almost tremulously; “it was all my fault. I asked him one day
if he had ever met a nobleman, and he, quite as a matter of course,
mentioned that one of his own relatives was an Earl. One day, later,
he was showing me a little tin-type of himself, and he merely said
that you were the other person in the picture, that was all.”
“And then you proceeded to drag things from him. I believe that
was your phrase,” remarked David, in a severe tone. The sensation
of having this proud and insolent beauty in a tremor of entreaty
before him was very delightful.
“Naturally, I asked him questions,” she replied, with a little more
spirit. “Earls don’t grow on every bush with us. And for that matter,
why, goodness me! he did nothing but praise you from morning till
night. By his account, one would think butter wouldn’t melt in your
mouth. He made you out a regular saint. I was quite prepared to see
you with a halo round your head—and instead, I——”
She stopped short, with a confused and deprecatory smile. David,
noting it, rejoiced that he had taken a peremptory tone about the
garrulous Linkhaw.
“Instead, you discovered that I was a mere flesh and blood mortal
like the rest.” He permitted himself to unbend, and even to smile a
little, as he furnished this conclusion to her sentence. “Was it a very
painful disillusionment?”
 “Oh, I’ve read and heard enough about the lives that your class
lead here in Europe,” she replied, with a marked reversion toward
her former manner. “I don’t pretend that I was really surprised.”
David assumed a judicial expression. “Considering the way we are
brought up, and the temptations that are thrust upon us,” he said,
impartially, “I would not say that we are so much worse than other
men.”
“But you are pretty bad—that you must admit.”
Before David had satisfactorily framed the admission expected of
him, the sound of an opening door and of footsteps came from
within.
“It is papa,” whispered the girl, leaning forward in a confidential
manner. “I’m going to tell him.”
“I see no valid objection,” answered David, with dignity.
 CHAPTER VIII.

A
s the balcony was too small for another chair, and Mr. Skinner
did not come to the window, his daughter led her guest into
the sitting-room.
“Papa,” she said, “you will recall the gentleman whom we met
yesterday at the British Museum.”
Mr. Skinner lifted to its place the pince-nez which depended on a
gold thread from the lapel of his carefully-buttoned frock-coat, and
scrutinised the person indicated in a painstaking manner.
“Ah, yes, indeed,” he said, continuing his gaze, but with no
salutation, and no offer of the hand.
“It’s so dark in here, I don’t believe you do,” she remarked, to
cover the awkwardness of the moment. “The sun has gone now, any
way,” and she moved back and put a hand upon the awning-cord.
“Permit me,” said David, hurrying to her side, and pulling at the
shade.
“He’s out of sorts about something,” the girl murmured furtively.
“Don’t mind it; just leave him to me.”
In the brightened light, Mr. Skinner’s demeanour seemed no more
cordial. He regarded his visitor with a doubtful glance, and gave
indications of a sense of embarrassment in his presence. The
daughter, however, was in no respect dismayed by her responsibility.
“Papa,” she said with brisk decision, “it was all a joke yesterday.
Our friend was so amused by your offer yesterday——”
“I beg your pardon, Adele,” the father interposed ceremoniously,
“but it becomes immediately incumbent upon me to express my
dissent. To obviate any possible misconception, it should be explicitly
stated that, although it is true that the task of formulating the
proposal to which you allude did undoubtedly devolve upon me, the
proposition itself, both in spirit and suggestion, originated in your
own consciousness.”
“All right,” she hurriedly went on, “have it anyway you like. The
point is that this gentleman thought it was funny, and so he capped
it with his own little joke by pretending to be some one else. He
made up that name he gave you on the spur of the moment, just for
sport. He came here this morning, just to explain. He was nervous
about the deception, innocent though it was. Papa, let me introduce
to you Mr. Linkhaw’s relation, of whom he spoke so often, you know
—the Earl of Drumpipes.”
Mr. Skinner took in this intelligence with respectful deliberation. He
bowed meanwhile, and, after a moment’s deferential hesitation,
shook hands in a formal way with David, and motioned him to a
seat.
“Sir,” he began, picking his phrases with even greater care, “you
will excuse me if I do not address you as ‘My Lord,’ since it is a form
of words which I cannot bring myself to regard as seemly when
employed by one human being toward another; but I gather from
my daughter’s explanation that your statements yesterday
concerning your identity were conceived in a spirit of pleasantry.
Under ordinary circumstances, sir, the revelation that an entirely
serious and decorous suggestion of mine had been received with
hilarity might not convey to my mind an exclusively flattering
impression. But I do not, sir, close my eyes to the fact that a wide
gulf of usage and custom, and, I might say, of principles, separates
a simple Jeffersonian Democrat like myself from the professor of an
hereditary European dignity. I am therefore able, sir, to accept, with
comparatively few reservations, the explanation which you have
tendered to my daughter, and vicariously, as I understand it, to me.”
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

textbookfull.com