Saylor URL: www.saylor.

org/ma111 Unit 2

The Saylor Foundation Saylor.org
Page 1 of 6
Elementary Set Theory Homework Set Solutions

The solution to each problem is provided in RED below.

1. Suppose that ( ) P x is the open sentence:
1
sin =
2
x (where x is measured in radians),
and let
{ }
: ( ) D x P x = . Express this set D by:
i) explicitly writing out a few of its members
Solution: The solutions of the equation
1
sin =
2
x in a standard interval [0, 2 ] are
5
,
6 6
x

= . Using the fact that sine is periodic with period 2 , we can add 2 , 4 , ...
to each of these values to generate additional solutions. So, we can express D, loosely,
as
5 5 5 5 5
... 4 , 4 , 2 , 2 , , , 2 , 2 , 4 , 4 , ...
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6



+ + + +
`
)

ii) using set-builder notation.
Solution: More formally, we can add 2n , where n is an integer, to either
5
or
6 6

to
generate all the solutions of the given equation. So, we can express D as the following
union of sets:
5
2 : 2 :
6 6
n n n n



+ +
` `
) )


2. Let A and B be two sets. Prove the following statements.
i)
~ ~
iff A A B B .
Solution: We prove each implication separately.
) Assume A B

. This means that if x A , then x B . (I)

Let x B

.
This means that x B . Then, by the contrapositive of (I), it follows that x A , which
means that x A

. Hence, we have shown
~ ~
A B .
) Apply the forward direction with and B A

in place of A and B, respectively, and use
the fact that
( )
C C =

, for any set C.

Saylor URL: www.saylor.org/ma111 Unit 2

The Saylor Foundation Saylor.org
Page 2 of 6
ii) ( )
~
~ ~
= A B A B
Solution: Both inclusions can be shown simultaneously using a sequence of iff
statements. Indeed, observe that
( )
~
and
~ ~
~ ~
and
x A B
x A x B
x
x
A B x
A x B
A B

3. For n , let { } , 1, 2, . . .
n
n n n B = + + . Compute
1
n
n
B

. Prove your result.

SOLUTION: We claim that
1
n
n
B

=
=

. To prove this, we show two inclusions.

Clearly,
1
n
n
B

because the empty set is a subset of any set. To prove the reverse
inclusion, first observe that because
n
B , it follows that
1
n
n
B

. So, it suffices to
show that no member n belongs to
1
n
n
B

. To this end, let

0
n . Observe that
0
0 1 n
n B
+
, and hence
0
1
n
n
n B

(because it would have had to belong to each of the

sets
n
B used to form the intersection). This completes the proof.

4. Let A

:
m r
be a family of sets indexed by and A be an arbitrary set. Verify that
the following are true:
i) A A A A =

F
H
G
I
K
J

c h

Solution: First, we show
( )
A A A A



| |
|
\

. Observe that

Saylor URL: www.saylor.org/ma111 Unit 2

The Saylor Foundation Saylor.org
Page 3 of 6
( )
( )
and
and

A A
x A A x A x A
x A x A
x A A
x

| |

|
|
\

thereby showing

( )
A A A A



| |
|
\

. (1)

Next, we show the reverse containment. Observe that

( )
( )

and
and
A A x x A A
x A x A
x A x A
x A A

| |
|
\
| |
|
\

thereby showing

( )
A A A A



| |
|
\

. (2)
From (1) and (2), we conclude that
( )
A A A A


=
| |
|
\

, as desired.
ii)

A A

F
H
G
I
K
J
=


~
~

Solution: We employ basically the same strategy. Observe that

~
x A x A

| |
|
\

It is not the case that x A

, x A

~
, x A

~
x A

.


Saylor URL: www.saylor.org/ma111 Unit 2

The Saylor Foundation Saylor.org
Page 4 of 6
Thus,

~
~
A A

| |
|
\

. (3)

The proof of the reverse inclusion can be obtained by simply retracing the steps
backwards in the above argument. Then, we can conclude that

~
~
A A

| |
|
\

. (4)
We infer from (3) and (4) that
~
~
A A

=
| |
|
\

, as desired.

5. Let A be a set. The power set of A, denoted by ( ) A , is defined by
{ }
( ) A B B A = .
Let U be a universal set and , A B U . Classify the following statements as: always
true, sometimes true, or never true. Justify your answers.
i) ( ) A .
Always. The empty set is a subset of every set. Because the power set of A is a set, this
must be true.
ii) ( ) A .
Always. The empty set is a subset of every set, and hence, of A. Because the power set
is the set of all subsets of A, the empty set must belong to it.
iii) ( ) A A .
Always. A is a subset of itself and hence, it must belong to the power set of A, which is
the set of all subsets of A.
iv) ( ) A A .
Sometimes. Take A = . Then, { } ( ) = . However, it is not always true. For
instance, take { } 1 A = . Observe that { } { }
({1}) , 1 = . However, 1 ({1}) and so,
{1} ({1}) .
v) The set ( ) A A is defined.
Always. The intersection of any two sets is a well-defined set. It may be the empty set
quite often, but the quantity is always defined.


Saylor URL: www.saylor.org/ma111 Unit 2

The Saylor Foundation Saylor.org
Page 5 of 6

vi) The set { } ( ) A A is nonempty.
Always. For any set A, ( ) A A , so that { } { } ( ) A A A = .
vii) ( ) A B A B .
Always. For any two sets A and B, , so that ( ) A B A B A B A B .
viii) ( ) \ ( ) \ A B B A = .
Sometimes. Take A = B. Then, both sides are the empty set and hence, equal. For all
other situations, the left-side contains a subset of the universal set U, while the right-
side contains only elements of U. This renders the sets not equal.
ix) ( ( )) ( ( ( ) ) ) A A .
Always. This follows from (iii) with ( ( )) A in place of A.

6. Prove or disprove: For any sets
1 2
, , , . . . ,
n
A B B B ,
( )
1 1
\ \
n n
i i
i i
A B A B
= =
=

.
This claim is false. For instance, take n = 4 and define the sets
1 2 4
, , , . . . , A B B B as
follows:
1
2
3
4
{1, 2, 3, 4}
{4, 5}
{5, 6}
{7}
{6}
A
B
B
B
B
=
=
=
=
=

Observe that
( )
4
1 1
{1, 2, 3, 4} \ {1, 2, 3}, while \
n
i i
i i
A B A B
= =
= =

.
Therefore, the claim is false.




Saylor URL: www.saylor.org/ma111 Unit 2

The Saylor Foundation Saylor.org
Page 6 of 6
7. Express each of the following sets as either a single Cartesian product of two sets or
as a union of such Cartesian products.

i) ( ) { }
, : ( 0) ( 0) x y x y <


Solution: This set is a single Cartesian product given by ( ) [ ) , 0 0, .
ii) The set of all points in the plane with exactly one irrational coordinate.

Solution: This set can be written as a union of two Cartesian products, as follows:

( )

( )



8. Determine if each of the following statements is true or false. If the statement is true,
then prove it. If the statement is false, then provide a clearly constructed
counterexample. In all of the statements involving sets, assume (unless otherwise
specified) that all sets are formed from the same universal set U.

i) There exists at least one set B such that \ B = .

True. Take B = .

ii) There exists only one set B such that \ B = .

False. Take B A = , where A is any nonempty subset of .

iii) If A is a proper subset of B, then A B cannot be the empty set. (Here, A B is the
symmetric difference of A and B.)

True. Assume that A is a proper subset of B. Then, there exists some element b that is
in the set B, but not in the set A. By definition,
{ } { }
{ }
( ) \ ( )
( \ ) \
A B A B A B
b A B b A
b
=
= (

As such, A B cannot be the empty set.
iv)

{ } = .
True. The intersection of the empty set with any set is empty.