Set Theory

MATH 200 (LOGIC AND SET THEORY)

DR.FELIX R. OCAREZ
. ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IV
. CHIEF, PRES’L MNGT, STAFF
OFFICE OF THE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT
. GPPB TRAINOR ( RA 9184)
. AACCUP ACCREDITOR
. VICE CHAIR, BAC
. PASUC CARAGA REGIONAL SECRETARY
SETS

Definition 1. A set is a collection of objects of some kind

with a common property that, given an object and a
set, it is possible to decide if the object belongs to the
set.
• We denote elements of a set by lower case letters (𝑒. 𝑔. 𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, . . . )
and sets by upper case (𝑒. 𝑔. 𝑋, 𝑌, 𝑍, . . . ).
• 𝑥 ∈ 𝑋 means ‘x belongs to set X’
Example 1. Let 𝐴 = {𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑒, 𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒, 𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛}. Then
‘𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒’ ∈ 𝐴 and ‘𝑐𝑢𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟’ ∉ 𝐴.

Example 2. Let 𝑋 = {𝑥1 , . . . , 𝑥10 }. Then 𝑥2 ∈ 𝑋

and 𝑥100 ∉ 𝑋.
How to Write Sets

• Enumerating elements of the set:

𝑋 = {𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐} , 𝑌 = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}

• Set comprehension
𝑋 = {𝑥 ∶ 𝑃(𝑥)}
where : means ‘such that’ and 𝑃(𝑥) is a rule that
describes the common property.
Example 3. Set Y can be written
𝑌 = {𝑦 ∈ 𝑁 ∶ 𝑥 < 10 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑑𝑑}

Example 4. 𝑃 = {𝑝 ∶ 𝑝 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟}

𝑌 = {𝑦 ∶ 𝑦 = 𝑥 2 , 𝑥 ∈ 𝑅}
Subsets

If every element of set 𝐴 is also an element of set 𝐵, then we write

𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 𝑜𝑟 𝐴 ⊂ 𝐵.
⊂ subset (proper)
{𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐} ⊂ {𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑}
⊆ subset or equal
{𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐} ⊆ {𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐}
≡ equivalence of sets
𝐴 ≡ 𝐵 𝑖𝑠 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐵 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴 ⊇ 𝐵
Remark 1.
• Empty set ∅ = {} is a subset of any
other set ∅ ⊆ 𝐴.

• Any set is a subset of itself 𝐴 ⊆ 𝐴.

ZFC

(Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory with the historically

controversial axiom of choice included)
 standard form of axiomatic set theory
 intended to formalize a single primitive notion, that of
a hereditary well-founded set, so that all entities in the universe
of discourse are such sets
 does not allow for the existence of a universal set (a set
containing all sets) nor for unrestricted comprehension, thereby
avoiding Russell's paradox
 Axiom of extensionality

Two sets are equal (are the same set) if they have the same elements.
 Axiom of choice
llustration of the axiom of choice,
with each Si and xi represented as
a jar and a colored marble,
respectively
(Si) is a family of sets indexed over
the real numbers R; that is, there is
a set Si for each real number i, with
a small sample shown above. Each
set contains at least one, and
possibly infinitely many, elements.
The axiom of choice allows us to
arbitrarily select a single element
from each set, forming a
corresponding family of elements
(xi) also indexed over the real
numbers, with xi drawn from Si. In
general, the collections may be
indexed over any set I, not just R.
Set Unions and Intersections

Let 𝐴 and 𝐵 be two sets, then 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 is their union, 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 is their

intersection.
∪ the result has all elements of both sets (belong to A or B)
{𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐} ∪ {𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑} = {𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑}

∩ the result has only the elements that are in both sets
(belong to A and B)
{𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐} ∩ {𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑} = {𝑏, 𝑐}
Remark 2.

 Intersection of sets is always a subset of

their union: (𝐴 ∩ 𝐵) ⊆ (𝐴 ∪ 𝐵)
Special Sets

“God gave us the integers; the rest is the work of Man”

∅ = {} an empty set
N = {1, 2, . . . } set of natural numbers
Z = {0, ±1, ±2, . . . } set of integer numbers
Q = {0, 1, − 1 2 , 20 7 , . . . } set of rational numbers
R = {0, −1, 3.1, π, e, . . . } set of real numbers
C = {1 + i1, −1 + i3.4, . . . } set of complex numbers
Remark 3.

All above sets apart from ∅ have infinite

number of elements.
Properly Formed Sets

Russell’s paradox (after Bertrand Russell, 1872–1970)

A barber in a village put a note:

‘I shave everybody who does not shave

themselves’

Question : Does the barber shave himself ?

Correspondences and
Mappings between Sets
Direct (Cartesian) Product

Definition 2 (Cartesian product).

If A and B are two sets, then 𝐴 × 𝐵 is a set with
elements (𝑎, 𝑏), where 𝑎 ∈ 𝐴 and 𝑏 ∈ 𝐵.

Example 5. Let 𝐴 = {𝛼, 𝛽, 𝛾}, 𝐵 = {0, 1}.

Then 𝐴 × 𝐵 = {(𝛼, 0), (𝛽, 0), (𝛾, 0), (𝛼, 1), (𝛽, 1), (𝛾, 1)}
Remark 4.

The order is important: 𝐴 × 𝐵 ≠ 𝐵 × 𝐴

 Correspondence

Definition 3 (Correspondence).
Is any subset 𝑅 ⊆ 𝐴 × 𝐵. The domain and image (range)
of 𝑅 are:
𝑑𝑜𝑚𝑅 = {𝑎 ∈ 𝐴 ∶ (𝑎, 𝑏) ∈ 𝑅} ,
𝑖𝑚𝑅 = {𝑏 ∈ 𝐵 ∶ (𝑎, 𝑏) ∈ 𝑅}
Inverse correspondence is 𝑅 −1 = {(𝑏, 𝑎) ∶ (𝑎, 𝑏) ∈ 𝑅}
Example 6.

Let 𝑅 = {(𝛼, 0), (𝛾, 1)}. Then

𝑑𝑜𝑚𝑅 = {𝛼, 𝛾} ,
𝑖𝑚𝑅 = {0, 1} , and
𝑅−1 = {(0, 𝛼), (1, 𝛾)}
Functions (Mappings)

Definition 4 (Function (mapping)).

A function (mapping) from 𝑋 into 𝑌, 𝑓 ∶ 𝑋 → 𝑌 , or
𝑦 = 𝑓(𝑥) is a correspondence 𝑓 ⊂ 𝑋 × 𝑌 , such that
𝑑𝑜𝑚𝑅 = 𝑋, and for each 𝑥 ∈ 𝑋 precisely one 𝑦 ∈ 𝑌 is
associated.
Example 7.
𝑦 = 𝑥 2 is a function, while 𝑦 = 𝑥
is not.
 Classification of Mappings

Definition 5.
A mapping 𝑓 ∶ 𝑋 → 𝑌 is called
• Surjective (or onto Y ) if 𝑖𝑚𝑓 = 𝑌 .
• Injective (or one–one) if 𝑓(𝑥1 ) = 𝑓(𝑥2 ) only if 𝑥1 = 𝑥2
(i.e. distinct elements have distinct images).
• Bijective (or one–one correspondence) if 𝑓 is both
surjective and injective.
If a mapping is bijective, then there exists
an inverse mapping 𝑓 −1 : 𝑌 → 𝑋

Example 8.
Linear function 𝑦 = 𝛼 + 𝛽𝑥 is bijective,
and its inverse is 𝑥 = 𝛽 − 1 (𝑦 − 𝛼).
ZFC

(Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory with the historically

controversial axiom of choice included)
 intended to formalize a single primitive notion, that of
a hereditary well-founded set, so that all entities in the universe
of discourse are such sets.
 does not allow for the existence of a universal set(a set
containing all sets) nor for unrestricted comprehension, thereby
avoiding Russell's paradox
Axioms
Axiom of extensionality

Two sets are equal (are the same set) if they have the same elements.

The converse of this axiom follows from the substitution property of equality. If
the background logic does not include equality "=", x=y may be defined as an
abbreviation for the following formula:

In this case, the axiom of extensionality can be reformulated as

which says that if x and y have the same elements, then they belong to the
same sets
Axiom of regularity (also called the Axiom of foundation)

Every non-empty set x contains a

member y such that x and y are disjoint sets.

This implies, for example, that no set is an

element of itself and that every set has
an ordinal rank.
Axiom schema of specification

(also called the axiom schema of separation or of restricted comprehension)

Subsets are commonly constructed using set builder notation. For example,
the even integers can be constructed as the subset of the integers
satisfying the congruence modulo predicate :

In general, the subset of a set z obeying a formula (x) with one free
variable x may be written as:
The axiom schema of specification states that this subset
always exists (it is an axiom schema because there is one
axiom for each ). Formally, let be any formula in the
language of ZFC with all free variables among
.

Then:
Note that the axiom schema of specification can only
construct subsets, and does not allow the construction of sets of
the more general form:

This restriction is necessary to avoid Russell's paradox and its

variants that accompany naive set theory with unrestricted
comprehension.
In some other axiomatizations of ZF, this axiom is redundant in
that it follows from the axiom schema of replacement and the
axiom of the empty set.
On the other hand, the axiom of specification can be used to prove
the existence of the empty set, denoted , once at least one set is
known to exist (see above). One way to do this is to use a property
which no set has. For example, if w is any existing set, the empty set
can be constructed as

Thus the axiom of the empty set is implied by the nine axioms
presented here. The axiom of extensionality implies the empty set is
unique (does not depend on w). It is common to make a definitional
extension that adds the symbol to the language of ZFC.
Axiom of pairing

If x and y are sets, then there exists a set which contains x and y as
elements.

The axiom schema of specification must be used to reduce this to a set

with exactly these two elements. The axiom of pairing is part of Z, but is
redundant in ZF because it follows from the axiom schema of
replacement, if we are given a set with at least two elements. The
existence of a set with at least two elements is assured by either the
axiom of infinity, or by the axiom schema of specification and the
axiom of the power set applied twice to any set.
Axiom of union

The union over the elements of a set exists. For example,

the union over the elements of the set is

Formally, the axiom of union states that for any set of sets
there is a set containing every element that is a member
of some member of :
While this doesn't directly assert the existence of it can be
constructed from in the above using the axiom schema of
specification:
Axiom schema of replacement

Axiom schema of
replacement: the
image of the domain
set A under the
definable function f
(i.e. the range of f)
falls inside a set B.
The axiom schema of replacement asserts that the image
of a set under any definable function will also fall inside a
set.
Formally, let be any formula in the language of ZFC
whose free variables are among , so
that in particular is not free in . Then:
In other words, if the relation represents a definable
function represents its domain, and is a set for
every , then the range of is a subset of some
set . .
The form stated here, in which may be larger than
strictly necessary, is sometimes called the axiom schema
of collection
Axiom of infinity

Let abbreviate , where is some set. (We can see that is a valid set by
applying the Axiom of Pairing with so that the set is ). Then there exists a set
X such that the empty set is a member of X and, whenever a set y is a
member of X, then is also a member of X.
More colloquially, there exists a set X having infinitely many members. (It must
be established, however, that these members are all different, because if two
elements are the same, the sequence will loop around in a finite cycle of sets.
The axiom of regularity prevents this from happening.) The minimal set X
satisfying the axiom of infinity is the von Neumann ordinal ω, which can also
be thought of as the set of natural numbers .
Axiom of power set
Well-ordering theorem
 Axiom of Choice
Illustration of the axiom of
choice, with
each Si and xi represented as a
jar and a colored marble,
respectively
(Si) is a family of sets indexed over
the real numbers R; that is, there is
a set Si for each real number i, with
a small sample shown above.
Each set contains at least one, and
possibly infinitely many, elements.
The axiom of choice allows us to
arbitrarily select a single element
from each set, forming a
corresponding family of elements
(xi) also indexed over the real
numbers, with xi drawn from Si. In
general, the collections may be
indexed over any set I, not just R.