Warm-Up:

1. Based on the diagram, what is the total number of

students who did participate in volleyball?

15 9 11

6
5 4

12

Volleyball
Set Theory
 Vocabulary
A set is any well defined collection of “distinct objects.”

The elements of a set are the objects in a set.

Subsets consists of elements from the given set.

Empty set/Null set is the set that contains no elements.

Universal set is the set of all possible elements.

Ways of Describing Sets
List the elements

A= 1,2,3,4,5,6
Give a verbal description
• “A is the set of all integers from 1 to 6,
inclusive”
Give a mathematical inclusion rule

A=Integers x 1  x  6
Some Special Sets
The Null Set or Empty Set. This is a set with no
elements, often symbolized by

 or {}
The Universal Set. This is the set of all elements
currently under consideration, and is often
symbolized by
U
Universal Sets
The universal set is the set of all things
pertinent to a given discussion
and is designated by the symbol U
Example:
U = {all students at USTP}
Some Subsets:
A = {all Computer Engineering students}
B = {freshmen students}
C = {sophomore students}
 What?!?
Find the Subsets
What are all the subsets of {3, 4, 5}

{} or Ø

{3}, {4}, {5}

{3,4}, {3,5}, {4,5}

{3,4,5}
Venn Diagrams
Venn diagrams show relationships between
sets and their elements
Sets A & B

Universal Set

5 8 2 4
1 3
Venn Diagram Example
Set Definition
U= {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
Set Complement

~A or A′
“A complement,” or “not A” is the set of all
elements not in A but found in the universal
set.
 More Practice:
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} is the universal set and
A = {2, 3}. What is A′?

U = {a, b} is the universal set and

T = {a}. What is T′?

U = {+, -, x, ÷, =} is the universal set and

A = {÷, =}. What is A′?
Venn Diagrams
Here is another one

A B

What is the A′?

Combining Sets – Set Union
A B
“A union B” is the set of all elements that
are in A, or B, or both.
This is similar to the logical “or”
Combining Sets – Set
Intersection

A B
“A intersect B” is the set of all elements that
are in both A and B.
This is similar to the logical “and”
Venn Diagrams
Venn Diagrams

A B

AB
Venn Diagrams
Try this one!

A B

AB
 Examples

A  {1,2,3} B  {3,4,5,6}

• A  B  {3}

• A  B  {1,2,3,4,5,6}
 Try it on your own!
Let P = {b, d, f, g, h}, M = {a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j},
N = {c, k}
P M
PM
PN
N M
P N