MA-105: Module 3 Vocabulary (Set Notation, Venn Diagrams, Subsets, Set Operations)

Set Notation, Venn Diagrams, Subsets, Set Operations

What is this ⊆ symbol?

This is the subset symbol:

All elements of one set are contained within another set

*The line beneath denotes “less than or equal to”— if an empty set is included as an answer option, consider it correct! It is still smaller than the original set.

What is this ⊂ symbol?

This is the proper subset symbol:

All elements of one set are contained within another set, but the two sets are not equal

How do you find the number of subsets, given an equation?

Subset formula = 2_ⁿ

n = the number of elements in a set

How do you find the number of proper subsets, given an equation?

Proper subset formula = 2_ⁿ - 1

n = the number of elements in a set

What is this ∈ symbol?

This symbol means “element of”

Ex.) Given set A = (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

3 is an element of set A

What is this ∩ symbol?

This symbol means “intersection of”

Ex.) A question may ask you to “find the intersection” of sets A and B:

Set A: (6, 7, 8, 9)

Set B: (3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

Their intersections are elements 6 and 7

What is this —> ∪ symbol?

This symbol means “union of”

Ex.) A question may ask you to “find the union of” sets A and B:

Set A: (6, 7, 8, 9)

Set B: (3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

Their union is: (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

What does this equation format (A^c) mean?

In this example, this means “complement of A” (but can be substituted for any ‘base letter’)

‘Complement of’ means: the collection of elements that are included only in the universal set

Ex.) Universal set: (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

Set A: (6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

A^c = (3, 4, 5)