MS 101
DISCRETE
MATHEMATICS
NAME : ______________________
SECTION : BSIT ____
Discrete Mathematics
Discrete Mathematics is the study of mathematical structures that are fundamentally discrete rather
than continuous. Discrete objects can often be enumerated by integers.
In contrast to real numbers that have the property of varying "smoothly", the objects studied in discrete
mathematics – such as integers, graphs, and statements in logic– do not vary smoothly in this way, but
have distinct, separated values.
Discrete mathematics has been characterized as the branch of mathematics dealing with countable sets
(finite sets or sets with the same cardinality as the natural numbers).
Set Theory
Set theory is a mathematical theory, developed to explain collections of objects. Basically, the definition
states that “it is a collection of elements”.
These elements could be numbers, alphabets, variables, etc. The notation and symbols for sets are based
on the operations performed on them, such as intersection of sets, union of sets, difference of sets, etc.
Mathematical Set Theory Symbols
SYMBOLS SYMBOL NAME DEFINITION EXAMPLE
The universal set is the set of all elements or U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
U Universal Set
members of all related sets.
set A group or collection of elements. X = { 2, 5, 7, 10 }
Y = { 3, 5, 7, 8, 10 }
element of It shows membership/set membership 2 X
not an element of It does not show membership/ 2 Y
No set membership
proper set Subset has fewer elements than the set { 5, 10 } X
{ 3, 5, 7, 10 } Y
A subset which contains all the elements of the { 2, 5, 7, 10 } X
Improper subset original set is called an improper subset. It is { 3, 5, 7, 8, 10 } Y
denoted by .
not a subset Set that has few elements than the other set { 1, 4 } Y
Y X superset Y has more than elements than X 2 X
empty set A set with no elements Z={ } or Z =
The power set of a set S is the set of all subsets W = { 3, 6 }
P(W) power set of S, including the empty set and S itself. P(W) = { , {3}, {6}, {3,6} }
Formula to get the number of subsets:
Complement All objects or elements do not belong to set V = { 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10 }
= { 2, 5, 6, 8 }
X Y union Elements that belong to set X or set Y X Y = { 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10 }
X Y intersection Element that belong to both set X and Y X Y = { 5, 7, 10 }
X Y or relative Objects or elements that belong to X and not X = { 2, 5, 7, 10 }
X\Y complement to Y. Y = { 3, 5, 7, 8, 10 }
X–Y={2}
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Set Theory
Sets are represented as a collection of well-defined objects or elements.
A set is usually represented by the capital letter
The elements that make up a set can be any kind of mathematical objects: numbers, symbols,
points in space, lines, other geometrical shapes, variables, or even other sets.
The set with no element is the empty set; a set with a single element is a singleton. A set may
have a finite number of elements or be an infinite set. Two sets are equal if and only if they
have precisely the same elements.
The cardinality of a set is a measure of a set's size, meaning the number of elements in the set.
Empty set is a set which does not contain any element. it is also called null set or void set.
E = { } or
Singleton set is a set which contains a single element.
F = { x/x is a two-digit prime between 90 and 100}
Therefore: F = { 97 }
Finite set is a set which consists of a definite number of elements
N = { set of natural numbers less than 10}
N = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 }
Infinite set is a set which is not finite or does not contain a definite number of elements.
W = {set of whole numbers}
W = { 0, 1, 2, 3, … }
TYPE OF SETS
Equal Set
Two sets are said to be equal if they have exactly the same elements.
C = { r, a, t, s } and D = { s, t, a, r }
C=D
Equivalent Set
Two sets are equivalent if the have the same number of elements or if they have the same
cardinality.
V = { vowels of an English Alphabet } V = { a, e, i, o, u }
W = { whole numbers greater than 0 but less than 6 } W = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 }
n(V) = n(W)
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Joint Sets
Two sets are said to be joint if they contain common elements.
A = { a, b, c } and B = { c, d, e }
A B
Disjoint Sets
Two sets are said to be disjoint if they do not contain any common elements.
C = { 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 } and D = { 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 }
C D
Sets in statement form, roster form and set-builder form.
Examples
1. V = { vowels of the alphabet} statement form
V = { a, e, i, o, u } roster form
V = {x/x is a vowel of an English Alphabet} set-builder form
2. S = { whole numbers between 2 and 7 } statement form
S = { 3, 4, 5, 6 } roster form
S = {x/x is a whole number between 2 and 7} set-builder form
Exercises
1-3. Given: V = { x/x is a vowel of an alphabet } 4-5. If Q = { 2, 3, 7 } and R = { first 3
prime numbers}.
“ set V is the set of all x’s such that x is a vowel of an alphabet
4. Is Q = R ?
1. What is the cardinality of the of set V or n(V) ?
2. Is e V? 5. Is n(Q) = n(R) ?
3. Is k V?
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List down the elements of each set.
6. A = { vowels in the word Mathematics}
7. P = { x/x is a prime number less than 20}
8. E = { x/x is an integer between ¼ and ½ }
9. X = { basic mathematics operations symbols }
10. W = { x/x is a whole number }
Describe the following sets using set-builder.
11. M = { 3, 6, 9, 12}
12. C = { 1, 2, 3, …}
13. T = {red, blue, yellow}
14. N = { -5, -4, - 3 }
15. W = {23, 29}
A. Tell whether the given pair of sets is equal, equivalent, or neither.
1. A = { 1, 4, 3 } , B = { I, love, you }
2. C = { r, a, m, s, } , D = { m, a, r, s }
3. E = {multiples of 5 between 5 and 25} , F = { 10, 15, 20}
4. G = { lady presidents of the Philippines}, H = {Pia Wurtzbach, Catriona Gray}
5. P = { Saturn, Venus , Mars}, Q = { #, &, %, @}
B. Tell whether the given set is finite, infinite, or empty.
6. P = {planets in the Solar System} 9. G = { x/x is a negative number less than - 10}
7. S = { stars in the sky } 10. K = { even number prime greater than 5}
8. E = { x/x is a positive integer less than 20 }
C. List down the elements of the following sets using roster method.
11. P = {multiples of 9 from 18 to 81}
12. I = { x/x is an integer between -3 and 3}
13. X = {Filipino gold medallist in the Olympics}
D. Describe the following sets using set-builder
14. G = { green, orange, violet} 15. Q = { 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 }
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Universal Set, Subset, and Power Set
Universal Set
This is the set which is the base for every other set formed. Depending upon the context, the universal
set is decided. It may be a finite or infinite set. All the other sets are the subsets of the Universal set. It is
represented by U.
Example: U = { first 10 whole numbers}
U = { 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}
Subset
Subset is a part of a larger group of related things.
A = { 2, 5, 6, 8, 9}
B = { 2, 6, 9}
We can say that B is a subset of A or in symbols B A.
Power set
A power set is defined as the set or group of all subsets for any given set, including the empty set.
What are the subsets of B = { 2, 6, 9 } ?
How many subsets does set B have ?
Assignment
A. What are the subsets of the following sets below?
1. X = { a, c }
2. Y = { }
B. Find the number of subsets or the power set of each set.
3. P = { vowels of the English Alphabet}
4. M = { 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15}
C. If a set Q has 1024 subsets, how many elements does it contain?
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SET OPERATIONS
Union of Sets
The union of sets contains all elements of the given sets.
Given: A = { 2, 5, 7, 8 } and B = { 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 }, then the union of set A and set B which is denoted by A B
A B = { 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 }
Intersection of Sets
The intersection of sets contains only the common elements of the given sets. With the same given
above, the intersection of set A and set B which denoted by A B.
A B = { 5, 8 }
Take note that the union and intersection of sets are COMMUTATIVE.
It means that A B=B and A B=B
Set Difference
The difference between sets A and B denoted by A-B or A\B is the list of all elements that are in set A
but not in set B.
Given: Let’s try this!
A = { 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 } and B = { 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10} X = { a, c, e, f, g, k } and Y = { a, b, d, f, g, h, k, }
A – B = { 1, 3 } X–Y= { }
B – A = { 2, 9, 10 } Y–X= { }
Set Complement
The complement of a set denoted as or ( read as A complement) is defined as the set of all
elements in the given universal set ( U ) the are not present in set A
U = { x/x is a natural number less than 11}
U = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 }
A = { 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 } A’ = { }
B = { 2, 6, 8, 9, 10 } B’ = { }
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Cartesian Product of Sets
Cartesian product of sets: If A and B are two non-empty sets, then their Cartesian product A x B is the
set of all ordered pairs of elements from A and B. A x B = { (x, y) : x A, y B}.
Suppose A and B are two non-empty sets, then the Cartesian product of two sets A and B is the set of all
ordered pairs (a, b) such that a A and b B which is denoted by A x B.
A = { 3, 5 } and B = { 2, 4, 8 }
A x B = { (3, 2), (3, 4), (3, 8), (5, 2), (5, 4), (5, 8) }
Try this!
Venn Diagram
What is a Venn Diagram?
Venn diagram is an illustration that uses circles to show the relationships among things or finite groups
of things. Circles that overlap have a commonality while circles that do not overlap do not share those
traits.
A = { a, b, c } and B = { c, d, e }
A B = { a, b, c, d, e } A B={c} A B = { a, b }
A B A B A B
