1.
1 Introduction
If you want to prepare a cake, you need flour, eggs, margarine, baking powder and sugar.
When you buy these ingredients in a shop, you probably do not buy them one at a time. It
is easier and cheaper to buy them in a set. We often use the word ‘set’ to describe a
collection of objects, quantities or numbers. We have a set of living room furniture: what
does it contain? We speak of cutlery set, a math set, the set of students under 14 in your
class and so on. Can you think of anymore?
A set is usually denoted by capital letters such as A, B, P, Q, X and Y. The objects that
make up a set are called members or elements of the set. The elements of a set may be
named in a list or may be given by a description enclosed in braces { }. For instance, the
set of numbers between 1 and 6 may be given as
{2,3,4,5}
or as {the numbers between 1
and 6}.
For example, in the set Q = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}, 4 is a member or element of the set Q. In
set operations, the symbol is used to denote the phrase ‘is a member of’ or ‘is an
element of’ or ‘belongs to’. So the statement ‘4 is a member of Q’ can be written as 4
Q. Can you name the other elements of the set Q? Similarly the statement ‘5 is not a
member of Q’ may be abbreviated to
Q5
, standing for ‘is not an element of’ or
‘does not belong to.’
Example 1.1
If P = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10} and Q = {3, 5, 7, 9}, complete the following statements by inserting
, , P, Q or elements of the sets P and Q
(a) 4 … P (b) 6 … (c) 2 … (d) 8 … Q (e) … P
(f) 10 … Q (g) 5 … (h) 7 … (i) 7 … P (j) … Q.
The following are some few definitions that will enable us to define the elements of sets
in problems.
1. An odd number is a number which when divided by two (2) leaves a remainder of
one (1).
Example: … –5, –3, –1, 1, 3, 5 …
2. An even number is a number which leaves no remainder when it is divided by two
(2). Example: … –6, –4, –2, 0, 2, 4, 6 …
3. An integer x is said to be a factor of another integer y if x can divide y without
leaving any remainder. Example: The set factors of 48 = {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, 48}
4. A prime number is any positive number that is exactly divisible only by itself
and one. Example: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, etc.
5. The prime factors of a number n refer to the factors of n that are prime numbers.
Example: The set of prime factors of 36 = {2, 3}
6. Multiple of a number x refers to any number formed when x is multiplied by any
integer. Example: Multiples of 3 are 3, 6, 9, 12, 16, etc.
1.1.1 Set-builder notation
We can describe a set by using some of the above definitions or properties. For example
the set P of even numbers between 1 and 20 can be written in the following two ways
(1) P = {even numbers between 1 and 20}
(2) P = {2, 4, 6, …, 18}
The set P can also be described using a notation or symbol such as ‘x’ to represent any
member of the set of even numbers between 1 and 20. Thus we can write P as follows:
P = {x: x is an even number, and 1 < x < 20}
In the above expression for P, the colon ‘:’ means ‘such that’, and is followed by the
property that x is an even number between 1 and 20. The set Q of integers greater than
100 can be written as
Q = {x : x is an integer, and x > 100}
The set R of regions in Ghana can also be written as
R = {x : x is a region in Ghana}
Other letters such as y and z can also be used as notations for representing sets.
Example 1.2
Use set builder notation to describe the following:
(a) The set of odd numbers greater than 30,
(b) The set of prime numbers greater than 2 but less than 24,
(c) The set of triangles,
(d) The set of positive integers less than 100,
(e) The set of rivers in Ghana.
Solution
(a) {x : x is an odd number, and x > 30} (b) {x : x is a prime number, and 2 < x < 24}
(c) {x : x is a triangle} (d) {x : x is a positive integer, x < 10
