5.1. Set Theory and Venn Diagrams
Set Theory
In this section, we will familiarize ourselves with set operations and notations, so that we can apply these concepts to both counting and probability problems. We begin by defining some terms.
A set is a collection of objects, and its members are called the elements of the set. We name the set by using capital letters, and enclose its members in curly brackets. Suppose we need to list the members of the chess club. We use the following set notation.
C ={Ken, Bob, Tran, Shanti, Eric}
A set that has no members is called an empty set. The empty set is denoted by the symbol Ø.
Two sets are equal if they have the same elements.
A set A is a subset of a set B if every member of A is also a member of B.
Suppose C = {Al, Bob, Chris, David, Ed} and A = {Bob, David}. Then A is a subset of C, written as .
Every set is a subset of itself, and the empty set is a subset of every set.
Union Of Two Sets
Let A and B be two sets, then the union of A and B, written as , is the set of all elements that are either in A or in B, or in both A and B.
Intersection Of Two Sets
Let A and B be two sets, then the intersection of A and B, written as , is the set of all elements that are common to both sets A and B.
A universal set U is the set consisting of all elements under consideration.
Complement of a Set
Let A be any set, then the complement of set A, written as , is the set consisting of elements in the universal set U that are not in A.
Disjoint Sets
Two sets A and B are called disjoint sets if their intersection is an empty set.
Example 5.1.1
Example 5.1.2
Example 5.1.3
Example 5.1.4
To achieve a better understanding, let us suppose that the universal set U represents the colors of the spectrum, and P the primary colors, then represents those colors of the spectrum that are not primary colors.
Example 5.1.5
Venn Diagrams
We now use Venn diagrams to illustrate the relationships between sets. In the late 1800’s, an English logician named John Venn developed a method to represent relationship between sets. He represented these relationships using diagrams, which are now known as Venn diagrams. A Venn diagram represents a set as the interior of a circle. Often two or more circles are enclosed in a rectangle where the rectangle represents the universal set. To visualize an intersection or union of a set is easy. In this section, we will mainly use Venn diagrams to sort various populations and count objects.
Example 5.1.6
|
(a) |
(b) |
(c) |
Because 30 people drove cars with automatic transmissions, the circle A must contain 30 elements. This means x + 12 = 30, or x = 18. Similarly, since 20 people drove cars with standard transmissions, the circle B must contain 20 elements, or y +12 = 20 which in turn makes y = 8.
Now that all the information is sorted out, it is easy to read from the diagram that 18 people drove cars with automatic transmissions only, 12 people drove both types of cars, and 8 drove cars with standard transmi