Mathematics

For

Class 6
 SETS
Student Learning Outcomes
After studying this unit, students will be able to:
• Define set. Recognize notation of a set and its objects/elements.
• Describe tabular form of a set and demonstrate through examples.
• Define:
 a finite and infinite sets,
 a empty / void / null set,
 a singleton,
 a equal and equivalent sets,
 a subset and superset of a set,
 a proper and improper subsets of a set, and demonstrate through examples.

1.1 Introduction

The term “set” is well known to us. For example , dinner

The basic ideas of set theory were
set, set of natural numbers, set of first 10 odd natural developed by the German
numbers etc. mathematician Georg Cantor
(1845-1918).
As a modern concept set has versatile use. A set is simply
a well organized object of real world.

Thus we can define a set as:

“A set is a collection of well defined objects. ”

The objects of a set are called elements or members of the

set.

• Well-defined
Well-defined means a specific property of an object that
enables it to be an element of a set or not. To make it clear
George Cantor
consider the following examples of collections.
(i) The collection of good books.
(ii) The collection of tasty biscuits.
(iii) The collection of favourite stories.
In the above examples, we can examine that the words good, tasty and favourite are not well-
defined because a biscuits may be favourite of one person but may not be for another. Similarly,
a book may be good in view of one person but may not be for another. So, these are not suitable
examples of sets as these are not well defined.
5 Distinct means the same objects should not appear more than once.
For example the set of letters of the word “sell” is {s , e , l , l }.
In this example
We can see that the letter ‘l’ has been written only once. If it is written twice then it is not a set.
1.1.1 Set Notations
Sets are usually denoted by the Capital letter of English alphabet like A, B, C, ... , Z and its
members or elements are written within brackets { } separated by commas , .
e.g. Set of pets: A={cow, horse, goat...}
Symbolically, we can write the members of the set A as, cow  A is read as cow is an element
of the set A goat  A is read as goat is an element of the set A and so on. Now tell whether a
tree is the element of the set A. No! A tree is not an element of the set A. So, we can write this
statement symbolically as: tree d A is read as tree is not the element of the set A.
The symbol  is a Greek letter which is used to tell that an object “is an element of” or “belongs
to” or “is a member of” a set and the symbol d means “does not belong to” or “is not the element
of” the set.
Some important sets are given below:
• N = Set of natural numbers
• E = Set of even numbers
• O = Set of odd numbers
• W = Set of whole numbers
• P = Set of prime numbers
Example 1: Write the elements of the following sets.
A = {1,2,3,4,5}
B = {r,x,O}
C = {Lahore, Karachi, Sialkot, Islamabad, Faisalabad }
Solution:
• The elements of the set A are 1,2,3,4 and 5.
We can write them as,
2 A
3A
1A
4  A and
5 A
• The elements of the set B are r, x and O .
We can write them as, rd B x d B and O d B
• The elements of the set C are Lahore, Karachi, Sialkot, Islamabad and Faisalabad.
We can write them as, Lahore d C Karachi d C Sialkot d C Islamabad d C and Faisalabad d C
Example 2:
Whether the following are sets or not.
A = {1,2,3,4}, B = {1,2,2,3}, C = {k,i,n,g} , D = {b,a,1,1}
E = The set of brave boys and F = The set of Pakistani singers
Solution:
(i) A , C and F are sets because all their objects are distinct and well-defined.
(ii) B and D are not sets because their objects are not distinct.
(iii) E is not a set because its objects are not well-defined.
EXERCISE 1.1
1. Which of the following statement is a set or not?
(i) The five provinces of Pakistan. (ii) The difficult questions of a test.
(iii) The geometrical instruments. (iv) The naughty boys of the street.
(v) The capital letters of the English alphabet. (vi) The players of Pakistan cricket team.
(vii) The whole numbers less than 9.
2. If A = {a,e,i,o,u} and B = {a,b,c,...,z} then, which of the following statements are true or
false.
(i) a  A (ii) b  A (iii) d  A (iv) e  B
(v) i  B (vi) i  A (vii) f  A (viii) v  A
(ix) x  A (x) z  B (xi) m  B (xii) a  B
3. Fill in the blanks by using either of the symbols d and d .
(i) 1 _____{2, 3} (ii) b _____ {a, b, c} (iii) i _____ The set of vowels
(iv) Snake _____ The set of pets (v) 15_____ The set of counting numbers
(vi) 0 _____ The set of whole numbers
(vii) Goal keeper _____ The set of cricket team
(viii) B _____ The set of small letters of the English alphabet
(ix) Note-book _____ The set of articles of a school bag
(x) Lion _____ The set of jungle animals
4. Write the following statements into the symbolic form.
(i) 0 is an element of the set W. (ii) Lahore is a member of the set P.
(iii) 1 is not an element of the set E. (iv) Sindh does not belong to the set B.
(v) Potato is an element of the set V. (vi) o belongs to the set A.
(vii) c is not an element of the set C. (viii) Mango is not the member of the set F.
(ix) 5 is an element of the set N. (x) 4 is not an element of the set O.
5. Which of the following collections are not sets and why?
A = {b,a,n,k} B = {2,4,6,8} C= {0,1,2,0} D = {k,i,l,l,e,r}
E = {l,e,g,a,l} F = {9,3,5,1} G = The set of storybooks.
H = The set of beautiful birds. I = The set of rich people.
J = The set of students in the 7th class. K = The set of fish in the river Ravi.
L = The set of bad students in a school. M = The set of wooden chairs.
6. List the elements of the following sets
(i) The set of five countries. (ii) The set of three games.
(iii) The set of first ten natural numbers. (iv) The set of first eight even numbers.
(v) The set of vowels. (vi) The set of last four months.
(vii) The set of seven days of the week. (viii) The set of the colours of Pakistan’s flag.
(ix) The set of the five rivers of the Punjab. (x) The set of three Islamic months.
1.1.2 Describing a Set
• Descriptive form
In descriptive form, we describe the property of a set by a statement as given in the following
examples.
A = The set of English books in the library.
B = The set of counting or natural numbers.
C = The set of animals in the zoo.
• Tabular form
In tabular form, we list all elements within the brackets { } and separate each element by using a
comma “ , ” . The elements of a set can be listed as:
(i) For a less number of elements: A = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9}
(ii) For a more but limited number of elements: B = {1,2,3,...,500}
(iii) For an un-limited number of elements. C = {1,2,3, ...} Note: Tabular form of a set is also
known as roster form.
Example 1: Write the following sets into tabular form.
(i) A =The set of vowels of the English alphabet
(ii) B = The set of all games
(iii) C =The set of years of the 21st century
Solution:
(i) A = {a,e,i,o,u}
(ii) B = {hockey, football, cricket, ...}
(iii) C = {2001, 2002, 2003,...,2100}
EXERCISE 1.2
1. Write the following sets into the descriptive form.
A = {1,2,3,4,5,6} B = {0,1,2,...,99}
C = {cricket, football, hockey, tennis} E = {2,4,6,...}
F = {potato, ladyfinger, carrot, brinjal} N = {1,2,3,...}
O = {1,3,5,...} W = { 0, 1,2,3,...}
X = {father, mother, brother, sister}
2. Write the following sets into the tabular form.
A = The set of names of 3 boys whose names start with letter “B”.
B = The set of names of 3 girls whose names start with letter “I”.
C = The set of 4 domestic animals.
D = The set of 5 birds.
E = The set of 3 prime ministers of Pakistan.
F = The set of 5 famous cities of Pakistan.
G = The set of letters of the word banana.
I = The set of vowels of the word naughty.
J = The set of years greater than 2006 and less than 2009.
K = The set of 3 bakery items.
1.2 Types of Sets
There are three types of sets
(i) Finite sets (ii) Infinite sets (iii) Empty sets
1.2.1 Finite and Infinite Sets
• Finite Set
“A set having a limited number of elements is called a finite set.”
Consider the following examples of sets.
A = The set of natural numbers less than 10
B = The set of vowels in the English alphabet
We can examine that it is very easy to count the elements of above two sets A and B. So, the set
A and the set B are finite sets. Now we consider some more examples of sets which are given
below,
C = The set of population of Pakistan
D = The set of the hair of your head Video
1.1: Subset and Super Set
11 Can we count the elements of the set C and D? Certainly, it is not an easy task, but sooner or
later we can count the elements of these sets too. So, these are also finite sets.
• Infinite Set
A set having unlimited number of elements is called an infinite set.
For example,
(i) The set of counting numbers: N = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,...}
(ii) The set of odd numbers: O = { 1, 3, 5, 7, 9,...}
(iii) The set of whole numbers: W = { 0, 1, 2, 3, 4,...}
(i), (ii) and (iii) are examples of infinite sets because these sets have unlimited number of
elements. It is possible to find the last element or member of a finite set. But it is impossible to
find the last element or member of an infinite set.
Example 2:
Separate the finite and infinite sets.
(i) The set of departmental store items (ii) The set of the English alphabet.
(iii) {2,4,6,8,...} (iv) {0,1,2,3,...}
Solution:
(i) and (ii) have limited number of elements. So, these are the examples of finite sets. (iii) and
(iv) have an unlimited number of elements. So, these are the examples of infinite sets.
1.2.2 Empty Set / Null Set
Everyone understands very well the meaning of the word empty. It means containing nothing, in
the same sense we use it for set. We make it clear with examples. When there is nothing in my
pocket, it means my pocket is empty and if there is no any water in a glass, we say that the glass
is empty. Similarly, when there is no element in a set, it means the set is empty. We can define it
as, “A set having no element is known as an empty set or null set”. An empty set is denoted by
the Greek letter f, which is called phi or simply can be denoted as { }.
Following are some examples of empty set.
(i) The set of 100 feet tall boys. (ii) The set of days of 25 hours.
(iii) The set of horns of an ass. (iv) The set of counting numbers between 1 and 2.
We can observe that while writing the elements of above examples of set, we are not able to
write a single element of any set, so these are empty sets.
1.2.3 Singleton Set
A set having a single element is called a singleton set. For example: {a}, {b},{1/2}, etc. are
singleton sets.
1.2.4 Equal and Equivalent Sets
From the previous classes, we are familiar with the concept of one-to-one correspondence. Here
we use the same concept to define the equivalent and nonequivalent sets.
Suppose, A= {1 ,2 ,3 ,4} and B = {a, b, c, d} are any two sets, now we can check, whether the
two sets A and B are establishing one-to-one correspondence or not by the following way.
We can examine that corresponding to each element of set A, there is an element of set B. It
means two sets are establishing one-to-one correspondence, which can be written as A n B. Such
types of sets are called equivalent sets. “Two sets are called equivalent if and only if one-to-one
correspondence can be established between them”. Again consider two sets C = {1,3,5,7 },
D = { a,e,i,o,u }. We try to establish one- to-one correspondence between them as given below.
From above, we can notice that corresponding to the element u of set D, there is no element of
set C. It means two sets are not establishing the one-to-one correspondence which can be
represented as such types of sets are called non-equivalent sets. “Two sets are called non
equivalent if one-to-one correspondence cannot be established between them”.
Example 1: If, A= {2,4,6,8} and B={1,3,5,7,9}. Are these sets equivalent or not?
Solution:
It is impossible to establish the one-to-one correspondence between sets A and B. So set A and
set B are not equivalent sets.
• Equal Sets
Suppose, set P and set Q are any two sets i.e. P = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} and Q = {3, 1, 5, 2, 4} From
above, we can examine that each element of the set P is also an element of the set Q. Similarly,
each element of set Q is also an element of the set P. Such types of sets are called equal sets
which can be written as; P = Q
1.2.5 Subset and Superset of a Set
• Sub Set
If each element of a set A is also an element of a set B then the set A is called the subset of the
set B which is denoted by the symbol  , e.g. A ={2, 4, 6, 8, 10} B = (1,2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}
In above example, we can observe that each element of the set A is also an element of set B. So,
A  B that can be read as “set A is a subset of set B”. Every set is also a subset of itself, e.g.
A  A and B  B.
• Super Set
If A f B, then the set B is called the super set of set A. i.e.B g A that can be read as “the set B is
the super set of set A”.
1.2.6 Proper and Improper Subset of a Set
A = The set of natural numbers less than ten B = The set of first nine natural numbers
From above it can be seen that the set A consisting of all the elements of set B, i.e, A = B.
Hence, set A is called the improper subset of set B, we write it as A  B. Now we examine
another example which is given below. A= {a, o, u} B = {a,e,i,o,u} In this example, we can see
that all elements of the set A are also the elements of the set B but two elements of set B are not
the elements of the set A. Here set A is called the proper subset of set B, we write it as A f B.

EXERCISE 1.3
1. Which of the following set is the empty set?
(i) The set of whole numbers less than 1 (ii) The set of the English alphabet between u and v
(iii) The set of vowels other than a and o (iv) The set of natural numbers less than 1
(v) The set of even numbers which are called odd numbers
2. Separate the finite and infinite set from the following.
A = {letters of the word “halla gulla”} B = The set of natural numbers
C = {number of days in a year} D = {Islamic months} E = {3,6,9,...}
F = {c,f, i, m, o, r, u} G = {1/2, 2/4, 3/6,...}
3. Find that the following pairs of sets are equivalent or nonequivalent.
(i) A = {1,2}, B = {1,3,7} (ii) A = {a,b), B = {x,y}
(iii) A = {-2,-1,0,1}, B = {3,5,7,8} (iv) A = {0,1,2,3,4}, B = {1,2,3,4,5}
(v) A = {a,e,i,o,u}, B = {I, m, n, o}
(vi) A = The set of 4 natural numbers, B =The set of 3 wild animals
(vii) A =The set of 5 rivers of Punjab, B =The set of colours in Pakistan’s flag.
4. Which of the following pairs of sets are equal sets?
(i) A = {a, b, c, d, e}, B = {b, a, e, d, c}
(ii) A = {1,2,3,4,5}, B = {1+0, 1+1, 1+2, 1+3, 1+4}
(iii) A = {0, 1, 2, 3,4}, B = {6-2, 5-1, 4-2, 3-1, 2-2}
(iv) A = The set of even numbers less than 9, B= {0,2,4, 6,8}
5. If, A = {a, b, c}, B = {b, c, d}, C = {c, d, e} and D = {a, b, c, d} then Which of the following
statements are true?
(i) A  B (ii) B  D (iii) C  D (iv) A  D (v) B  C (vi) C  A
SUMMARY
• A collection of distinct and well-defined objects is called a set.
• Distinct means the same element should not appear more than once.
• If set A is subset of set B and set B is not subset of set A, then set A is called proper subset of
set B.
• If two sets are equal, then they are improper subsets of each other.
• A set having limited number of elements is called a finite set and a set having unlimited
number of elements is called an infinite set.
• Two sets are called equivalent if and only if one-to-one correspondence can be established
between them.
• Two sets with same elements are called equal sets.
• A set having a single element is called a singleton set.
• A set having no element is called an empty set. 1
• The method of establishing one to one correspondence between two sets helps us to find out
whether the sets are equivalent or non-equivalent.
• If each element of a set A is also an element of a set B then the set A is called the subset of the
set B and set B is called the super set of the set A.
REVIEW EXERCISE 1

1. List the elements of following sets.

(i) The set of first four months, (ii) The set of last six capital letters
(iii) The set of five odd numbers (iv) The set of four colours.
(v) The set of three planets in the solar system.

2. Write the reason why following collections are not sets.

(i) {1,1,2,2,3,3} (ii) {b,o,o,k}
(iii) {r,m, r, x,} (iv) The collection of dirty clothes.
(v) The collection of fat boys in a school.

3. Write following sets into the tabular form.

(i) The set of five even numbers.
(ii) The set of numbers less than 23 and greater than 17.
(iii) The set of letters of the word ORANGE. (iv) The set of whole numbers less than 5.

4. Separate finite, infinite and empty sets.

(i) A = The set of rivers in Pakistan (ii) B = The set of all natural numbers
(iii) C = The set of number of people on the moon

5. Separate equivalent and non-equivalent pair of sets.

(i) A = {1,3,5}, B = {2,4,6}
(ii) C = {k,i,n,g}, D = {a,l,m}
(iii) E = The set of 5 whole numbers, F =The set of vowels in English alphabet
(iv) G = The set of days of a week, H =The set of counting numbers less than 7

6. Fill in the blanks in following pairs of sets to make them equal.

(i) A = {e,a,r,t,h}, B = {t,___,r,h, ___}
(ii) A = {0,2,4}, B = { __ ,__ ,0 }
(iii) A = {apple, mango, orange}, B = {orange’ ___ ,___}
OBJECTIVE EXERCISE 1
1. Answer the following questions.
(i) Define a set. (ii) What is meant by the symbol d.
(iii) Name two forms for describing a set. (iv) What is meant by the word distinct in a set?
(v) If X = {a, b, c} and Y = {c, a, b}. Are these sets equal or not?
2. Fill in the blank.
(i) One-to-one correspondence cannot be established between _________sets.
(ii) _________ means a specific property of an object that enables it to be an element of a set or
not.
(iii) The symbol________ means does not belong to the set.
(iv) ________ set is also known as null set.
(v) The symbol is used for two_________ sets.
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