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Exercise 1.1 · Q2

Q.Write the set {−1, 1}\{-1,\ 1\} in set builder form.

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Concept understanding — Sets and Set Operations

A set is a well-defined, distinguishable collection of objects -- given any object, we must be able to decide for certain whether it belongs. "Beautiful flowers" is not well-defined (beauty is subjective); "red flowers in a named garden" is.

Subsets. A⊆BA\subseteq B means every element of AA lies in BB. Mutual inclusion (A⊆BA\subseteq B and B⊆AB\subseteq A) forces A=BA=B. For any AA: ∅⊆A\varnothing\subseteq A and A⊆AA\subseteq A are its trivial subsets (the second makes AA its own improper subset); A⊊BA\subsetneq B ("proper subset") additionally requires A≠BA\ne B, i.e. BB has at least one extra element. The number-system chain is N⊂W⊂Z⊂Q⊂RN\subset W\subset Z\subset Q\subset R.

A set can even be an element of another set: if A={1,2}A=\{1,2\} and B={1,{1,2},3,4}B=\{1,\{1,2\},3,4\}, then A∈BA\in B, since the single object {1,2}\{1,2\} is literally listed as one of BB's four members. (This does not automatically make A⊆BA\subseteq B -- here it does not, since 2∉B2\notin B as an individual element.)

Union, intersection, complement, difference. For a fixed universal set UU:

A∪B={x:x∈A or x∈B},A∩B={x:x∈A and x∈B},A′={x∈U:x∉A},A\cup B=\{x:x\in A\text{ or }x\in B\},\quad A\cap B=\{x:x\in A\text{ and }x\in B\},\quad A'=\{x\in U:x\notin A\},

A−B={a∈A:a∉B},A Δ B=(A−B)∪(B−A)=(A∪B)−(A∩B) (symmetric difference).A-B=\{a\in A:a\notin B\},\qquad A\,\Delta\,B=(A-B)\cup(B-A)=(A\cup B)-(A\cap B)\ \text{(symmetric difference)}.

A,BA,B are disjoint if A∩B=∅A\cap B=\varnothing. Indexed forms ⋃i=1nAi, ⋂i=1nAi\bigcup_{i=1}^nA_i,\ \bigcap_{i=1}^nA_i extend union/intersection to many sets at once.

Power set. P(A)={B:B⊆A}P(A)=\{B:B\subseteq A\}, the set of all subsets of AA; if n(A)=nn(A)=n, then n(P(A))=2nn(P(A))=2^n (each of the nn elements is independently in or out of a candidate subset).

Algebraic laws. Commutative, associative and distributive laws hold for ∪,∩\cup,\cap exactly as +,×+,\times do for numbers; identity laws A∪∅=A, A∩U=AA\cup\varnothing=A,\ A\cap U=A; idempotent A∪A=A∩A=AA\cup A=A\cap A=A; absorption A∪(A∩B)=A∩(A∪B)=AA\cup(A\cap B)=A\cap(A\cup B)=A. De Morgan's laws (A∪B)′=A′∩B′(A\cup B)'=A'\cap B' and (A∩B)′=A′∪B′(A\cap B)'=A'\cup B' (and their set-difference forms) let a complement/difference of a compound set be rewritten in terms of the complements/differences of its pieces -- indispensable for simplifying set expressions.

Cardinality (inclusion-exclusion). n(A∪B)=n(A)+n(B)−n(A∩B)n(A\cup B)=n(A)+n(B)-n(A\cap B); for disjoint sets, n(A∪B)=n(A)+n(B)n(A\cup B)=n(A)+n(B); for three sets, n(A∪B∪C)=n(A)+n(B)+n(C)−n(A∩B)−n(A∩C)−n(B∩C)+n(A∩B∩C)n(A\cup B\cup C)=n(A)+n(B)+n(C)-n(A\cap B)-n(A\cap C)-n(B\cap C)+n(A\cap B\cap C). This formula is the workhorse behind every "how many people study at least one of two/three subjects" word problem: total counts minus double-counted overlaps, plus back the triple-counted centre.

Finite vs. infinite, singleton. n(X)=kn(X)=k (finite) if XX has exactly kk elements for some whole number kk; otherwise XX is infinite. n(A)=1n(A)=1 makes AA a singleton; note n(∅)=0n(\varnothing)=0 but n({∅})=1n(\{\varnothing\})=1 -- a set containing the empty set as its one member is not itself empty.

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