Q.If A={1,2} and B={3,4,5}, find A×B and n(A×B).
Concept understanding — Cartesian Product of Sets
The Cartesian product of two non-empty sets A and B, written A×B, is the set of ALL possible ordered pairs (a,b) with the first component drawn from A and the second from B: A×B = {(a,b) / a∈A, b∈B}. If either set is empty, the product is empty (there's nothing to pair). For finite sets, the SIZE of the product is simply the product of the individual sizes: n(A×B) = n(A)×n(B) — every element of A can be paired with every element of B, independently. Crucially, A×B and B×A are generally DIFFERENT sets (even though they always have the same number of elements) — since order matters in an ordered pair, (a,b)∈A×B does not put (a,b) in B×A unless a happens to also be in B and b happens to also be in A. The product of a set with itself, A×A (also written A²), gives all ordered pairs drawn from A alone; extending to three copies, A×A×A (or A³), gives ordered TRIPLETS, with n(A³) = [n(A)]³, and this generalises to n(A repeated r times) = n(A)^r. The Cartesian product is the essential 'universe' from which any relation between A and B is drawn — every relation from A to B is, by definition, some subset of A×B.
List every ordered pair with the first entry from A and the second from B; the count is n(A)×n(B).
A×B={(1,3),(1,4),(1,5),(2,3),(2,4),(2,5)}, n(A×B)=6
Step 1: A×B={(a,b):a∈A,b∈B}, so pair every element of A={1,2} with every element of B={3,4,5}.
Step 2: Taking a=1: (1,3),(1,4),(1,5). Taking a=2: (2,3),(2,4),(2,5).
Step 3: n(A×B)=n(A)×n(B)=2×3=6, matching the 6 pairs listed.
A×B={(1,3),(1,4),(1,5),(2,3),(2,4),(2,5)}, n(A×B)=6
Systematically pair each element of A, in turn, with every element of B, then check the count against n(A)×n(B).
- Missing a pair by not cycling through every element of B for each element of A.
- Writing a pair in the wrong order, e.g. (3,1) instead of (1,3).
- CA Foundation 2026Set jan-20261 markMCQQ.If A={2, 3}, B={4, 5} and C={5, 6} then the A×(B∩C) is (A) {(3, 5), (2, 6)} (B) {(2, 4), (5, 3)} (C) {(5, 2), (5, 3)} (D) {(2, 5), (3, 5)}
›Reveal solutionSolution
B∩C={5}, so A×{5}={(2,5),(3,5)}.
Step 1 — Intersection B∩C
Keep only the elements common to both sets:
B∩C={4,5}∩{5,6}={5}.
Step 2 — Cartesian product A×(B∩C)
Pair each element of A={2,3} with each element of {5}, writing each ordered pair as (element from A, element from B∩C):
A×{5}={(2,5), (3,5)}.
Watch outOrder matters in an ordered pair. The first coordinate must come from A and the second from B∩C — a pair like (5,2) (option C) reverses this and is wrong. Also compute the intersection before the product, not after.
TipWhen one of the sets in a Cartesian product has just a single element, the product simply "attaches" that element to each member of the other set — no need to enumerate a full grid.
✓Final answer(D) {(2, 5), (3, 5)}
- CA Foundation 2025Set jan-20251 markMCQQ.A={a,b,p}, B={2,3}, C={p,q,r,s} then n[(A∪C)×B] is : (A) 8 (B) 20 (C) 12 (D) 16
›Reveal solutionSolution
n(A∪C)=6, n(B)=2, so n[(A∪C)×B]=6×2=12.
Step 1 — Form the union
A∪C={a,b,p}∪{p,q,r,s}={a,b,p,q,r,s}
The element p is common and counted only once, so n(A∪C)=6.
Step 2 — Note the size of B
B={2,3}⇒n(B)=2
Step 3 — Cardinality of the Cartesian product
n(X×Y)=n(X)×n(Y)=6×2=12
Why the other options are wrong: (D) 16 counts p twice (7×2-ish slip) or mis-sizes a set; (A) 8 uses n(A)=4?; (B) 20 mishandles the union.
Watch outIn the union, count the shared element p only ONCE — n(A∪C)=6, not 7.
Tipn(A∪C)=n(A)+n(C)−n(A∩C)=3+4−1=6 if you prefer the inclusion–exclusion route.
✓Final answer(C) 12
- CA Foundation 2023Set jun-20231 markMCQQ.If A={a,b,c},B={b,c,d} and C={a,d,c}, then (A−B)×(B∩C) is equal to: (A) {(a,d),(c,d)} (B) {(a,c),(a,d)} (C) {(c,a),(d,a)} (D) {(a,c),(a,d),(b,d)}
›Reveal solutionSolution
A − B = {a}, B ∩ C = {c, d}, so {a} × {c, d} = {(a, c), (a, d)}.
Step 1 — Set difference
A = {a, b, c}, B = {b, c, d}: elements of A not in B ⇒ A − B = {a}.
Step 2 — Intersection
B = {b, c, d}, C = {a, d, c}: common elements ⇒ B ∩ C = {c, d}.
Step 3 — Cartesian product
{a}×{c,d}={(a,c),(a,d)}
Watch outOrdered pairs: the first coordinate must come from A − B, so (c, a) and (d, a) are wrong.
Tip|A − B| × |B ∩ C| = 1 × 2 = 2 pairs — a quick count of how many pairs to expect.
✓Final answer(B) {(a,c),(a,d)}
NoteThis answer is verified — independently worked and reviewed by our experienced subject lecturers before we published it.
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