ONCE-CS Course on

Mathematics for the Science of Complex Systems

presented by

The Open University and The University of Bucharest

17th May 2007

Session 1. Set theory in the science of complex systems.

Prepared for the course team by Jeffrey Johnson

Contents

1.1 Getting going. ......................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Sets and elements.......................................................................................2
1.3 An introduction to mathematical notation ....................................................3
1.4 The basic concepts and notation of set theory ............................................4
1.5 Representing sets and set operations by diagrams.....................................6
1.7 Subscripts and indexed sets........................................................................7
1.8 Classes of sets and the power set...............................................................8
1.9 Product sets ................................................................................................8
1.10 Theorems and chains of reasoning ...........................................................9
1.11 Multiple choice questions ........................................................................11
1.12 Conclusion to Session 1 ..........................................................................14
Answers to the SAQs ......................................................................................15

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1.1 Getting going.

Sets are fundamental in mathematics. They are the basic building blocks of just about everything.
Sets are intimately tied up with logic, and therefore their use has a great deal to offer in the
formulation of theories of complex systems. Fortunately, the basic ideas of set theory are very
simple and easy to understand, so let’s get going.

1.2 Sets and elements

Any well-defined collection of objects forms a set. The objects are called elements or members of
the set. Examples of sets include:

the British monarchs since the Norman conquest

the even numbers
people who work for the Treasury
the planets
cells in a body
the letters of the alphabet
the students studying this course

Members of a set may themselves be sets. Sets of sets are often called classes. For example, one
could define a set of sets of people classified by their jobs, ages, incomes, or health.

The notion of being well defined lies at the heart of mathematics and, I think, science. It will be
defined more precisely later in the course. For the moment let us say that a set X is well defined
when for any element x we can decide whether it is a member of X or not. If there exists such a
procedure for deciding membership, then we will say that the set is grounded or effectively
decidable.

As we shall see, this definition needs refining for multi-valued and time-dependent logics. For
example, Prince William does not belong to the set of British Kings, but he may belong to it at
some future date. Most sets have dynamic membership, the exceptions above being the even
numbers and the letters of the alphabet. We can argue whether or not the set of planets is fixed.
Certainly the set of known planets has changed through time. Whether or not this belongs to a
fixed set of planets with members that we don’t yet know about is a matter for speculation.
Indeed, we can hypothesise that there is a universal set of planets that contains all the planets that
we know and all the others yet to be discovered. Then the set of known planets is a ‘subset’ of the
universal set of planets.

SAQs are self-assessed questions, intended to help you learn. The answers are given at the end of
the document.

SAQ 1
(a) Is the set of even numbers grounded?
(b) Is the set of planets grounded?
(c) Is the set of poor people grounded?
■

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1.3 An introduction to mathematical notation
Mathematicians make extensive use of specialised notation – not as a secret language to hide the
obvious, but because using a symbol like = is much less tedious than writing out the word equals
when used many time. Many people are surprised to learn that mathematical notation is a
relatively recent thing. For example, in the passage below, Fermat is using “aeq” because the
modern equals sign, =, had not yet been invented1:
“It was not until the second half of the 16th century that developments occurred in the use of
symbolic notations that could really merit description as the beginnings of algebra. François Viète
(1540-1603) was among the first clearly to be aware of the significance of symbols that
generalise numbers or magnitudes. He introduced the use of a vowel for a quantity assumed to be
unknown or undetermined and consonants for quantities that are assumed to be given. The idea of
‘given’ quantities being represented by a letter is the beginning of the role of modern variables as
‘placeholders’ for values. Thus Boyer remarks “Here we find for the first time in algebra a clear-
cut distinction between the important concept of a parameter and the idea of unknown quantity”2.
In 1636 Fermat (who has studied Viète) was writing equations like
A in E aeq Z pl.
The Latin ‘in’ means ‘times’ and the ‘pl’ is an abbreviation for ‘planus’3. He showed that the
corresponding locus is a hyperbola (c.f. xy = c2).4 Viète and Fermat (at this time) still regarded the
magnitudes associated with letters in a geometrical way so that a product was an area etc.”5
Mathematical notation is created, and it can be more or less good for its purpose. In the
introduction to Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Bertrand Russel writes “... a good
notation has a subtlety and suggestiveness which make it seem, at times, like a live teacher.
Notational irregularities are often the first sign of philosophical errors, and a perfect notation
would be a substitute for thought.”. Not only is mathematical notation created, but the people who
create often it invest a considerable amount of ego in it. Murray Gell-Man writes that “a scientist
would rather use another person's toothbrush than another scientist's nomenclature”.6
When you have finished this course you will be in a position to invent your own notation to
represent the complex systems that interest you. If your system has properties not possessed by
any other system you will have to invent new notation, possibly with the help of a mathematician.
You may do this anyway, and later discover a system that shares properties with yours developed
using a different notation. Then you too will have to decide on whether you will change
toothbrushes for the greater good of science, or if you will obscure the interdisciplinary
connections and doggedly stick to your way of doing it. It’s a tough choice. Fortunately before
you face such dilemmas, a lot of mathematical notation is ‘standard’, and easy to learn.
SAQ 2
Translate the following formula into words: 17 X 49 + 4 ÷ 2 ≠ (19 – 13) X (2 + 6) /4.
■
1
According to Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Recorde, referenced 14th August 2006), the
Welshman, Robert Recorde, introduced the equals sign, =, in 1557 .
2
Boyer, C., A history of mathematics, Wiley, 1968.
3
‘planus’ means plane or surface.
4
Fermat, P., Isagoge ad locos planos et solidos, 1679. [written in 1636]
5
Beynon, M, Russ, S, ‘Variables in mathematics and computer science’, in The mathematical revolution
inspired by computing, J. Johnson and M. Loomes (eds), Claredon Press (Oxford), 1991.
6
Gell-Mann, M., ‘Plectics: ‘The study of simplicity and complexity’, Europhysics News Vol. 33 No. 1,
2002, http://www.europhysicsnews.com/full/13/article5/article5.html (referenced 14th August 2006).

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1.4 The basic concepts and notation of set theory

Usually sets are denoted by capital letters such as A, B, C, …, X, Y, Z, and their elements are
denoted by lower case letters such as a, b, c, …, x, y, z.

There are two ways to specify sets. The first is called set definition by extension and involves
listing the elements of the set in braces, e.g.:

{a, e, i, o, u }
{rook, knight, bishop, king, queen, pawn}
{London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Budapest, … }

The second way involves stating the properties which characterise the elements of the set. This is
called set definition by intension, for example

V = { x | x is a vowel }
C = { x | x is a chess piece }
E = { x | x is a European capital city}

We write x ∈ X to mean “x is an element of the set X” or, equivalently, “x belongs to X”. We

write x ∉ X to mean that “x does not belong to X”. For example, we can write

Helsinki ∈ E

Manchester ∉ E

Two sets are equal when they have exactly the same elements. Formally, A = B, if and only if a ∈
A implies a ∈ B, and b ∈ B implies b ∈ A.

If A = B then B = A.

In set theory, all the sets under consideration are assumed to be contained in some large fixed set
called the universal set or universe, denoted U.
Above we suggested a universal set of planets, which is a useful idea for those who want to
analyse planetary systems. A sociologist might consider a universal set of people, and an
economist might consider a universal set of goods in a particular market. A complex systems
scientist might use all these sets as sub-universes of a larger universe.

The set with no elements is called the empty set, or null set, which is denoted by the symbol, ∅,
which is like a zero with a line through it.

For example, the set { x | x is a pig and x can fly } = ∅.

A set can be empty with respect to a particular universe. In the previous example, x was restricted
to the universe of pigs.
The empty set is unique, meaning there is only one empty set. If A and B were both empty sets,
then they have exactly the same elements (none), so A = B.

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SAQ 3 Read the following in words:

(a) Let p∈ { x | x is a chess piece } and p ∈ { x | x white }. Then p ∉ { x | x is a black chess piece}

(b) Is it true that { x | x is a Dutch city and x has a cricket team } = ∅?

■

A set A is a subset of the set B if every element of A is an element of B. This is written as A ⊆ B

or, equivalently, B ⊇ A.

A is a proper subset of B if B contains at least one element not possessed by A. This is written as
A ⊂ B or, equivalently, B ⊃ A.

For example, the set of women is a proper subset of people. The set of economically active
people is a proper subset of the set of people in Britain.

SAQ 4 Read the following in words.

Is it true that if A ⊂ B and B ⊂ A then A = B?

■

The intersection of two sets A and B, written A ∩ B is the set of elements that belong to A and
belong to B:

A ∩ B = { x | x ∈ A and x ∈ B }

For example, the intersection between the set of people living in poverty and the set of people
with bad health is the set of people living in poverty with bad health.

The intersection of the set of over eighty years old, and the set of premier division footballer is (to
my knowledge) empty: which could be written eighty_year_olds ∩ premier_division_footballers
= ∅.

When two sets have empty intersection, i.e. they have no elements in common, they are said to be
disjoint.

The union of two sets A and B, written A ∪ B is the set of elements that belong to either of them:

A ∪ B = { x | x ∈ A or x ∈ B }

For example, the union of the adults of people who are men and the set of adults who are women
is the set of people who are men or women.

Let U be a universal set, and let A be a subset of U. The complement of A in U is defined to be the
set Ac = { x | x ∈ U and x ∉ A }, the set of elements that belong to U but do not belong to A.

Intersection and union are said to operate on sets, and they are often called set operators or set
operations.

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 SAQ 5. Read the following in words

(a) A ∩ A = A
(b) (A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ (B ∩ C)
(c) Ac = { x | x ∈ U and x ∉ A }
■

1.5 Representing sets and set operations by diagrams

B A B A B A B
A

(a) A ⊂ B (b) A ∩ B (c) A∪B (d) A ∩ B = ∅

Figure 1. Illustrating basic set relationships and operations using diagrams

Sets are commonly represented by circles and other enclosed areas. For example Figure 1(a)
shows A as a subset of B. Figure 1(b) shows two sets A and B with their intersection, Figure 1(c)
shows the union of A and B, while Figure 1(d) illustrates two disjoint sets.

Figures 2(a), (b) and (c) show the universal set as a rectangle with other sets in it. This enables
the complements of sets to be drawn as the shaded areas shown.

U U U

A A B

(a) Ac (b) (A ∩ B)c (c) (A ∪ B) c

Figure 2. Representing sets, their intersection, unions and complements by diagrams

Diagrams like those shown in Figures 1 and 2 are called Venn diagrams after the logician John
Venn (1834 – 1923). Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carol) is said to have introduced the notion of
rectangle for the universal set7. In fact the use of circles to represent sets began well before the
nineteenth century. Some authors refer to Euler circles, and Euler diagrams which differ from
Venn diagrams by allowing some of the sets to be disjoint8.

7
http://www.lewiscarroll.org/religion/venn.html
8
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler_diagram

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SAQ 6
(a) draw a diagram to illustrate A ⊂ B.
(b) draw a diagram with sets A, B and C and shade the set (A ∩ B) ∪ C
(c) draw a diagram sets A, B and C and shade the set A ∩ (B ∪ C).
(d) What can you conclude from (b) and (c)
■

The difference of two sets A and B, written A – B is defined to be the set whose elements belong
to A but not B, A – B = { x | x ∈ A and x ∉ B }. This can be illustrated as shown in Figure 3(a).

The symmetric difference (Figure 2(b)) of two sets is the set of elements that belong to A or B but
not both. It is written as9 A ∆ B, where ∆ is the Greek symbol ‘capital delta’.

A B A B

(a) A – B (a) A ∆ B

Figure 3. Diagrams shows set difference and symmetric difference.

SAQ 7
(a) Draw a diagram to show that (A – B) ∪ (B – A) = A ∆ B
(b) Draw a diagram to show that (A ∆ B) ∩ C = (A ∩ C) ∆ (B ∩ C)
■

Euler and Venn diagrams are very useful for illustrating and exploring the intersections and
unions of sets, but the pictures do not represent rigorous proofs.

1.7 Subscripts and Indexed Sets

In mathematics there are usually so many things that we run out of letters to represent them all.
This is one of the reasons that Greek letters are used in mathematics – it’s because all the roman
letters have been used for something else. Even so, there are not enough characters, so another
trick is used, namely subscripting.

Let X be a finite set with n elements. Then let the elements of X be numbered from 1 to n, and
write the ith numbered element be represented by the symbol xi. Thus we can write

X = { xi | i = 1, …, n} = { x1, x2, x3, …., xn}

9
A number of notations are used for symmetric difference: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/SymmetricDifference.html

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which allows the elements X to be represented by just one character, x with a subscript, or small
number or symbol on its it’s lower right side.

Apart from saving characters this has other advantages because the subscripted can be indexed
using an ‘index set’.

Let I be a set of numbers, I = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, …, n }. Then we can write X = { xi | i ∈ I }. I is said

to be an index set for the elements of X.

1.8 Classes of sets and the power set

In complex systems there are many heterogeneous sets. Sets can be arranged in classes, where a
class is a set of sets, and there can be classes of classes of sets. Classes of sets are often
represented using a script font, e.g. below C is a class of sets indexed by the set I C . In this
example I have added a subscript to the index set to link it explicitly to the class it indexes.

C = { Ci | i ∈ I C }

One of the most important classes of set is the power set of a X, which is the set of all subsets of
X. The power set of X is often denoted by P (X). If a set has n elements, it can be shown that its
power set has 2n members, so the power set of X is sometimes represented by the symbol 2X.

SAQ 8

(a) What is the power set of the set { a, b, c, d }?

(b) How many elements are there in the power set of the set { a, b, c, d }?
(c) How many elements are there in the power of { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}?

1.9 Product Sets

Given two sets A and B their product is the set of ordered pairs (a, b), i.e.

A × B = { (a, b) | a ∈ A and b ∈ B }

As an example, if R is the real numbers, R × R is the set of ordered pairs of numbers, (x, y) that
can be used to represent the two-dimensional plane. Similarly, one can form the product of three
copies of R as R × R × R to obtain triples of numbers that can be used to represent three-
dimensional space. This idea of representing geometric space by pairs or triples of numbers is due
to Descartes, and the product is often called the Cartesian product.

Although the space we live in seems to have three dimensions, there’s nothing to stop us forming
a product such as R × R × R × R to obtain a 4-dimensional space. This could very useful for,
say, an economic systems where there are n variables. These could be represented by an n-tuple,
(x1, x2, …, xn) as points in an n-dimensional space.

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It is not necessary for all the sets to be the same in a product.

Given a class of sets C = { Ci | i ∈ {1, 2, 3, …,n} }, their product is the set of n-tuples

{ (c1, c2, …, cn) | c1 ∈ C1, c2 ∈ C2, …, cn ∈ Cn }

The product of an indexed class of sets, C, is written ∏ i∈ I C Ci.

SAQ 9

(a) What the product of the sets { a, b, c } and { 1, 2 }.

(b) What is the product of the set { a1, a2, a3 } and {b1, b2} ?
(c) What is the product set of { ai | i ∈ I } and { bj | j ∈ J }?

1.10 Theorems and chains of reasoning

Generally in mathematics, things can be deduced from definitions, and we call such deductions
theorems. For example

Theorem 1.1

(i) for all sets, A, A ⊆ A

(ii) for all sets A, B and C, if A ⊆ B and B ⊆ C then A ⊆ C
(iii) A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A if and only10 if A = B.

Proof

(i) By definition, A ⊆ B if and only if x ∈ A implies x ∈ B.

But x ∈ A implies x ∈ A, so by definition A ⊆ A.

(ii) Suppose A ⊆ B and B ⊆ C. Then a ∈ A implies a ∈ B. But a ∈ B implies a ∈ C. Therefore

Then a ∈ A implies a ∈ C and A ⊆ C.
(iii) Part 1: A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A implies A = B.
Suppose A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A.
Then a ∈ A implies a ∈ B and every element in A is an element in B.
Similarly, b ∈ B implies b ∈ A and every element in B belongs to A.
Thus A = B.

Part 2: A = B implies A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A.

Suppose A = B. Then, by (i), A ⊆ B,
If A = B then B = A,
Since B = A, again by (i), B ⊆ A.
■

10
“if and only if” is used so often in mathematics that it has its own abbreviation as iff. It means the implication goes
both ways. Here it can be read as if A = B then A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A, and if A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A if then A = B.

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Discussion

Things like A ⊆ A in (i) seem so self-evident sometimes it’s hard to construct a proof. The proof
here involves showing that all sets satisfy the requirements of the definition.
The proof of (ii) depends on the transitivity of ‘implies’. In logic, if p implies q and q implies r
then p implies r. Here p is “a ∈ A”, q is “a ∈ B”, and r is “a ∈ C”. So we deduce if a ∈ A then a
∈ C which is the condition in the definition for A ⊆ C.
Part 1 of (iii) underlies a standard technique to show two sets are equal: first one shows that A is a
subset of B and then one shows that B is a subset of A.
Part 2 illustrates a typical sleight of hand in mathematical proofs. Where did “If A = B then B =
A” come from? It’s stated on Page 4. It’s ‘obvious’, but it has not been proved. Can you prove it?
Finally, as usual, the little back square above is used to make it clear that the formal part of the
theorem and its proof are finished.

SAQ 10. Show that for all sets A, B and C, if A ⊂ B and B ⊂C then A ⊂ C
■
Set theory has two beautiful equalities called De Morgan’s Laws after their discoverer, Augustus
DeMorgan (1806-1871):

(A ∩ B)c = Ac ∪ Bc
(A ∪B)c = Ac∩ Bc

This first of these is illustrated in Figure 2 where the complements are shown shaded. The union
of the two complements on the right is anything that is dark in either Ac or Bc, and this is the same
as the complement of the intersection of A and B.

Sometimes when I look at this diagram, it’s obvious that (A ∩ B)c = Ac ∪ Bc, but other times I just
can’t see it (although I’ve known De Morgan’s Laws for years). So, don’t worry if the diagram is
not very illuminating for you.

= A ∪ B

(A ∩ B)c = Ac ∪ Bc

Figure 2. Illustration of De Morgan’s Law (A ∩ B)c = Ac ∪ Bc

But is De Morgan’s Law really true? Is it true for all sets, and not just these pictures? Let’s try to
show that it is.

Let A and B be any sets in a universe U.

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By definition A ∩ B = { x | x ∈ A and x ∈ B }, (1)
(1) implies that x ∉ (A ∩ B) if and only if x ∉ A or x ∉ B or both. (2)
By definition of complements, x ∉ A or x ∉ B in (2) if and only if x ∈ Ac or x ∈ Bc. (3)
(2) and (3) imply that x ∉ (A ∩ B) if and only if x ∈ Ac or x ∈ Bc. (4)
By definition of complements, (A ∩ B) = { x | x ∈ U and x ∉ (A ∩ B) }.
c
(5)
Substituting (4) into (5) gives
(A ∩ B)c = { x | x ∈ U and (x ∈ Ac or x ∈ Bc) } (7)
But { x | x ∈ U and (x ∈ Ac or x ∈ Bc) } is the set Ac ∪ Bc. So (8)
(A ∩ B)c = { x | x ∈ U and (x ∈ Ac or x ∈ Bc) }= Ac ∪ Bc (9)
So, (A ∩ B)c = Ac ∪ Bc (10)
■

SAQ 11

Show (A ∩ B ∩ C)c = Ac ∪ Bc ∪ Cc ?
■

1.11 Multiple Choice Questions

You have now completed all the formal material for this session. Answer each of the following
multiple choice questions, by selecting what you think is the right answer. If you cannot answer
the question circle the x.

Each multiple choice question has one answer. Tick your choices

Q1. the set { a, e, i, o, u } is defined

(a) explicitly
(b) extensionally
(c) by the listing convention
(d) intensionally
(e) independently
(f) internally
(g) elementally
(h) externally
(x) don’t know

Q2. Who is said to have invented the equals sign?

(a) Pascal
(b) Fermat
(c) Leonardo
(d) Viète

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(e) Boyer
(f) Recorde
(g) Russ
(h) Newton
(x) don’t know

Q3. What is the correct way to read x ∈ A ∪ B ⊆ (C – D)

(a) x belongs to the intersection of A and B which is a subset of C minus D

(b) x belongs to the union of A and B which is a proper subset of D minus C
(c) x is a subset of A ∪ B which belongs to the symmetric difference of C and D
(d) x doesn’t belong to the union of A and B which is a subset of the difference of C minus D
(e) x belongs to the intersection of A and B which is a subset of the difference of C minus D
(f) x belongs to the union of A and B which is a subset of the difference of set C minus set D
(g) x and C minus D belong to the union of A and B
(h) The symmetric difference of C and D contains A union B which contains x
(x) don’t know

Q4. Given a set X in a universe U, the complement of X is

(a) Xc = X - U
(b) Xc = U - X
(c) Xc = Uc - X
(d) Xc = X ∪ U
(e) Xc = X ∩ U
(f) Xc = X ⊆ U
(x) don’t know

Q5 Which of the following is correct

(a) A ∆ B = Ac ∪ Bc
(b) A ∆ B = Ac ∩ Bc
(c) A ∆ B = (A – B) ∪ (B – A)
(d) A ∆ B = (A – B) ∩ (B – A)
(e) A ∆ B = (A – B) – (B – A)
(e) A ∆ B = (A – B) + (B – A)
(x) don’t know

Q6. The power set of the set { a, b, c} is

(a) ∅
(b) { {a}, {b}, {c} }
(c) { {a, b}, {a, c}, {b, c} }
(d) { {a}, {b}, {c}, {a, b}, {a, c}, {b, c} }
(e) { {a}, {b}, {c}, {a, b}, {a, c}, {b, c}, {a, b, c} }
(f) { ∅, {a}, {b}, {c}, {a, b}, {a, c}, {b, c}, {a, b, c} }
(g) 2{ {a}, {b}, {c} }
(h) P (X)
(x) don’t know

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Q7 The product of the sets of {a, b, c} and { x, y, z } is

(a) { (a, x), (a, y), (a, z), (b, x), (b, y), (b, z), (c, x), (c, y), (c, z) }
(b) { (a, x), (b, y), (c, z) }
(c) { (a, b, c), (x, y, z) }
(d) { (a, b), (a, c), (b, c), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z) }
(e) { (a × x), (a × y), (a × z), (b × x), (b × y), (b × z), (c × x), (c × y), (c × z) }
(x) don’t know

Q8 Which of the following is true

(a) if A ⊂ B and B ⊃C then A = C
(b) if A ⊂ B and B ⊂ C then A ⊂ C
(c) if A = B and B ⊂ C then A = C
(d) if A ⊂ B and B ⊂ C then A ⊇ C
(e) if A ⊄ B and B ⊄ C then A ⊄ C
(x) don’t know

Q9 Which of the following is correct?

(a) (A ∩ B)c = A ∪ B
(b) (A ∩ B)c = Ac ∩ Bc
(c) (A ∩ B)c = Ac ∆ Bc
(d) (A ∩ B)c = Ac – Bc
(e) (A ∩ B)c = Ac ∪ Bc
(f) (A ∩ B)c = A ∩ B
(x) don’t know

Q10 Which of the following is correct?

(a) (A ∪B)c = A ∩ B
(a) (A ∪B)c = Ac + Bc
(a) (A ∪B)c = Ac∩ Bc
(a) (A ∪B)c = Ac∪ Bc
(a) (A ∪B)c = A c– Bc
(a) (A ∪B)c = A ∪ B

ONCE-CS Course on Mathematics for the science of complex systems. The Open University and University of Bucharest
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1.12 Conclusion to Session 1

This concludes your work in Session 1. During it you have seen the following

• the definitions of elements, sets and classes

• the set membership and subset relationships
• the intersection and union relationships
• the complement of a set in its universe
• the use of Venn diagrams
• the power set of a set
• the product of two or more sets

This is a lot of material to cover in one session, and it has generated a lot of new notation.
Although all of this may be new to you, I hope you have grasped some of the basic ideas, and that
you feel you can ‘read’ the notation and make sense of it.

To finish this Session, please go through your answers to the multiple-choice questions, and enter
them on the End of Session survey along with your other answers and email the survey to

complexity@open.ac.uk

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Answers to the SAQs

SAQ 1

Your answers may differ to mine:

(a) A procedure for seeing if a number is even is to see if it its last digit is 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8, so the
set is grounded.
(b) There are well established procedures for recognising the known planets, so this set is
grounded.
(c) There are definitions for people being poor in terms of them being below given income
thresholds, and in this respect the set is grounded. As the term is used in many conversations it is
not grounded.

SAQ 2

17 X 49 + 4 ÷ 2 ≠ (19 – 13) X (2 + 6) /4
translates as
seventeen times forty nine plus four divided by 2 is not equal to thirteen subtracted from nineteen
times one quarter of two added to six

The point of this SAQ is that you already know how to ‘speak’ arithmetic because you know
what the symbols mean. In this session you will encounter new symbols, but translating them into
words is done in the same way.

SAQ 3

(a) Let p∈ { x | x is a chess piece } and p ∈ { x | x white }. Then p ∉ { x | x is a black chess piece}
This read as “Let p belong to the set of chess pieces and let p belong to the set of white elements.
Then p does not belong to the set of black chess pieces.”

(b) Is it true that { x | x is a Dutch city and x has a cricket team } = ∅?

This reads as “Is it true that the set of Dutch cities with a cricket team is empty?”.

SAQ 4
Is it true that if A ⊂ B and B ⊂ A then A = B translates as
“Is it true that if A is a proper subset of B and B is a proper subset of A then A equals B?”.
It’s not! It’s not possible for A to be a proper subset of B and for B to be a proper subset of A.

SAQ 5
(a) A ∩ A = A reads as A intersection A equals A
(b) (A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ (B ∩ C) reads as A intersection B intersected with C equals A intersected
with B intersection C.
(c) Ac = { x | x ∈ U and x ∉ A } reads as A complement is the set with members that belong to the
universal set but do not belong to A.

ONCE-CS Course on Mathematics for the science of complex systems. The Open University and University of Bucharest
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SAQ 6

(a) draw a diagram to illustrate A ⊂ B.

B

(b) draw a diagram with sets A, B and C and shade the set (A ∩ B) ∪ C

C
B

(c) draw a diagram sets A, B and C and shade the set A ∩ (B ∪ C).

C
B

(d) What can you conclude from (b) and (c)

From these two diagrams I can conclude that

(A ∩ B) ∪ C ≠ A ∩ (B ∪ C).

SAQ 7

(a) Draw a diagram to show that (A – B) ∪ (B – A) = A ∆ B

A B A B A B
∪ =
(A – B) (B – A) A∆B

(b) Draw a diagram to show that (A ∆ B) ∩ C = (A ∩ C) ∆ (B ∩ C)

A A A
B B B
common
to both
C C C

(A ∆ B) ∩ C = (A ∩ C) ∆ (B ∩ C)

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SAQ 8

(a) What is the power set of the set { a, b, c, d }?

P ({ a, b, c, d } ) = { ∅, {a}, {b}, {c}, {d}, {a,b}, {a,c}, {a,d}, {b,c}, {b,d}, {c,d},{a, b, c},
{a, b, d}, {a, c, d}, {b, c, d}, {a, b, c, d} }

(b) How many elements are there in the power set of the set { a, b, c, d }?
Including the empty set there are 24 = 16 sets in P ({ a, b, c, d } ).

(c) How many elements are there in the power sets of { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}?
Including the empty set there are 25 = 32 sets in P ( { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5})

SAQ 9

(a) What the product of the sets { a, b, c } and { 1, 2 }.

{ a, b, c } × { 1, 2 } = { (a, 1), (a, 2), (b, 1), (b, 2), (c, 1), (c, 2) }

(b) What is the product of the set { a1, a2, a3 } and {b1, b2} ?
{ a1, a2, a3 } × {b1, b2} = {(a1, b1), (a1, b2), (a2, b1), (a2, b2), (a3, b1), (a3, b2) }

(c) What if the product of the set { ai | i ∈ I } and { bj | j ∈ J }?

{ ai | i ∈ I } × { bj | j ∈ J } = { (ai, bj) | for all i ∈ I and all j ∈ J }

SAQ 10.
Show that for all sets A, B and C, if A ⊂ B and B ⊂ C then A ⊂ C

Let x ∈ A. Then x ∈ B because A ⊂ B. x ∈ B requires x ∈ C because B ⊂ C. Thus A ⊆C.

Now we have too prove that A ≠ B to obtain A ⊂ C.
Since A ⊂ B there is an element b ∈ B and b ∉ A. Since B ⊂ C b ∈ C. Thus there exists b ∈ C
and b ∉ A , so that A ≠ C, and A is a proper subset of C, A ⊂ C.

SAQ 11

Show (A ∩ B ∩ C)c = Ac ∪ Bc ∪ Cc ?
Let D = B ∩ C.
Then by de Morgan’s laws, (A ∩ D)c = Ac ∪ Dc
Ac ∪ Dc = Ac ∪ (B ∩ C.)c
By de Morgan’s Laws
Ac ∪ (B ∩ C.)c = Ac ∪ (Bc ∪ Cc) = Ac ∪ Bc ∪ Cc

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