1

A set in mathematics is a collection of well defined and distinct objects, considered as an object in its own right. Sets are one of the most fundamental concepts in mathematics. Developed at the end of the 19th century, set theory is now a ubiquitous part of mathematics, and can be used as a foundation from which nearly all of mathematics can be derived. In mathematics education, elementary topics such as Venn diagrams are taught at a young age, while more advanced concepts are taught as part of a university degree.

Contents

1 Definition 2 Describing sets 3 Membership

o 3.1 Subsetso 3.2 Power sets

4 Cardinality 5 Special sets 6 Basic operations

o 6.1 Unionso 6.2 Intersectionso 6.3 Complementso 6.4 Cartesian product

7 Applications 8 Axiomatic set theory 9 Principle of inclusion and exclusion 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 External links

Definition

A set is a well defined collection of objects. Georg Cantor, the founder of set theory, gave the following definition of a set at the beginning of his Beiträge zur Begründung der transfiniten Mengenlehre:[1]

A set is a gathering together into a whole of definite, distinct objects of our perception [Anschauung] and of our thought – which are called elements of the set.

The elements or members of a set can be anything: numbers, people, letters of the alphabet, other sets, and so on. Sets are conventionally denoted with capital letters. Sets A and B are equal if and only if they have precisely the same elements.[2]

As discussed below, the definition given above turned out to be inadequate for formal mathematics; instead, the notion of a "set" is taken as an undefined primitive in axiomatic set theory, and its properties are defined by the Zermelo–Fraenkel axioms. The most basic properties are that a set "has" elements, and that two sets are equal (one and the same) if and only if every element of one is an element of the other.

Describing sets

There are two ways of describing, or specifying the members of, a set. One way is by intensional definition, using a rule or semantic description:

A is the set whose members are the first four positive integers.B is the set of colors of the French flag.

The second way is by extension – that is, listing each member of the set. An extensional definition is denoted by enclosing the list of members in curly brackets:

C = {4, 2, 1, 3}D = {blue, white, red}.

Every element of a set must be unique; no two members may be identical. (A multiset is a generalized concept of a set that relaxes this criterion.) All set operations preserve this property. The order in which the elements of a set or multiset are listed is irrelevant (unlike for a sequence or tuple). Combining these two ideas into an example

{6, 11} = {11, 6} = {11, 6, 6, 11}

because the extensional specification means merely that each of the elements listed is a member of the set.

For sets with many elements, the enumeration of members can be abbreviated. For instance, the set of the first thousand positive integers may be specified extensionally as:

{1, 2, 3, ..., 1000},

where the ellipsis ("...") indicates that the list continues in the obvious way. Ellipses may also be used where sets have infinitely many members. Thus the set of positive even numbers can be written as {2, 4, 6, 8, ... }.

The notation with braces may also be used in an intensional specification of a set. In this usage, the braces have the meaning "the set of all ...". So, E = {playing card suits} is the set whose four members are ♠, ♦, ♥, and ♣. A more general form of this is set-builder notation, through which, for instance, the set F of the twenty smallest integers that are four less than perfect squares can be denoted:

F = {n2 − 4 : n is an integer; and 0 ≤ n ≤ 19}.

In this notation, the colon (":") means "such that", and the description can be interpreted as "F is the set of all numbers of the form n2 − 4, such that n is a whole number in the range from 0 to 19 inclusive." Sometimes the vertical bar ("|") is used instead of the colon.

One often has the choice of specifying a set intensionally or extensionally. In the examples above, for instance, A = C and B = D.

Membership

Main article: Element (mathematics)

The key relation between sets is membership – when one set is an element of another. If a is a member of B, this is denoted a ∈ B, while if c is not a member of B then c ∉ B. For example, with respect to the sets A = {1,2,3,4}, B = {blue, white, red}, and F = {n2 − 4 : n is an integer; and 0 ≤ n ≤ 19} defined above,

4 ∈ A and 285 ∈ F; but9 ∉ F and green ∉ B.

Subsets

Main article: Subset

If every member of set A is also a member of set B, then A is said to be a subset of B, written A ⊆ B (also pronounced A is contained in B). Equivalently, we can write B ⊇ A, read as B is a superset of A, B includes A, or B contains A. The relationship between sets established by ⊆ is called inclusion or containment.

If A is a subset of, but not equal to, B, then A is called a proper subset of B, written A ⊊ B (A is a proper subset of B) or B ⊋ A (B is a proper superset of A).

Note that the expressions A ⊂ B and B ⊃ A are used differently by different authors; some authors use them to mean the same as A ⊆ B (respectively B ⊇ A), whereas other use them to mean the same as A ⊊ B (respectively B ⊋ A).

A is a subset of B

Example:

The set of all men is a proper subset of the set of all people. {1, 3} ⊊ {1, 2, 3, 4}. {1, 2, 3, 4} ⊆ {1, 2, 3, 4}.

The empty set is a subset of every set and every set is a subset of itself:

∅ ⊆ A. A ⊆ A.

An obvious but useful identity, which can often be used to show that two seemingly different sets are equal:

A = B if and only if A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A.

A partition of a set S is a set of nonempty subsets of S such that every element x in S is in exactly one of these subsets.

Power sets

Main article: Power set

The power set of a set S is the set of all subsets of S, including S itself and the empty set. For example, the power set of the set {1, 2, 3} is {{1, 2, 3}, {1, 2}, {1, 3}, {2, 3}, {1}, {2}, {3}, ∅}. The power set of a set S usually written as P(S).

The power set of a finite set with n elements has 2n elements. This relationship is one of the reasons for the terminology power set. For example, the set {1, 2, 3} contains three elements, and the power set shown above contains 23 = 8 elements.

The power set of an infinite (either countable or uncountable) set is always uncountable. Moreover, the power set of a set is always strictly "bigger" than the original set in the sense that there is no way to pair the elements of a set S with the elements of its power set P(S) such that every element of S set is paired with exactly one element of P(S), and every element of P(S) is paired with exactly one element of S. (There is never a bijection from S onto P(S).)

Every partition of a set S is a subset of the powerset of S.

Cardinality

Main article: Cardinality

The cardinality | S | of a set S is "the number of members of S." For example, if B = {blue, white, red}, | B | = 3.

There is a unique set with no members and zero cardinality, which is called the empty set (or the null set) and is denoted by the symbol ∅ (other notations are used; see empty set). For example, the set of all three-sided squares has zero members and thus is the empty set. Though it may seem trivial, the empty set, like the number zero, is important in mathematics; indeed, the existence of this set is one of the fundamental concepts of axiomatic set theory.

Some sets have infinite cardinality. The set N of natural numbers, for instance, is infinite. Some infinite cardinalities are greater than others. For instance, the set of real numbers has greater cardinality than the set of natural numbers. However, it can be shown that the cardinality of (which is to say, the number of points on) a straight line is the same as the cardinality of any segment of that line, of the entire plane, and indeed of any finite-dimensional Euclidean space.

Special sets

There are some sets which hold great mathematical importance and are referred to with such regularity that they have acquired special names and notational conventions to identify them. One of these is the empty set, denoted {} or ∅. Another is the unit set {x} which contains exactly one element, namely x.[2] Many of these sets are represented using blackboard bold or bold typeface. Special sets of numbers include:

P or ℙ, denoting the set of all primes: P = {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, ...}. N or ℕ, denoting the set of all natural numbers: N = {1, 2, 3, . . .} (sometimes defined

containing 0). Z or ℤ, denoting the set of all integers (whether positive, negative or zero): Z = {..., −2,

−1, 0, 1, 2, ...}. Q or ℚ, denoting the set of all rational numbers (that is, the set of all proper and

improper fractions): Q = {a/b : a, b ∈ Z, b ≠ 0}. For example, 1/4 ∈ Q and 11/6 ∈ Q. All integers are in this set since every integer a can be expressed as the fraction a/1 (Z ⊊ Q).

R or ℝ, denoting the set of all real numbers. This set includes all rational numbers, together with all irrational numbers (that is, numbers which cannot be rewritten as fractions, such as √2, as well as transcendental numbers such as π, e and numbers that cannot be defined).

C or ℂ, denoting the set of all complex numbers: C = {a + bi : a, b ∈ R}. For example, 1 + 2i ∈ C.

H or ℍ, denoting the set of all quaternions: H = {a + bi + cj + dk : a, b, c, d ∈ R}. For example, 1 + i + 2j − k ∈ H.

Positive and negative sets are denoted by a superscript - or +, for example: ℚ+ represents the set of positive rational numbers.

Each of the above sets of numbers has an infinite number of elements, and each can be considered to be a proper subset of the sets listed below it. The primes are used less frequently than the others outside of number theory and related fields.

Basic operations

There are several fundamental operations for constructing new sets from given sets.

Unions

The union of A and B, denoted A ∪ BMain article: Union (set theory)

Two sets can be "added" together. The union of A and B, denoted by A ∪ B, is the set of all things which are members of either A or B.

Examples:

{1, 2} ∪ {red, white} ={1, 2, red, white}. {1, 2, green} ∪ {red, white, green} ={1, 2, red, white, green}. {1, 2} ∪ {1, 2} = {1, 2}.

Some basic properties of unions:

A ∪ B = B ∪ A. A ∪ (B ∪ C) = (A ∪ B) ∪ C. A ⊆ (A ∪ B). A ⊆ B if and only if A ∪ B = B. A ∪ A = A. A ∪ ∅ = A.

Intersections

Main article: Intersection (set theory)

A new set can also be constructed by determining which members two sets have "in common". The intersection of A and B, denoted by A ∩ B, is the set of all things which are members of both A and B. If A ∩ B = ∅, then A and B are said to be disjoint.

The intersection of A and B, denoted A ∩ B.

Examples:

{1, 2} ∩ {red, white} = ∅. {1, 2, green} ∩ {red, white, green} = {green}. {1, 2} ∩ {1, 2} = {1, 2}.

Some basic properties of intersections:

A ∩ B = B ∩ A. A ∩ (B ∩ C) = (A ∩ B) ∩ C. A ∩ B ⊆ A. A ∩ A = A. A ∩ ∅ = ∅. A ⊆ B if and only if A ∩ B = A.

Complements

The relative complementof B in A

The complement of A in U

The symmetric difference of A and BMain article: Complement (set theory)

Two sets can also be "subtracted". The relative complement of B in A (also called the set-theoretic difference of A and B), denoted by A \ B (or A − B), is the set of all elements which are members of A but not members of B. Note that it is valid to "subtract" members of a set that are not in the set, such as removing the element green from the set {1, 2, 3}; doing so has no effect.

In certain settings all sets under discussion are considered to be subsets of a given universal set U. In such cases, U \ A is called the absolute complement or simply complement of A, and is denoted by A′.

Examples:

{1, 2} \ {red, white} = {1, 2}. {1, 2, green} \ {red, white, green} = {1, 2}. {1, 2} \ {1, 2} = ∅. {1, 2, 3, 4} \ {1, 3} = {2, 4}. If U is the set of integers, E is the set of even integers, and O is the set of odd

integers, then U \ E = E′ = O.

Some basic properties of complements:

A \ B ≠ B \ A for A ≠ B. A ∪ A′ = U. A ∩ A′ = ∅.

(A′)′ = A. A \ A = ∅. U′ = ∅ and ∅′ = U. A \ B = A ∩ B′.

An extension of the complement is the symmetric difference, defined for sets A, B as

For example, the symmetric difference of {7,8,9,10} and {9,10,11,12} is the set {7,8,11,12}.

Cartesian product

Main article: Cartesian product

A new set can be constructed by associating every element of one set with every element of another set. The Cartesian product of two sets A and B, denoted by A × B is the set of all ordered pairs (a, b) such that a is a member of A and b is a member of B.

Examples:

{1, 2} × {red, white} = {(1, red), (1, white), (2, red), (2, white)}. {1, 2, green} × {red, white, green} = {(1, red), (1, white), (1, green), (2, red), (2,

white), (2, green), (green, red), (green, white), (green, green)}. {1, 2} × {1, 2} = {(1, 1), (1, 2), (2, 1), (2, 2)}.

Some basic properties of cartesian products:

A × ∅ = ∅. A × (B ∪ C) = (A × B) ∪ (A × C). (A ∪ B) × C = (A × C) ∪ (B × C).

Let A and B be finite sets. Then

| A × B | = | B × A | = | A | × | B |.

Applications

Set theory is seen as the foundation from which virtually all of mathematics can be derived. For example, structures in abstract algebra, such as groups, fields and rings, are sets closed under one or more operations.

One of the main applications of naive set theory is constructing relations. A relation from a domain A to a codomain B is a subset of the Cartesian product A × B. Given this concept, we are quick to see that the set F of all ordered pairs (x, x2), where x is real, is quite familiar. It has a

domain set R and a codomain set that is also R, because the set of all squares is subset of the set of all reals. If placed in functional notation, this relation becomes f(x) = x2. The reason these two are equivalent is for any given value, y that the function is defined for, its corresponding ordered pair, (y, y2) is a member of the set F.

Axiomatic set theory

Main article: Axiomatic set theory

Although initially naive set theory, which defines a set merely as any well-defined collection, was well accepted, it soon ran into several obstacles. It was found that this definition spawned several paradoxes, most notably:

Russell's paradox —It shows that the "set of all sets which do not contain themselves," i.e. the "set" { x : x is a set and x ∉ x } does not exist.

Cantor's paradox —It shows that "the set of all sets" cannot exist.

The reason is that the phrase well-defined is not very well defined. It was important to free set theory of these paradoxes because nearly all of mathematics was being redefined in terms of set theory. In an attempt to avoid these paradoxes, set theory was axiomatized based on first-order logic, and thus axiomatic set theory was born.

For most purposes however, naive set theory is still useful.

Principle of inclusion and exclusion

Main article: Inclusion-exclusion principle

This principle gives us the cardinality of the union of sets. |A1 ∪ A2 ∪ A3 ∪ A4 ∪ ... ∪ An|=(|A1| + |A2| + |A3| +...+ |An|)-(|A1 ∩ A2| +|A1 ∩ A3| + ....+|An-1 ∩ An|) + .........+(−1)^{n-1}(|A1 ∩ A2 ∩ A3 ∩.....∩ An|)

2

Dalam matematika, himpunan adalah segala koleksi benda-benda tertentu yang dianggap sebagai satu kesatuan. Walaupun hal ini merupakan ide yang sederhana, tidak salah jika himpunan merupakan salah satu konsep penting dan mendasar dalam matematika modern, dan karenanya, studi mengenai struktur kemungkinan himpunan dan teori himpunan, sangatlah berguna.

Irisan dari dua himpunan yang dinyatakan dengan diagram Venn

Teori himpunan, yang baru diciptakan pada akhir abad ke-19, sekarang merupakan bagian yang tersebar dalam pendidikan matematika yang mulai diperkenalkan bahkan sejak tingkat sekolah dasar. Teori ini merupakan bahasa untuk menjelaskan matematika modern. Teori himpunan dapat dianggap sebagai dasar yang membangun hampir semua aspek dari matematika dan merupakan sumber dari mana semua matematika diturunkan.

Notasi Himpunan

Hubungan di antara 8 buah set dengan menggunakan diagram Venn

Biasanya, nama himpunan ditulis menggunakan huruf besar, misalnya S, A, atau B, sementara elemen himpunan ditulis menggunakan huruf kecil (a, c, z). Cara penulisan ini adalah yang umum dipakai, tetapi tidak membatasi bahwa setiap himpunan harus ditulis dengan cara seperti itu. Tabel di bawah ini menunjukkan format penulisan himpunan yang umum dipakai.

Notasi ContohHimpunan Huruf besar

Elemen himpunan Huruf kecil (jika merupakan huruf)Kelas Huruf tulisan tangan

Himpunan-himpunan bilangan yang cukup dikenal, seperti bilangan kompleks, riil, bulat, dan sebagainya, menggunakan notasi yang khusus.

Bilangan Asli Bulat Rasional Riil KompleksNotasi

Simbol-simbol khusus yang dipakai dalam teori himpunan adalah:

Simbol Arti

atau Himpunan kosong

Operasi gabungan dua himpunanOperasi irisan dua himpunan

, , , Subhimpunan, Subhimpunan sejati, Superhimpunan, Superhimpunan sejatiKomplemenHimpunan kuasa

Himpunan dapat didefinisikan dengan dua cara, yaitu:

Enumerasi, yaitu mendaftarkan semua anggota himpunan. Jika terlampau banyak tetapi mengikuti pola tertentu, dapat digunakan elipsis (...).

Pembangun himpunan, tidak dengan mendaftar, tetapi dengan mendeskripsikan sifat-sifat yang harus dipenuhi oleh setiap elemen himpuan tersebut.

Notasi pembangun himpunan dapat menimbulkan berbagai paradoks, contohnya adalah himpunan berikut:

Himpunan A tidak mungkin ada, karena jika A ada, berarti harus mengandung anggota yang bukan merupakan anggotanya. Namun jika bukan anggotanya, lalu bagaimana mungkin A bisa mengandung anggota tersebut.

Himpunan kosong

Himpunan {apel, jeruk, mangga, pisang} memiliki anggota-anggota aPELI, jeruk, mangga, dan pisang. Himpunan lain, semisal {5, 6} memiliki dua anggota, yaitu bilangan 5 dan 6. Kita boleh mendefinisikan sebuah himpunan yang tidak memiliki anggota apa pun. Himpunan ini disebut sebagai himpunan kosong.

Himpunan kosong tidak memiliki anggota apa pun, ditulis sebagai:

Relasi antar himpunan

Subhimpunan

Dari suatu himpunan, misalnya A = {apel, jeruk, mangga, pisang}, dapat dibuat himpunan-himpunan lain yang elemen-elemennya adalah diambil dari himpunan tersebut.

{apel, jeruk} {jeruk, pisang} {apel, mangga, pisang}

Ketiga himpunan di atas memiliki sifat umum, yaitu setiap anggota himpunan itu adalah juga anggota himpunan A. Himpunan-himpunan ini disebut sebagai subhimpunan atau himpunan bagian dari A. Jadi dapat dirumuskan:

B adalah himpunan bagian dari A jika setiap elemen B juga terdapat dalam A.

Kalimat di atas tetap benar untuk B himpunan kosong. Maka juga subhimpunan dari A.

Untuk sembarang himpunan A,

Definisi di atas juga mencakup kemungkinan bahwa himpunan bagian dari A adalah A sendiri.

Untuk sembarang himpunan A,

Istilah subhimpunan dari A biasanya berarti mencakup A sebagai subhimpunannya sendiri. Kadang-kadang istilah ini juga dipakai untuk menyebut himpunan bagian dari A, tetapi bukan A sendiri. Pengertian mana yang digunakan biasanya jelas dari konteksnya.

Subhimpunan sejati dari A menunjuk pada subhimpunan dari A, tetapi tidak mencakup A sendiri.

Superhimpunan

Kebalikan dari subhimpunan adalah superhimpunan, yaitu himpunan yang lebih besar yang mencakup himpunan tersebut.

Kesamaan dua himpunan

Himpunan A dan B disebut sama, jika setiap anggota A adalah anggota B, dan sebaliknya, setiap anggota B adalah anggota A.

atau

Definisi di atas sangat berguna untuk membuktikan bahwa dua himpunan A dan B adalah sama. Pertama, buktikan dahulu A adalah subhimpunan B, kemudian buktikan bahwa B adalah subhimpunan A.

Himpunan Kuasa

Himpunan kuasa atau himpunan pangkat (power set) dari A adalah himpunan yang terdiri dari

seluruh himpunan bagian dari A. Notasinya adalah .

Jika A = {apel, jeruk, mangga, pisang}, maka :

{ { }, {apel}, {jeruk}, {mangga}, {pisang}, {apel, jeruk}, {apel, mangga}, {apel, pisang}, {jeruk, mangga}, {jeruk, pisang}, {mangga, pisang}, {apel, jeruk, mangga}, {apel, jeruk, pisang}, {apel, mangga, pisang}, {jeruk, mangga, pisang}, {apel, jeruk, mangga, pisang} }

Banyaknya anggota yang terkandung dalam himpunan kuasa dari A adalah 2 pangkat banyaknya anggota A.

Kelas

Suatu himpunan disebut sebagai kelas, atau keluarga himpunan jika himpunan tersebut terdiri

dari himpunan-himpunan. Himpunan adalah sebuah keluarga himpunan. Perhatikan bahwa untuk sembarang himpunan A, maka himpunan

kuasanya, adalah sebuah keluarga himpunan.

Contoh berikut, bukanlah sebuah kelas, karena mengandung elemen c yang bukan himpunan.

Kardinalitas

Kardinalitas dari sebuah himpunan dapat dimengerti sebagai ukuran banyaknya elemen yang dikandung oleh himpunan tersebut. Banyaknya elemen himpunan

adalah 4. Himpunan juga memiliki elemen sejumlah 4. Berarti kedua himpunan tersebut ekivalen satu sama lain, atau dikatakan memiliki kardinalitas yang sama.

Dua buah himpunan A dan B memiliki kardinalitas yang sama, jika terdapat fungsi korespondensi satu-satu yang memetakan A pada B. Karena dengan mudah kita membuat fungsi

yang memetakan satu-satu dan kepada himpunan A ke B, maka kedua himpunan tersebut memiliki kardinalitas yang sama.

Himpunan Denumerabel

Jika sebuah himpunan ekivalen dengan himpunan , yaitu himpunan bilangan asli, maka himpunan tersebut disebut denumerabel. Kardinalitas dari himpunan tersebut disebut sebagai kardinalitas .

Himpunan semua bilangan genap positif merupakan himpunan denumerabel, karena memiliki korespondensi satu-satu antara himpunan tersebut dengan himpunan bilangan asli, yang dinyatakan oleh .

Himpunan Berhingga

Jika sebuah himpunan memiliki kardinalitas yang kurang dari kardinalitas , maka himpunan tersebut adalah himpunan berhingga.

Himpunan Tercacah

Himpunan disebut tercacah jika himpunan tersebut adalah berhingga atau denumerabel.

Himpunan Non-Denumerabel

Himpunan yang tidak tercacah disebut himpunan non-denumerabel. Contoh dari himpunan ini adalah himpunan semua bilangan riil. Kardinalitas dari himpunan jenis ini disebut sebagai kardinalitas . Pembuktian bahwa bilangan riil tidak denumerabel dapat menggunakan pembuktian diagonal.

Himpunan bilangan riil dalam interval (0,1) juga memiliki kardinalitas , karena terdapat korespondensi satu-satu dari himpunan tersebut dengan himpunan seluruh bilangan riil, yang

salah satunya adalah .

Fungsi Karakteristik

Fungsi karakteristik menunjukkan apakah sebuah elemen terdapat dalam sebuah himpunan atau tidak.

Jika maka:

Terdapat korespondensi satu-satu antara himpunan kuasa dengan himpunan dari semua fungsi karakteristik dari S. Hal ini mengakibatkan kita dapat menuliskan himpunan sebagai barisan bilangan 0 dan 1, yang menyatakan ada tidaknya sebuah elemen dalam himpunan tersebut.

Representasi Biner

Jika konteks pembicaraan adalah pada sebuah himpunan semesta S, maka setiap himpunan bagian dari S bisa dituliskan dalam barisan angka 0 dan 1, atau disebut juga bentuk biner. Bilangan biner menggunakan angka 1 dan 0 pada setiap digitnya. Setiap posisi bit dikaitkan dengan masing-masing elemen S, sehingga nilai 1 menunjukkan bahwa elemen tersebut ada, dan nilai 0 menunjukkan bahwa elemen tersebut tidak ada. Dengan kata lain, masing-masing bit merupakan fungsi karakteristik dari himpunan tersebut. Sebagai contoh, jika himpunan S = {a, b, c, d, e, f, g}, A = {a, c, e, f}, dan B = {b, c, d, f}, maka:

Himpunan Representasi Biner ---------------------------- ------------------- a b c d e f g S = { a, b, c, d, e, f, g } --> 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 A = { a, c, e, f } --> 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 B = { b, c, d, f } --> 0 1 1 1 0 1 0

Cara menyatakan himpunan seperti ini sangat menguntungkan untuk melakukan operasi-operasi himpunan, seperti union, interseksi, dan komplemen, karena kita tinggal menggunakan operasi bit untuk melakukannya.

Operasi gabungan setara dengan A or B Operasi irisan setara dengan A and B Operasi komplemen setara dengan not A

Representasi himpunan dalam bentuk biner dipakai oleh kompiler-kompiler Pascal dan juga Delphi.

3

what are the kinds of sets

In mathematics, any collection of defined things (elements), provided the elements are distinct and that there is a rule to decide whether an element is a member of a set. It is usually denoted by a capital letter and indicated by curly brackets {}.

For example, L may represent the set that consists of all the letters of the alphabet. The symbol Î stands for 'is a member of'; thus p Î L means that p belongs to the set consisting of all letters, and 4 Ï L means that 4 does not belong to the set consisting of all letters.

There are various types of sets. A finite set has a limited number of members, such as the letters of the alphabet; an infinite set has an unlimited number of members, such as all whole numbers; an empty or null set has no members, such as the number of people who have swum across the Atlantic Ocean, written as {} or ø; a single-element set has only one member, such as days of the week beginning with M, written as {Monday}. Equal sets have the same members; for example, if W = {days of the week} and S = {Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday}, it can be said that W = S. Sets with the same number of members are equivalent sets. Sets with some members in common are intersecting sets; for example, if R = {red playing cards} and F = {face cards}, then R and F share the members that are red face cards. Sets with no members in common are disjoint sets. Sets contained within others are subsets; for example, V = {vowels} is a subset of L = {letters of the alphabet}.

Sets and their interrelationships are often illustrated by a Venn diagram.

Generically, an alternative set theory is an alternative mathematical approach to the concept of set. It is a proposed alternative to the standard set theory.

Some of the alternative set theories are:

the theory of semisets

the set theory New Foundations Positive set theory Internal set theory

Specifically, Alternative Set Theory (or AST) refers to a particular set theory developed in the 1970s and 1980s by Petr Vopěnka and his students. It builds on some ideas of the theory of semisets, but also introduces more radical changes: for example, all sets are "formally" finite, which means that sets in AST satisfy the law of mathematical induction for set-formulas (more precisely: the part of AST that consists of axioms related to sets only is equivalent to the Zermelo–Fraenkel (or ZF) set theory, in which the axiom of infinity is replaced by its negation). However, some of these sets contain subclasses that are not sets, which makes them different from Cantor (ZF) finite sets and they are called infinite in AST.

This article is about the branch of mathematics. For musical set theory, see Set theory (music).

A Venn diagram illustrating the intersection of two sets.

Set theory is the branch of mathematics that studies sets, which are collections of objects. Although any type of object can be collected into a set, set theory is applied most often to objects that are relevant to mathematics. The language of set theory can be used in the definitions of nearly all mathematical objects.

The modern study of set theory was initiated by Georg Cantor and Richard Dedekind in the 1870s. After the discovery of paradoxes in naive set theory, numerous axiom systems were proposed in the early twentieth century, of which the Zermelo–Fraenkel axioms, with the axiom of choice, are the best-known.

Set theory is commonly employed as a foundational system for mathematics, particularly in the form of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory with the axiom of choice. Beyond its foundational role, set theory is a branch of mathematics in its own right, with an active research community. Contemporary research into set theory includes a diverse collection of topics, ranging from the structure of the real number line to the study of the consistency of large cardinals.

Contents

History

Georg Cantor

Mathematical topics typically emerge and evolve through interactions among many researchers. Set theory, however, was founded by a single paper in 1874 by Georg Cantor: "On a Characteristic Property of All Real Algebraic Numbers".[1][2]

Since the 5th century BC, beginning with Greek mathematician Zeno of Elea in the West and early Indian mathematicians in the East, mathematicians had struggled with the concept of infinity. Especially notable is the work of Bernard Bolzano in the first half of the 19th century.[3] Modern understanding of infinity began in 1867–71, with Cantor's work on number theory. An 1872 meeting between Cantor and Richard Dedekind influenced Cantor's thinking and culminated in Cantor's 1874 paper.

Cantor's work initially polarized the mathematicians of his day. While Karl Weierstrass and Dedekind supported Cantor, Leopold Kronecker, now seen as a founder of mathematical constructivism, did not. Cantorian set theory eventually became widespread, due to the utility of Cantorian concepts, such as one-to-one correspondence among sets, his proof that there are more real numbers than integers, and the "infinity of infinities" ("Cantor's paradise") resulting from the power set operation. This utility of set theory led to the article "Mengenlehre" contributed in 1898 by Arthur Schoenflies to Klein's encyclopedia.

The next wave of excitement in set theory came around 1900, when it was discovered that Cantorian set theory gave rise to several contradictions, called antinomies or paradoxes. Bertrand Russell and Ernst Zermelo independently found the simplest and best known paradox, now called Russell's paradox: consider "the set of all sets that are not members of themselves", which leads to a contradiction since it must be a member of itself, and not a member of itself. In 1899 Cantor had himself posed the question "What is the cardinal number of the set of all sets?", and obtained a related paradox. Russell used his paradox as a theme in his 1903 review of continental mathematics in his The Principles of Mathematics.

The momentum of set theory was such that debate on the paradoxes did not lead to its abandonment. The work of Zermelo in 1908 and Abraham Fraenkel in 1922 resulted in the set of axioms ZFC, which became the canonical[dubious – discuss] axioms for set theory. The work of analysts such as Henri Lebesgue demonstrated the great mathematical utility of set theory, which has since become woven into the fabric of modern mathematics. Set theory is commonly used as a foundational system, although in some areas category theory is thought to be a preferred foundation.

Basic concepts

Main articles: Set (mathematics) and Algebra of sets

Set theory begins with a fundamental binary relation between an object o and a set A. If o is a member (or element) of A, write o ∈ A. Since sets are objects, the membership relation can relate sets as well.

A derived binary relation between two sets is the subset relation, also called set inclusion. If all the members of set A are also members of set B, then A is a subset of B, denoted A ⊆ B. For example, {1,2} is a subset of {1,2,3} , but {1,4} is not. From this definition, it is clear that a set is a subset of itself; for cases where one wishes to rule out this, the term proper subset is defined. A is called a proper subset of B if and only if A is a subset of B, but B is not a subset of A.

Just as arithmetic features binary operations on numbers, set theory features binary operations on sets. The:

Union of the sets A and B, denoted A ∪ B, is the set of all objects that are a member of A, or B, or both. The union of {1, 2, 3} and {2, 3, 4} is the set {1, 2, 3, 4} .

Intersection of the sets A and B, denoted A ∩ B, is the set of all objects that are members of both A and B. The intersection of {1, 2, 3} and {2, 3, 4} is the set {2, 3} .

Set difference of U and A, denoted U \ A, is the set of all members of U that are not members of A. The set difference {1,2,3} \ {2,3,4} is {1} , while, conversely, the set difference {2,3,4} \ {1,2,3} is {4} . When A is a subset of U, the set difference U \ A is also called the complement of A in U. In this case, if the choice of U is clear from the context, the notation Ac is sometimes used instead of U \ A, particularly if U is a universal set as in the study of Venn diagrams.

Symmetric difference of sets A and B is the set of all objects that are a member of exactly one of A and B (elements which are in one of the sets, but not in both). For instance, for the sets {1,2,3} and {2,3,4} , the symmetric difference set is {1,4} . It is the set difference of the union and the intersection, (A ∪ B) \ (A ∩ B) or (A \ B) ∪ (B \ A).

Cartesian product of A and B, denoted A × B, is the set whose members are all possible ordered pairs (a,b) where a is a member of A and b is a member of B. The cartesian product of {1, 2} and {red, white} is {(1, red), (1, white), (2, red), (2, white)}.

Power set of a set A is the set whose members are all possible subsets of A. For example, the power set of {1, 2} is { {}, {1}, {2}, {1,2} } .

Some basic sets of central importance are the empty set (the unique set containing no elements), the set of natural numbers, and the set of real numbers.

Some ontology

Main article: von Neumann universe

An initial segment of the von Neumann hierarchy.

A set is pure if all of its members are sets, all members of its members are sets, and so on. For example, the set containing only the empty set is a nonempty pure set. In modern set theory, it is common to restrict attention to the von Neumann universe of pure sets, and many systems of axiomatic set theory are designed to axiomatize the pure sets only. There are many technical advantages to this restriction, and little generality is lost, since essentially all mathematical concepts can be modeled by pure sets. Sets in the von Neumann universe are organized into a cumulative hierarchy, based on how deeply their members, members of members, etc. are nested. Each set in this hierarchy is assigned (by transfinite recursion) an ordinal number α, known as its rank. The rank of a pure set X is defined to be the least upper bound of all successors of ranks of members of X. For example, the empty set is assigned rank 0, while the set containing only the empty set is assigned rank 1. For each ordinal α, the set Vα is defined to consist of all pure sets with rank less than α. The entire von Neumann universe is denoted V.

Axiomatic set theory

Elementary set theory can be studied informally and intuitively, and so can be taught in primary schools using Venn diagrams. The intuitive approach tacitly assumes that a set may be formed from the class of all objects satisfying any particular defining condition. This assumption gives rise to paradoxes, the simplest and best known of which are Russell's paradox and the Burali-Forti paradox. Axiomatic set theory was originally devised to rid set theory of such paradoxes.[4]

The most widely studied systems of axiomatic set theory imply that all sets form a cumulative hierarchy. Such systems come in two flavors, those whose ontology consists of:

Sets alone. This includes the most common axiomatic set theory, Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory (ZFC), which includes the axiom of choice. Fragments of ZFC include:

o Zermelo set theory , which replaces the axiom schema of replacement with that of separation;

o General set theory , a small fragment of Zermelo set theory sufficient for the Peano axioms and finite sets;

o Kripke-Platek set theory , which omits the axioms of infinity, powerset, and choice, and weakens the axiom schemata of separation and replacement.

Sets and proper classes. This includes Von Neumann-Bernays-Gödel set theory, which has the same strength as ZFC for theorems about sets alone, and Morse-Kelley set theory, which is stronger than ZFC.

The above systems can be modified to allow urelements, objects that can be members of sets but that are not themselves sets and do not have any members.

The systems of New Foundations NFU (allowing urelements) and NF (lacking them) are not based on a cumulative hierarchy. NF and NFU include a "set of everything," relative to which every set has a complement. In these systems urelements matter, because NF, but not NFU, produces sets for which the axiom of choice does not hold.

Systems of constructive set theory, such as CST, CZF, and IZF, embed their set axioms in intuitionistic logic instead of first order logic. Yet other systems accept standard first order logic but feature a nonstandard membership relation. These include rough set theory and fuzzy set theory, in which the value of an atomic formula embodying the membership relation is not simply True or False. The Boolean-valued models of ZFC are a related subject.

An enrichment of ZFC called Internal Set Theory was proposed by Edward Nelson in 1977.

Applications

Many mathematical concepts can be defined precisely using only set theoretic concepts. For example, mathematical structures as diverse as graphs, manifolds, rings, and vector spaces can all be defined as sets satisfying various (axiomatic) properties. Equivalence and order relations are ubiquitous in mathematics, and the theory of mathematical relations can be described in set theory.

Set theory is also a promising foundational system for much of mathematics. Since the publication of the first volume of Principia Mathematica, it has been claimed that most or even all mathematical theorems can be derived using an aptly designed set of axioms for set theory, augmented with many definitions, using first or second order logic. For example, properties of the natural and real numbers can be derived within set theory, as each number system can be identified with a set of equivalence classes under a suitable equivalence relation whose field is some infinite set.

Set theory as a foundation for mathematical analysis, topology, abstract algebra, and discrete mathematics is likewise uncontroversial; mathematicians accept that (in principle) theorems in these areas can be derived from the relevant definitions and the axioms of set theory. Few full derivations of complex mathematical theorems from set theory have been formally verified,

however, because such formal derivations are often much longer than the natural language proofs mathematicians commonly present. One verification project, Metamath, includes derivations of more than 10,000 theorems starting from the ZFC axioms and using first order logic.

Areas of study

Set theory is a major area of research in mathematics, with many interrelated subfields.

Combinatorial set theory

Main article: Infinitary combinatorics

Combinatorial set theory concerns extensions of finite combinatorics to infinite sets. This includes the study of cardinal arithmetic and the study of extensions of Ramsey's theorem such as the Erdős–Rado theorem.

Descriptive set theory

Main article: Descriptive set theory

Descriptive set theory is the study of subsets of the real line and, more generally, subsets of Polish spaces. It begins with the study of pointclasses in the Borel hierarchy and extends to the study of more complex hierarchies such as the projective hierarchy and the Wadge hierarchy. Many properties of Borel sets can be established in ZFC, but proving these properties hold for more complicated sets requires additional axioms related to determinacy and large cardinals.

The field of effective descriptive set theory is between set theory and recursion theory. It includes the study of lightface pointclasses, and is closely related to hyperarithmetical theory. In many cases, results of classical descriptive set theory have effective versions; in some cases, new results are obtained by proving the effective version first and then extending ("relativizing") it to make it more broadly applicable.

A recent area of research concerns Borel equivalence relations and more complicated definable equivalence relations. This has important applications to the study of invariants in many fields of mathematics.

Fuzzy set theory

Main article: Fuzzy set theory

In set theory as Cantor defined and Zermelo and Fraenkel axiomatized, an object is either a member of a set or not. In fuzzy set theory this condition was relaxed by Lotfi A. Zadeh so an object has a degree of membership in a set, as number between 0 and 1. For example, the degree of membership of a person in the set of "tall people" is more flexible than a simple yes or no answer and can be a real number such as 0.75.

Inner model theory

Main article: Inner model theory

An inner model of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory (ZF) is a transitive class that includes all the ordinals and satisfies all the axioms of ZF. The canonical example is the constructible universe L developed by Gödel. One reason that the study of inner models is of interest is that it can be used to prove consistency results. For example, it can be shown that regardless of whether a model V of ZF satisfies the continuum hypothesis or the axiom of choice, the inner model L constructed inside the original model will satisfy both the generalized continuum hypothesis and the axiom of choice. Thus the assumption that ZF is consistent (has at least one model) implies that ZF together with these two principles is consistent.

The study of inner models is common in the study of determinacy and large cardinals, especially when considering axioms such as the axiom of determinacy that contradict the axiom of choice. Even if a fixed model of set theory satisfies the axiom of choice, it is possible for an inner model to fail to satisfy the axiom of choice. For example, the existence of sufficiently large cardinals implies that there is an inner model satisfying the axiom of determinacy (and thus not satisfying the axiom of choice).[5]

Large cardinals

Main article: Large cardinal property

A large cardinal is a cardinal number with an extra property. Many such properties are studied, including inaccessible cardinals, measurable cardinals, and many more. These properties typically imply the cardinal number must be very large, with the existence of a cardinal with the specified property unprovable in Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory.

Determinacy

Main article: Determinacy

Determinacy refers to the fact that, under appropriate assumptions, certain two-player games of perfect information are determined from the start in the sense that one player must have a winning strategy. The existence of these strategies has important consequences in descriptive set theory, as the assumption that a broader class of games is determined often implies that a broader class of sets will have a topological property. The axiom of determinacy (AD) is an important object of study; although incompatible with the axiom of choice, AD implies that all subsets of the real line are well behaved (in particular, measurable and with the perfect set property). AD can be used to prove that the Wadge degrees have an elegant structure.

Forcing

Main article: Forcing (mathematics)

Paul Cohen invented the method of forcing while searching for a model of ZFC in which the axiom of choice or the continuum hypothesis fails. Forcing adjoins to some given model of set theory additional sets in order to create a larger model with properties determined (i.e. "forced") by the construction and the original model. For example, Cohen's construction adjoins additional subsets of the natural numbers without changing any of the cardinal numbers of the original model. Forcing is also one of two methods for proving relative consistency by finitistic methods, the other method being Boolean-valued models.

Cardinal invariants

Main article: Cardinal invariant

A cardinal invariant is a property of the real line measured by a cardinal number. For example, a well-studied invariant is the smallest cardinality of a collection of meagre sets of reals whose union is the entire real line. These are invariants in the sense that any two isomorphic models of set theory must give the same cardinal for each invariant. Many cardinal invariants have been studied, and the relationships between them are often complex and related to axioms of set theory.

Set-theoretic topology

Main article: Set-theoretic topology

Set-theoretic topology studies questions of general topology that are set-theoretic in nature or that require advanced methods of set theory for their solution. Many of these theorems are independent of ZFC, requiring stronger axioms for their proof. A famous problem is the normal Moore space question, a question in general topology that was the subject of intense research. The answer to the normal Moore space question was eventually proved to be independent of ZFC.

Objections to set theory as a foundation for mathematics

From set theory's inception, some mathematicians have objected to it as a foundation for mathematics. The most common objection to set theory, one Kronecker voiced in set theory's earliest years, starts from the constructivist view that mathematics is loosely related to computation. If this view is granted, then the treatment of infinite sets, both in naive and in axiomatic set theory, introduces into mathematics methods and objects that are not computable even in principle. Ludwig Wittgenstein questioned the way Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory handled infinities.[citation needed] Wittgenstein's views about the foundations of mathematics were later criticised by Georg Kreisel and Paul Bernays, and investigated by Crispin Wright, among others.

Category theorists have proposed topos theory as an alternative to traditional axiomatic set theory. Topos theory can interpret various alternatives to that theory, such as constructivism, finite set theory, and computable set theory.[6]