COLEGIO DE SAN FRANCISCO JAVIER

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORK AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

MATHEMATICS IN THE MODERN WORLD

Module 3 THE NATURE OF MATHEMATICS

I. Mathematical Language and Symbols

LEARNING TOPICS:
1. Characteristics of mathematical language: precise, concise, powerful
2. Expression vs. Sentences
3. Conventions in the mathematical language
4. Four basic concepts: sets, functions, relations, binary operation
5. Elementary logic: connectives, quantifiers, negation, variables
6. Formality

CONTENT
DISCUSSION
Continuation …

Four Basic Concepts: SETS, Functions, Relations, Binary Operation

A group or collection of objects is called a set. Each of subject in a set is called a member or an element of a set.

Set Notation

There are three ways to describe sets.

1. The Descriptive Method

A set can be described by writing a description of its elements.
For example:
V = colors in the Philippine Flag
M = multiples of 6 between 1 and 400.

2. The List or Roster Method

A set can be described by listing all its elements within a pair of braces, {}. Each element is separated from the
next by a comma.
Set V can be written as Set M can be written as
V = {blue, red, white, yellow} M = {6, 12, 18, …, 396}

3. The Set-Builder Notation

A set can be described using variables. A variable is a symbol, usually a letter, that can represent different
elements of a set. For example, suppose you are interested in all the cities of the Philippines. Since there are too
many elements in this set, it would be better t use the set-builder notation.

A=¿
read as A is the set of all x such that x is a city in the Philippines.
Example:
Write each set suing the roster method.
a. The set of distinct letters in the word HUMILITY.
b. The set of colors of the rainbow.
Solutions:
a. {H, U, M, I, L, T, Y}
Notice that when listing the elements of a set, identical elements are not repeated.
b. {red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet}

Properties of a Set

o Suppose the set of students who were born in June is named set A. Jenny is born in June. So “Jenny ∈ A” means
Jenny is an element of set A. Jed is born in February. So, Jed ∈ A” means Jed is not an element of set A.

o In a set-builder notation, some situations exist that make it difficult to determine whether an object belongs to the
set or not. For instance, if we are interested in “pretty girls in the Philippines” it might be difficult to determine if a
particular girl belongs to the set. the set “pretty girls in the Philippines” is not well-defined.
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Example: State whether the collection is a well-defined set.

1. {subjects in Grade 7}  yes, because it is clear whether a subject is taught in Grade 7 or not.
2. {popular actors}  no, because some people may consider an actor popular while others may not.

o A set with no element is called an empty or null set. it is denoted by the symbol {} or ∅ .
o A set is finite set if it empty or if it can be placed into a one-to-one correspondence with a set of the form {1, 2, 3,
…, N}, where N is a counting number. In other words, the number of elements in a finite set is a whole number. If
a set is not finite, it is said to be infinite.

Example: Decide whether the set is finite or infinite.

1. The set of counting numbers greater than 10.  infinite. The set is {11, 12, 13, 14, …}
2. The set of whole number less than 5.  finite. The set is {4, 3, 2, 1, 0}

o Two sets A and B, are equal (written A = B) if they have exactly the same elements.
o Two finite sets, A and B, are equivalent if they have the same number of elements.

Example: state whether each pair of sets is equal, equivalent, or neither.

1. K = {2, 4}, L = {1, 2, 3}  K and L are neither equal nor equivalent

2. M = {red, blue, green} and N = {green, blue, red}  M and N are equal sets. The arrangement of the elements
d does not matter. So, M = N.
3. O = {2, 4} and P = {3, 8}  O and P are not equal sets since they do not have exactly
The same elements. But O and P are equivalent sets since
There is one-to-one correspondence between the elements
of the sets.
A one-to-one correspondence pairs the elements of two sets so that, for each element of one set, there is exactly
one element of the other. The two sets have the same cardinality.

o The universal set, or simply the universe, denoted by U, contains all elements being considered in a given
situation.
o Set A is a subset of B, written “A ⊑ B” if and only of every element of A is also an element of B.
Set A is proper subset of B, written “A⊏ B”, if and only if every element of A is also an element of B and that B
contains at least one element that is not in A.

Operations on Set

o Intersection of sets A and B, written A ∩ B, is the set containing the elements that are common to both A and B.
A mango B

The intersection of A and B can be shown in the Venn Diagram to the right.
As the diagram shows, mango belongs to both set A and set B. It is in the middle shaded region. apple orange
Therefore, A ∩ B = {mango} Banana pineapple

When A and B have no common elements, then A ∩ B = {}. We say A and B are disjoint.
A B

o Union of sets A and B, written A ∪ B, is the set of all elements that are in A, or in B, or in both A and B. the word
“or” suggests union. In fact, ‘or’ is to union as “and” is to intersection. Union and Intersection are called binary set
operation because they replace sets with a third set.

Example: In the first Venn Diagram above, the union of A ∪ B = {apple, banana, mango, orange, pineapple}
o If A and B are two sets, then their difference is given by A - B or B – A. A – B is the set of all elements of A that
are not in B. B – A is the set of all elements of B that are not in A.

Example: Let A = {apple, mango, banana} and

B = {orange, pineapple, mango}
1. A – B = {apple, banana}  notice that while mango is in A, we exclude it from A – B because we must not take
anything that is in B.
2. B – A = {orange, pineapple}

o The complement of a set A, written A’, is the set of elements in the Universal set that are not in A.
o Cardinality the total number of elements in a set.

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Example:
A = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}  n(A) = 5  there are only 5 elements of set A.

Examples:

1. A history teacher was interested to know about her class of 62 students who keeps up with current events. She gathered the
following data:
9 students read the newspaper,
18 students listen to the radio,
30 students watch television,
3 students both read newspaper and listen to the radio,

Note: Always start with the intersection. 30 students who watch television only

Since there are already 3 students who both

read newspaper and listen to the radio, READ NEWSPAPER
therefore there are only 6 students left who
read newspaper only. WATCH TELEVISION

6
Start with the intersection. 3 students who
both read newspaper and listen to the radio.
3 30
Since there are already 3 students who both
read newspaper and listen to the radio,
15
therefore there are only 15 students left who
listen to the radio only. 8
8 students who do not read
LISTEN TO THE RADIO newspaper, watch television,
and listen to the radio.

1. n( Read Newspaper ∪ Listen¿the Radio ∪ Watch Television)=¿ 54

2. n ( Read Newspaper ∩ Listen¿the Radio ) =3
3. n ( Read Newspaper ∪ Listen¿the Radio ∪Watch Television )' =8
4. n ( Read Newspaper )' =53 54

Organize the data using the Venn Diagram.

1. 12 students both listen to the radio and watch television,
6 students both read the newspaper and watch television,
and 2 students read the newspaper, listen to the radio and watch television.

2. Mrs. Cruz asked her 30 students who among their mother, father, or sibling will attend the quarterly conference.
Sixteen students said their mother will attend, another 16 said their fathers will attend, and 11 said their siblings
will attend. Five said their mothers and siblings will attend, and of these, 3 said their fathers will also attend. Five
said only their siblings will attend and 8 said only their fathers will attend. How many students said only their
mothers will attend? Support your answer by illustrating the Venn Diagram which presents the given data.

Nivera, Gladys C., Mathematics Patterns and Practicalities 7 page 5.

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