DEFINITION OF SETS

A. Definition of Sets
Definition of sets is a collection which can be clearly defined.
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A number of things of the same kind that belong or are used together
(Merriam-Webster)
A group of things that belong together (camridge)
A group or collection of things that belong together or resemble one other
or are usually found together (oxfords dictionary)

Here, clearly defined implies that one can tell definitely which objects
are cluded in or excluded from the known set. Objects which are included in a
set are called the members or elements of that set. From this point
onwards, we will use the term member or elements.
Based on the above definition of a set, a group or collection of objects is
not necessarily a set.
Collections or groups considered as sets
Example :
A group of students in your class who wear glasses
Those who serve as members are students in your class who wear glasses
Those who are not members are students in your class who do not wear
glasses
Thus, the group is a set since it is clearly defined
The group in the above example are sets since we can tell definitely which
objects serve as members and which objects do not serve as members.
Collections or groups not considered as sets
Example :
A group of rich people in Makassar
Similarly, the term rich is indefinite, that is, how much money a person
must have to be considered as rich.
Since the two group are indefinite they cannot be considered as sets.
B. Symbol of a set
A set be expressed using braces and is usually denoted by a capital
letter such as A, B, C, D and so on until Z. If two or more different sets are
involved, then the names of those sets must be different from each other.
Example :
A set counting numbers which are less than 8
For example, if the set is called A, then :

A = {counting numbers which are less than 8}

TYPE OF SETS

EMPTY SETS
An empty set is a set which has no member and is denoted by { } or .
The cardinal number of an empty set, i.e., n() = 0
Example :
1. A set of all days in a week whose name starts with A is an empty set
since there is no day whose name starts with A.
2. Let, A = {x : 2 < x < 3, x is a natural number}
Here A is an empty set because there is no natural number between
2 and 3.

SINGLETON SETS
A set which contains only one element is called a singleton set.
Example :
Let, A = {x : x N and x = 4}
Here, A is a singleton set because there is only one element 2 whose
square is 4.

SETS OF NUMBERS
There are several sets of members which are frequently used such as
shown below.
1. The set of all integers, B = { . . . . , -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . . }
2. The set off all natural numbers, A = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 . . . . . }
3. The set off all counting numbers, C = { 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . . }
4. The set off all odd integers, which is { 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, . . . . }
5. The set off all even integers, which is {0, 2, 4, 6, 8, . . . . }
6. The set off all prime numbers, which is {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, . . . . }
Prime numbers are numbers which have exactly two distinct factors, or
numbers which are evenly divisible by 1 and by itself.
7. The set off all square numbers, which is { 0, 1, 4, 9, 16, . . . . }
8. The set off all composite numbers, which is (4, 6, 8, 9, 10, . . . . )
Composite numbers are integers which have more than two factors

UNIVERSAL SETS
A universal set is a set which contains all members of the sets under
consideration.
A universal set is also called universe.The symbol for a universal set is S.
To understand more about the universal set, let us consider the
following sets!
1. S = { All students in your school } , A = { All students in your class }
AApparently, the set S contains all members of the set A therefore the
set S is considered as the universal set of the set A.
Example :
Can { all prime numbers } be considered as the universal set of { 3, 5,
7, 9 }

Answer : The numbers 3,5, and 7 are prime, but 9 is not a prime
number. The number 9 is not contined in { all prime numbers }.
Therefore, { all prime numbers } cannot be considered as the universal
set of { 3, 5, 7, 9 }.

FINITE SETS
Finite set is the set that much its members infinite.
Example :
D = {x | x is a natural number less than 11}
D is a finite set, because the elements
infinity is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7, 8, 9, 10.

INFINITE SETS
Infinte set is the set that members are infinite or unlimited.
Example :
Z = {y | y is a natural number}
Z is an infinite set, because elements is unlimited or infinite.