Preliminaries
Example:
(0, 1, 2, …,where … signifies that this progression goes on indefinitely) belong to the set of natural numbers.
| Notation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| N | Natural numbers |
| Z | Integers |
| Q | Rational numbers |
| R | Real (rational and irrational) numbers |
| C | Complex numbers |
| Subscript: N+ | Positive (negative) values of the set |
| Superscript: Nd | Dimensionality (number of dimensions) |
Example:
The set of solutions to the equation \(x^2 - 5x + 6 = 0\) is \(\{2, 3\}\), a discrete set.
{a, b, c} ≠ {b, a, c}{a, b, c} = {c, b, a}




Operators:
\[+, -, \times, /, x^n, \sqrt[n]{x}, \sum, \prod, !\]
\[ \prod_{i=k}^{l} x_i = x_k \times \ldots \times x_l \]
\[ \sum_{i=k}^{l} x_i = x_k + \ldots + x_l \]
Example:
\[ A = \{\text{Bush, Kerry, Nader}\}\]
Possible partitions:
\[\{\{Bush\}, \{Kerry\}, \{Nader\}\}\]
\[ \{\{Bush, Kerry\}, \{Nader\}\}\] or any similar combinations
\[A=\{\text{Female, Male}\} \\
B=\{\text{Income over \$50k, Income under \$50k}\}\]
\[A \times B =\\ \{(\text{Female, Income over \$50k}), \\ (\text{Female, Income udner \$50k}), \\ (\text{Male, Income over \$50k}), \\ (\text{Male, Income under \$50k})\}\]
So, if \(a \in A\) is greater than \(b \in A\), we can write the relation as \((a, b)\)
Summary of Symbols and Notation
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| \(+\) | Addition |
| \(-\) | Subtraction |
| \(*\) or \(x\) or \(\cdot\) | Multiplication |
| \(/\) or \(\div\) | Division |
| \(\pm\) | Plus or minus |
| \(x^n\) | Exponentiation (“to the nth power”) |
| \(\sqrt[n]{x}\) | Radical or nth root |
| \(!\) | Factorial |
| \(\infty\) | Infinity |
| \(\sum_{i=k}^l x_i\) | Sum of \(x_i\) from index \(i=k\) to \(i=l\) |
| \(\prod_{i=k}^l x_i\) | Product of \(x_i\) from index \(i=k\) to \(i=l\) |
| \(\ldots\) | Continued progression |
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| \(\frac{d}{dx}\) | Total derivative with respect to \(x\) |
| \(\frac{\delta}{\delta x}\) | Partial derivative with respect to \(x\) |
| \(\int dx\) | Integral over \(x\) |
| \(\cup\) | Set union |
| \(\cap\) | Set intersection |
| \(\times\) | Cartesian product of sets |
| \(\setminus\) | Set difference |
| \(A^c\) | Complement of set \(A\) |
| \(\emptyset\) | Empty (or null) set |
| \(\in\) | Set membership |
| \(\notin\) | Not member of set |
| \(\vert\) or \(:\) or \(\ni\) | Such that |
| \(\subset\) | Proper subset |
| \(\subseteq\) | Subset |
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| \(<\) | Less than |
| \(\leq\) | Less than or equal to |
| \(=\) | Equal to |
| \(>\) | Greater than |
| \(\geq\) | Greater than or equal to |
| \(\neq\) | Not equal to |
| \(\equiv\) | Equivalent to or Defined as |
| \(f(x)\) or \(f(\cdot)\) | Function |
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| \(\{\) \(\}\) | Delimiter for discrete set |
| \((\) \()\) | Delimiter for open set |
| \([\) \(]\) | Delimiter for closed set |
| \(\forall\) | For all (or for every or for each) |
| \(\exists\) | There exists |
| \(\Rightarrow\) | Implies |
| \(\Leftrightarrow\) | If and only if |
| \(\neg\) or \(\sim\) | Negation (not \(C\)) |
Greek Letters
| Upper-case | Lower-case | English | Upper-case | Lower-case | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| \(A\) | \(\alpha\) | alpha | \(N\) | \(\nu\) | nu |
| \(B\) | \(\beta\) | beta | \(\Xi\) | \(\xi\) | xi |
| \(\Gamma\) | \(\gamma\) | gamma | \(O\) | \(o\) | omicron |
| \(\Delta\) | \(\delta\) | delta | \(\Pi\) | \(\pi\) | pi |
| \(E\) | \(\epsilon\) | epsilon | \(P\) | \(\rho\) | rho |
| \(Z\) | \(\zeta\) | zeta | \(\Sigma\) | \(\sigma\) | sigma |
| \(H\) | \(\eta\) | eta | \(T\) | \(\tau\) | tau |
| \(\Theta\) | \(\theta\) | theta | \(\Upsilon\) | \(\upsilon\) | upsilon |
| \(I\) | \(\iota\) | iota | \(\Phi\) | \(\phi\) | phi |
| \(K\) | \(\kappa\) | kappa | \(X\) | \(\chi\) | chi |
| \(\Lambda\) | \(\lambda\) | lambda | \(\Psi\) | \(\psi\) | psi |
| \(M\) | \(\mu\) | mu | \(\Omega\) | \(\omega\) | omega |
Given the sets \(S_1 = \{2, 4, 6\}\), \(S_2 = \{7, 2, 6\}\), \(S_3 = \{4, 2, 6\}\), and \(S_4 = \{2, 4\}\), which of the following statements are true?
\(S_1 = S_3\)
\(S_1 = \mathbb{R}\) (set of real numbers)
\(8 \in S_2\)
\(3 \notin S_2\)
\(4 \notin S_3\)
\(S_4 \subset \mathbb{R}\)
\(S_1 \supset S_4\)
\(\emptyset \subset S_2\)
\(S_3 \supset \{1, 2\}\)
Referring to the four sets given in Problem 1, find:
\(S_1 \cup S_2\)
\(S_1 \cup S_3\)
\(S_2 \cap S_3\)
\(S_2 \cap S_4\)
\(S_4 \cap S_2 \cap S_1\)
\(S_3 \cup S_1 \cup S_4\)
Which of the following statements are valid?
\(A \cup A = A\)
\(A \cap A = A\)
\(A \cup \emptyset = A\)
\(A \cup U = U\)
\(A \cap \emptyset = \emptyset\)
\(A \cap U = A\)
The complement of \(A\) is \(A\)
Write an element of the Cartesian product \([0, 1) \times (1, 2)\).
Given \(S_1 = \{3, 6, 9\}\), \(S_2 = \{a, b\}\), and \(S_3 = \{m, n\}\), find the Cartesian products:
\(S_1 \times S_2\)
\(S_1 \times S_2 \times S_3\)
Any Questions?
