Back to: MATHEMATICS SS1
Welcome to class!
In today’s class, we will be talking about the complement of a set. Enjoy the class!
Complement of Set
In complement of a set if ξ be the universal set and A a subset of ξ, then the complement of A is the set of all elements of ξ which are not the elements of A.
Symbolically, we denote the complement of A with respect to ξ as A’.
For example:
If ξ = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}
A = {1, 3, 7} find A’.
Solution
We observe that 2, 4, 5, 6 are the only elements of ξ which do not belong to A.
Therefore, A’ = {2, 4, 5, 6}
Note:
The complement of a universal set is an empty set.
The complement of an empty set is a universal set.
The set and its complement are disjoint sets.
For example:
- Let the set of natural numbers be the universal set and A is a set of even natural numbers,
then A’ {x: x is a set of odd natural numbers}
- Let ξ = The set of letters in the English alphabet.
A = The set of consonants in the English alphabet
then A’ = The set of vowels in the English alphabet.
- Show that;
(a) The complement of a universal set is an empty set.
Let ξ denote the universal set, then
ξ’ = The set of those elements which are not in ξ.
= empty set = ϕ
Therefore, ξ = ϕ so the complement of a universal set is an empty set.
(b) A set and its complement are disjoint sets.
Let A be any set then A’ = set of those elements of ξ which are not in A’.
Let x ∉ A, then x is an element of ξ not contained in A’
So, x ∉ A’
Therefore, A and A’ are disjoint sets.
Therefore, Set and its complement are disjoint sets
Similarly, in the complement of a set when U be the universal set and A is a subset of U. Then the
the complement of A is the set all elements of U which are not the elements of A.
Symbolically, we write A’ to denote the complement of A with respect to U.
Thus, A’ = {x: x ∈ U and x ∉ A}
Obviously, A’ = {U – A}
For example:
Let U = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16}
A = {6, 10, 4, 16}
A’ = {2, 8, 12, 14}
We observe that 2, 8, 12, 14 are the only elements of U which do not belong to A.
In our next class, we will be talking about Circle and its Properties. We hope you enjoyed the class.
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