99 5.1. Set Theory and Venn Diagrams — Mathematics for Public and Occupational Health Professionals
Set Theory
In this section, we will familiarize ourselves with set operations and notations, so that we can apply these concepts to both counting and probability problems. We begin by defining some terms.
A set is a collection of objects, and its members are called the elements of the set. We name the set by using capital letters, and enclose its members in curly brackets. Suppose we need to list the members of the chess club. We use the following set notation.
A set that has no members is called an empty set. The empty set is denoted by the symbol Ø.
Two sets are equal if they have the same elements.
A set A is a subset of a set B if every member of A is also a member of B.
Suppose C = {Al, Bob, Chris, David, Ed} and A = {Bob, David}. Then A is a subset of C, written as 
.
Every set is a subset of itself, and the empty set is a subset of every set.
Union Of Two Sets
Let A and B be two sets, then the union of A and B, written as 
, is the set of all elements that are either in A or in B, or in both A and B.
Intersection Of Two Sets
Let A and B be two sets, then the intersection of A and B, written as 
, is the set of all elements that are common to both sets A and B.
A universal setU is the set consisting of all elements under consideration.
Complement of a Set
Let A be any set, then the complement of set A, written as 
, is the set consisting of elements in the universal set U that are not in A.
Disjoint Sets
Two sets A and B are called disjoint sets if their intersection is an empty set.
To achieve a better understanding, let us suppose that the universal set U represents the colors of the spectrum, and P the primary colors, then 
represents those colors of the spectrum that are not primary colors.
Venn Diagrams
We now use Venn diagrams to illustrate the relationships between sets. In the late 1800’s, an English logician named John Venn developed a method to represent relationship between sets. He represented these relationships using diagrams, which are now known as Venn diagrams. A Venn diagram represents a set as the interior of a circle. Often two or more circles are enclosed in a rectangle where the rectangle represents the universal set. To visualize an intersection or union of a set is easy. In this section, we will mainly use Venn diagrams to sort various populations and count objects.
Because 30 people drove cars with automatic transmissions, the circle A must contain 30 elements. This means x + 12 = 30, or x = 18. Similarly, since 20 people drove cars with standard transmissions, the circle B must contain 20 elements, or y +12 = 20 which in turn makes y = 8.
Now that all the information is sorted out, it is easy to read from the diagram that 18 people drove cars with automatic transmissions only, 12 people drove both types of cars, and 8 drove cars with standard transmissions only. Therefore, 18 + 12 + 8 = 38 people took part in the survey.
Solution
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Practice questions1. Let the Universal set U = {a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j},V = {a, e, i, f, h}, and W = {a, c, e, g, i}. List the members of the following sets: 2. Consider the following sets: A = {SARS, H1N1, H5N1, MERS-CoV, COVID-19, Influenza, Norovirus}, B= {Listeria, Campylobacter, Salmonella, E. coli O157, Norovirus, Shigella}, and C= {SARS, Listeria, Tuberculosis, H5N1, Salmonella, HIV, COVID-19}.List the members of the following sets: 3. A survey of athletes revealed that for their minor aches and pains, 30 used aspirin, 50 used ibuprofen, and 15 used both. All surveyed athletes used at least one of the two painkillers. How many athletes were surveyed? 4. A study of 150 high school students found that 25 reported having a previous concussion or head injury, 52 reported experiencing mental illness, and 15 reported both outcomes. How many students did not report either outcome? 5. A survey of 100 students at Ryerson University finds that 50 subscribe to Netflix, 40 subscribe to Amazon Prime, and 30 subscribe to Disney+. Of these, 15 subscribe to both Netflix and Amazon Prime, 10 to both Amazon Prime and Disney+, 10 to both Netflix and Disney+, and 5 have all three subscription services. Draw a Venn diagram and determine the following:
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