Set Theory
A set is a collection of things. A set can consist of real or literal numbers (such as 1, 2, 3, 4 or a, b, c, d) or of objects (such as baseballs or books). Set theory is the field of mathematics that deals with the properties of sets that are independent of the things that make up the set. For example, a mathematician might be interested in knowing about sets S and T without caring at all whether the two sets are made of baseballs, books, letters, or numbers.
The things that do to make up a set are called members or elements. In the above examples, 1, 2, 3, and 4 are members or elements of one set, and a, b, c, and d are elements of a second set.
Sets can be made of anything at all. The only characteristic they must have in common is classification together in a set. For example, the collection of all the junk...
[The entire page is 794 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
