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A set of polygons in an Euler diagram This set equals the one depicted above since both have the very same elements.. In mathematics, a set is a collection of different [1] things; [2] [3] [4] these things are called elements or members of the set and are typically mathematical objects of any kind: numbers, symbols, points in space, lines, other geometrical shapes, variables, or even other ...
The algebra of sets is the set-theoretic analogue of the algebra of numbers. Just as arithmetic addition and multiplication are associative and commutative, so are set union and intersection; just as the arithmetic relation "less than or equal" is reflexive, antisymmetric and transitive, so is the set relation of "subset".
This article lists mathematical properties and laws of sets, involving the set-theoretic operations of union, intersection, and complementation and the relations of set equality and set inclusion. It also provides systematic procedures for evaluating expressions, and performing calculations, involving these operations and relations.
The definition can be extended to an arbitrary countable set A (e.g. the set of n-tuples of integers, the set of rational numbers, the set of formulas in some formal language, etc.) by using Gödel numbers to represent elements of the set and declaring a subset of A to be arithmetical if the set of corresponding Gödel numbers is arithmetical.
On the other hand, some sources prefer to use a restricted recursion theorem that applies only to the set of natural numbers. One then considers a to be temporarily "fixed", applies recursion on b to define a function "a +", and pastes these unary operations for all a together to form the full binary operation. [59]
The power set of the set of natural numbers can be put in a one-to-one correspondence with the set of real numbers (see Cardinality of the continuum). The power set of a set S, together with the operations of union, intersection and complement, is a Σ-algebra over S and can be viewed as the prototypical example of a Boolean algebra.
Dynamic set structures typically add: create(): creates a new, initially empty set structure. create_with_capacity(n): creates a new set structure, initially empty but capable of holding up to n elements. add(S,x): adds the element x to S, if it is not present already. remove(S, x): removes the element x from S, if it is present.
The empty set is a subset of every set (the statement that all elements of the empty set are also members of any set A is vacuously true). The set of all subsets of a given set A is called the power set of A and is denoted by 2 A {\displaystyle 2^{A}} or P ( A ) {\displaystyle P(A)} ; the " P " is sometimes in a script font: ℘ ( A ...