< Return to Video

Subset, strict subset, and superset

  • 0:01 - 0:03
    Let's define
    ourselves some sets.
  • 0:03 - 0:09
    So let's say the set A is
    composed of the numbers 1.
  • 0:09 - 0:10
    3.
  • 0:10 - 0:14
    5, 7, and 18.
  • 0:14 - 0:17
    Let's say that
    the set B-- let me
  • 0:17 - 0:19
    do this in a different
    color-- let's
  • 0:19 - 0:26
    say that the set B is
    composed of 1, 7, and 18.
  • 0:26 - 0:39
    And let's say that the set C is
    composed of 18, 7, 1, and 19.
  • 0:39 - 0:41
    Now what I want to start
    thinking about in this video
  • 0:41 - 0:43
    is the notion of a subset.
  • 0:43 - 0:49
    So the first question
    is, is B a subset of A?
  • 0:49 - 0:51
    And there you might say,
    well, what does subset mean?
  • 0:51 - 0:54
    Well, you're a subset if
    every member of your set
  • 0:54 - 0:56
    is also a member
    of the other set.
  • 0:56 - 1:02
    So we actually can write
    that B is a subset--
  • 1:02 - 1:04
    and this is a notation
    right over here,
  • 1:04 - 1:09
    this is a subset-- B is a
    subset of A. B is a subset.
  • 1:09 - 1:10
    So let me write that down.
  • 1:10 - 1:19
    B is subset of A. Every
    element in B is a member of A.
  • 1:19 - 1:21
    Now we can go even further.
  • 1:21 - 1:24
    We can say that B is
    a strict subset of A,
  • 1:24 - 1:27
    because B is a subset
    of A, but it does not
  • 1:27 - 1:30
    equal A, which means that there
    are things in A that are not
  • 1:30 - 1:33
    in B. So we could
    even go further
  • 1:33 - 1:35
    and we could say
    that B is a strict
  • 1:35 - 1:37
    or sometimes said a
    proper subset of A.
  • 1:37 - 1:40
    And the way you do that
    is, you could almost
  • 1:40 - 1:42
    imagine that this is kind of
    a less than or equal sign,
  • 1:42 - 1:45
    and then you kind of
    cross out this equal part
  • 1:45 - 1:46
    of the less than or equal sign.
  • 1:46 - 1:48
    So this means a
    strict subset, which
  • 1:48 - 1:52
    means everything that
    is in B is a member A,
  • 1:52 - 1:54
    but everything that's in
    A is not a member of B.
  • 1:54 - 1:55
    So let me write this.
  • 1:55 - 2:04
    This is B. B is a
    strict or proper subset.
  • 2:04 - 2:09
    So, for example, we can write
    that A is a subset of A.
  • 2:09 - 2:12
    In fact, every set is
    a subset of itself,
  • 2:12 - 2:16
    because every one of its
    members is a member of A.
  • 2:16 - 2:21
    We cannot write that A
    is a strict subset of A.
  • 2:21 - 2:26
    This right over here is false.
  • 2:26 - 2:29
    So let's give ourselves a
    little bit more practice.
  • 2:29 - 2:37
    Can we write that
    B is a subset of C?
  • 2:41 - 2:41
    Well, let's see.
  • 2:41 - 2:45
    C contains a 1, it contains
    a 7, it contains an 18.
  • 2:45 - 2:48
    So every member of
    B is indeed a member
  • 2:48 - 2:52
    C. So this right
    over here is true.
  • 2:52 - 2:54
    Now, can we write
    that C is a subset?
  • 2:54 - 3:01
    Can we write that
    C is a subset of A?
  • 3:01 - 3:04
    Can we write C is a subset of A?
  • 3:04 - 3:06
    Let's see.
  • 3:06 - 3:10
    Every element of C needs
    to be in A. So A has an 18,
  • 3:10 - 3:12
    it has a 7, it has a 1.
  • 3:12 - 3:14
    But it does not have a 19.
  • 3:14 - 3:20
    So once again, this
    right over here is false.
  • 3:20 - 3:22
    Now we could have
    also added-- we
  • 3:22 - 3:24
    could write B is a subset
    of C. Or we could even
  • 3:24 - 3:28
    write that B is a
    strict subset of C.
  • 3:28 - 3:32
    Now, we could also reverse
    the way we write this.
  • 3:32 - 3:34
    And then we're really just
    talking about supersets.
  • 3:34 - 3:36
    So we could reverse
    this notation,
  • 3:36 - 3:43
    and we could say that
    A is a superset of B,
  • 3:43 - 3:46
    and this is just another way of
    saying that B is a subset of A.
  • 3:46 - 3:49
    But the way you could
    think about this is,
  • 3:49 - 3:54
    A contains every
    element that is in B.
  • 3:54 - 3:55
    And it might contain more.
  • 3:55 - 3:57
    It might contain
    exactly every element.
  • 3:57 - 3:59
    So you can kind of view
    this as you kind of
  • 3:59 - 4:01
    have the equals symbol there.
  • 4:01 - 4:03
    If you were to view this
    as greater than or equal.
  • 4:03 - 4:05
    They're note quite
    exactly the same thing.
  • 4:05 - 4:06
    But we know already
    that we could also
  • 4:06 - 4:13
    write that A is a strict
    superset of B, which
  • 4:13 - 4:17
    means that A contains
    everything B has and then some.
  • 4:17 - 4:22
    A is not equivalent to B. So
    hopefully this familiarizes you
  • 4:22 - 4:31
    with the notions of subsets and
    supersets and strict subsets.
Title:
Subset, strict subset, and superset
Description:

more » « less
Video Language:
English
Team:
Khan Academy
Duration:
04:32

English subtitles

Revisions Compare revisions