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For example, the union of three sets A, B, and C contains all elements of A, all elements of B, and all elements of C, and nothing else. Thus, x is an element of A ∪ B ∪ C if and only if x is in at least one of A, B, and C. A finite union is the union of a finite number of sets; the phrase does not imply that the union set is a finite set ...
In mathematics, the algebra of sets, not to be confused with the mathematical structure of an algebra of sets, defines the properties and laws of sets, 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 ...
For example, a well-studied invariant is the smallest cardinality of a collection of meagre sets of reals whose union is the entire real line. These are invariants in the sense that any two isomorphic models of set theory must give the same cardinal for each invariant.
This inverse has a special structure, making the principle an extremely valuable technique in combinatorics and related areas of mathematics. As Gian-Carlo Rota put it: [ 6 ] "One of the most useful principles of enumeration in discrete probability and combinatorial theory is the celebrated principle of inclusion–exclusion.
For example, "is a blood relative of" is a symmetric relation, because x is a blood relative of y if and only if y is a blood relative of x. Antisymmetric for all x, y ∈ X, if xRy and yRx then x = y. For example, ≥ is an antisymmetric relation; so is >, but vacuously (the condition in the definition is always false). [11] Asymmetric
In constructive mathematics, "not empty" and "inhabited" are not equivalent: every inhabited set is not empty but the converse is not always guaranteed; that is, in constructive mathematics, a set that is not empty (where by definition, "is empty" means that the statement () is true) might not have an inhabitant (which is an such that ).
This is a list of axioms as that term is understood in mathematics. In epistemology , the word axiom is understood differently; see axiom and self-evidence . Individual axioms are almost always part of a larger axiomatic system .
It is easy to show that if a union-closed family contains a singleton {} (as in the example above), then the element must occur in at least half of the sets of the family. If there is a counterexample to the conjecture, then there is also a counterexample consisting only of finite sets. Therefore, without loss of generality, we will assume that ...