Union vs intersection: "or" vs "and"
("union") is everything in or (or both); ("intersection") is only what is in and . Picture a Venn diagram: union shades both circles, intersection shades just the overlap.
Learn the core set symbols
The Cambridge set notation you must read and write fluently: (is an element of), (is not an element of), ( is a subset of ), ( is not a subset of ), (union — in either or both), (intersection — in both), (complement — everything not in ), (the universal set), (the empty set), and (the number of elements in ).
Count a union with inclusion–exclusion
Adding and counts the overlap twice, so subtract it once: . This lets you count a union without listing every element.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Confusing the union and intersection symbols
Reading as "or" and as "and" (or simply swapping the symbols), so the wrong region is selected — e.g. giving the overlap when was asked for.
Examiners report students misreading the set notation, so they cannot identify which parts of the Venn diagram are needed.
Guessing regions instead of shading
Picking Venn-diagram regions by eye rather than shading the set described and reading off only the shaded parts — this misfires for , and alike.
Examiners note students "take a guess" with Venn-diagram set questions and "very few used some kind of strategy (such as shading)".
Forgetting ξ when finding a complement
means everything in the universal set that is not in — leaving out elements of , or counting elements outside , gives the wrong complement and the wrong .
Interpreting $A'$ correctly is regularly tested; it is answered well only when the universal set is used as the reference.
n(A ∩ B) is a number, not a set
is the count of elements in the overlap — a single number. is the set — the list of those elements. If a question asks for , give a number; if it asks for the set, list the elements.
A ∩ B′ is not the overlap
means "in and not in " — the part of outside the overlap ( only), not the overlap itself. The overlap is ; do not confuse the two regions.
Conditional: divide by n(B), not n(ξ)
For "given the element is in ", the sample space shrinks to . Divide by , not by the universal total : .
Shade the Venn diagram, then read it off
Translate the notation into a shaded region first ( = overlap, = both circles, = everything outside ), then list or count only the shaded parts — this beats guessing and is exactly the strategy examiners recommend.
Build a 3-set Venn from the centre out
Fill the centre (in all three sets) first, then work outwards: subtract the centre from each pairwise overlap, then subtract every inner region from each circle total. Check all regions sum to .
Algebraic Venn: form an equation in x
When regions are expressions in , add the regions that make up the set you are told a total for, set the sum equal to that total, solve for , then substitute into the region the question actually wants.
A set is a collection of objects (its elements), written inside curly brackets, e.g. .
| Symbol | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| is an element of | ||
| is not an element of | ||
| the number of elements in | ||
| the universal set (everything under consideration) | ||
| the empty set (no elements) | ||
| the complement of (everything in not in ) | ||
| union — in or (or both) | ||
| intersection — in and | ||
| is a subset of | ||
| is not a subset of |
What does n(A) stand for?
For two sets, , and . Work out .