Element (mathematics)

In mathematics, an element, or member, of a set is any one of the distinct objects that make up that set.

Sets

Writing A = {1, 2, 3, 4} means that the elements of the set A are the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. Sets of elements of A, for example {1, 2}, are subsets of A.

Sets can themselves be elements. For example, consider the set B = {1, 2, {3, 4}}. The elements of B are not 1, 2, 3, and 4. Rather, there are only three elements of B, namely the numbers 1 and 2, and the set {3, 4}.

The elements of a set can be anything. For example, C = { red, green, blue }, is the set whose elements are the colors red, green and blue.

Notation and terminology

First usage of the symbol ϵ in the work Arithmetices principia nova methodo exposita by Giuseppe Peano.

The relation "is an element of", also called set membership, is denoted by the symbol "∈". Writing

x \in A

means that "x is an element of A". Equivalent expressions are "x is a member of A", "x belongs to A", "x is in A" and "x lies in A". The expressions "A includes x" and "A contains x" are also used to mean set membership, however some authors use them to mean instead "x is a subset of A".^[1] Logician George Boolos strongly urged that "contains" be used for membership only and "includes" for the subset relation only.^[2]

Another possible notation for the same relation is

A \ni x,

meaning "A contains x", though it is used less often.

The negation of set membership is denoted by the symbol "∉". Writing

x \notin A

means that "x is not an element of A".

The symbol ϵ was first used by Giuseppe Peano 1889 in his work Arithmetices principia nova methodo exposita. Here he wrote on page X:

"Signum ϵ significat est. Ita a ϵ b legitur a est quoddam b; ..."

which means

"The symbol ϵ means is. So a ϵ b is read as a is a b; ..."

The symbol itself is a stylized lowercase Greek letter epsilon ("ε"), the first letter of the word ἐστί, which means "is".

The Unicode characters for these symbols are U+2208 ('element of'), U+220B ('contains as member') and U+2209 ('not an element of'). The equivalent LaTeX commands are "\in", "\ni" and "\notin". Mathematica has commands "\[Element]" and "\[NotElement]".

Cardinality of sets

Main article: Cardinality

The number of elements in a particular set is a property known as cardinality; informally, this is the size of a set. In the above examples the cardinality of the set A is 4, while the cardinality of either of the sets B and C is 3. An infinite set is a set with an infinite number of elements, while a finite set is a set with a finite number of elements. The above examples are examples of finite sets. An example of an infinite set is the set of positive integers = { 1, 2, 3, 4, ... }.

Examples

Using the sets defined above, namely A = {1, 2, 3, 4 }, B = {1, 2, {3, 4}} and C = { red, green, blue }:

2 ∈ A
{3,4} ∈ B
{3,4} is a member of B
Yellow ∉ C
The cardinality of D = { 2, 4, 8, 10, 12 } is finite and equal to 5.
The cardinality of P = { 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, ...} (the prime numbers) is infinite (this was proven by Euclid).

References

↑ Eric Schechter (1997). Handbook of Analysis and Its Foundations. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-622760-8. p. 12
↑ George Boolos (February 4, 1992). 24.243 Classical Set Theory (lecture). (Speech). Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.

External links

Weisstein, Eric W., "Element", MathWorld.

Mathematical logic

General	Formal language Formation rule Formal system Deductive system Formal proof Formal semantics Well-formed formula Set Element Class Classical logic Axiom Natural deduction Rule of inference Relation Theorem Logical consequence Axiomatic system Type theory Symbol Syntax Theory

Traditional logic	Proposition Inference Argument Validity Cogency Syllogism Square of opposition Venn diagram

Propositional calculus Boolean logic	Boolean functions Propositional calculus Propositional formula Logical connectives Truth tables

Predicate logic	First-order Quantifiers Predicate Second-order Monadic predicate calculus

Naive set theory	Set Empty set Enumeration Extensionality Finite set Infinite set Subset Power set Countable set Uncountable set Recursive set Domain Range Map Function Relation Ordered pair

Set theory	Foundations of mathematics Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory Axiom of choice General set theory Kripke–Platek set theory Von Neumann–Bernays–Gödel set theory Morse–Kelley set theory Tarski–Grothendieck set theory

Model theory	Model Interpretation Non-standard model Finite model theory Truth value Validity

Proof theory	Formal proof Deductive system Formal system Theorem Logical consequence Rule of inference Syntax

Computability theory	Recursion Recursive set Recursively enumerable set Decision problem Church–Turing thesis Computable function Primitive recursive function

Set theory

Axioms	Choice countable dependent Extensionality Infinity Pairing Power set Regularity Union Martin's axiom Axiom schema replacement specification

Operations	Cartesian product Complement De Morgan's laws Disjoint union Intersection Power set Set difference Symmetric difference Union

Concepts Methods	Cardinality Cardinal number (large) Class Constructible universe Continuum hypothesis Diagonal argument Element ordered pair tuple Family Forcing One-to-one correspondence Ordinal number Transfinite induction Venn diagram

Set types	Countable Empty Finite (hereditarily) Fuzzy Infinite Recursive Subset · Superset Transitive Uncountable Universal

Theories	Alternative Axiomatic Naive Cantor's theorem Zermelo General Principia Mathematica New Foundations Zermelo–Fraenkel von Neumann–Bernays–Gödel Morse–Kelley Kripke–Platek Tarski–Grothendieck

Paradoxes Problems	Russell's paradox Suslin's problem

Set theorists	Abraham Fraenkel Bertrand Russell Ernst Zermelo Georg Cantor John von Neumann Kurt Gödel Lotfi A. Zadeh Paul Bernays Paul Cohen Richard Dedekind Thomas Jech Willard Quine

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