Chapter 16
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Sets and Counting
In This Chapter
Introducing set notation
Checking out operations on sets
Working with factorials!
Using the multiplication property to count your options
The possibilities: Using sets when computing permutations and combinations
Writing the terms of an expression using the binomial theorem
A set is a mathematical entity that consists of a collection or group of objects. For instance, a set named A may consist of the first six prime numbers. You write A = {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13}. The set notation looks a bit like the notation you use to write the terms of a sequence (see Chapter 15), but with sets, the elements don’t have to be in any particular order. You can just as easily write A = {3, 13, 11, 7, 5, 2}. The two sets here are the same.
In addition, sets don’t require a mathematical rule for their elements. You can ...
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