Simple subset question (confusing myself)

  • Thread starter 1MileCrash
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In summary: B is just the boundary. Thanks for catching that!Never mind, my notes are wrong. In summary, the closure of a set B is equal to the boundary of B.
  • #1
1MileCrash
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If I know that A is a subset of B,

what can I say about the relationship between A-complement and B?
 
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  • #2
Draw a Venn diagram.

There IS no relationship that I can see.
 
  • #3
A complement probably contains elements that are in B, and also probably contains elements that are not in B, except for the weird cases where B is the whole universe or A=B. Do you have a specific problem in mind that inspired this question?
 
  • #4
If [itex]A\subseteq B\subseteq X[/itex], then [itex]X\setminus A \supseteq X\setminus B[/itex].
 
  • #5
economicsnerd said:
If [itex]A\subseteq B\subseteq X[/itex], then [itex]X\setminus A \supseteq X\setminus B[/itex].

That doesn't seem related to my question.
 
  • #6
phinds said:
Draw a Venn diagram.

There IS no relationship that I can see.

Ok then, my logic broke down severely while doing this proof, somewhere. I'll have to post about it soon, but I'm still too "in the fray" to do it now.
 
  • #7
Office_Shredder said:
A complement probably contains elements that are in B, and also probably contains elements that are not in B, except for the weird cases where B is the whole universe or A=B. Do you have a specific problem in mind that inspired this question?

Hey,

yeah, the proof is a little complex for my level and was probably dumb for me to attempt in the way I did, but basically my goal at this stage is that I'd have to show that:

[itex]A \cap B = \oslash[/itex]
and
[itex]A \subseteq B[/itex]

means precisely that

[itex]B \subseteq X \setminus A [/itex]

Where X is the universe, and that top thing is the null set, which I couldn't find.

I'm really confusing myself. Do you guys think that this implication is even true? If one of these conditions is not required then it has to be that I messed up somewhere.

EDIT writing it out made me see that these two first conditions are (almost) not compatible..
 
  • #8
I think in this case A is always the empty set. If A is a subset of B then [itex] A\cap B = A [/itex].

From there of course you can prove that [itex] B \subset X\setminus A [/itex] but that's not a very interesting relationship anymore :-p
 
  • #9
Office_Shredder said:
I think in this case A is always the empty set. If A is a subset of B then [itex] A\cap B = A [/itex].

From there of course you can prove that [itex] B \subset X\setminus A [/itex] but that's not a very interesting relationship anymore :-p

Right, so I think I see my problem.

At the start, I said that the closure of a set B is equal to the complement of the union of all open sets which are disjoint from B. I don't see any definition that agrees with that anywhere, I just thought it seemed reasonable.
 
  • #10
The closure is
[tex] \bigcap_{i\in I} C_i [/tex]
where the Ci are the closed sets containing B. Taking complements, let [itex]U_i = X\setminus C_i [/itex] be the open sets which are disjoint from B. Then the closure of B is
[tex] = \bigcap_{i\in I} X\setminus U_i = X\setminus \bigcup_{i\in I} U_i [/tex]
which is exactly how you are calculating the closure - I think your statement is an accurate description of the closure of B.

You might be better served just starting a new thread with your whole proof to figure out where it goes wrong at this point.
 
  • #11
Office_Shredder said:
The closure is
[tex] \bigcap_{i\in I} C_i [/tex]
where the Ci are the closed sets containing B. Taking complements, let [itex]U_i = X\setminus C_i [/itex] be the open sets which are disjoint from B. Then the closure of B is
[tex] = \bigcap_{i\in I} X\setminus U_i = X\setminus \bigcup_{i\in I} U_i [/tex]
which is exactly how you are calculating the closure - I think your statement is an accurate description of the closure of B.

You might be better served just starting a new thread with your whole proof to figure out where it goes wrong at this point.

Ok, thanks a lot for the help, I'll post tomorrow. I'm very interested to know what's going wrong!
 
  • #12
Office_Shredder said:
The closure is
[tex] \bigcap_{i\in I} C_i [/tex]
where the Ci are the closed sets containing B. Taking complements, let [itex]U_i = X\setminus C_i [/itex] be the open sets which are disjoint from B. Then the closure of B is
[tex] = \bigcap_{i\in I} X\setminus U_i = X\setminus \bigcup_{i\in I} U_i [/tex]
which is exactly how you are calculating the closure - I think your statement is an accurate description of the closure of B.

You might be better served just starting a new thread with your whole proof to figure out where it goes wrong at this point.

So wait, looking again, isn't your first line the definition of the boundary of B, not the closure?

Never mind, my notes are wrong.

It all makes perfect sense now. I defined boundary and closure to be essentially the same. Then I have it being equal to itself remove a union. The result pointed out above shows that all sets of the union are empty, which is true for that silly equality to work!

Finding errors are pretty fun.
 
Last edited:

FAQ: Simple subset question (confusing myself)

1. What is a simple subset question?

A simple subset question is a type of question that asks about a smaller group or part of a larger group. It is used to narrow down a topic or focus on a specific aspect of a subject.

2. How is a simple subset question different from a regular question?

A simple subset question is different from a regular question because it specifically asks for a subset or smaller part of a larger group, while a regular question can be more general and open-ended.

3. What are some examples of simple subset questions?

Examples of simple subset questions include "What are the top three causes of climate change?", "Which countries are included in the European Union?", and "What are the main differences between a cat and a dog?".

4. When should I use a simple subset question?

A simple subset question is useful when you want to focus on a specific aspect of a topic or when you have a large amount of information and need to narrow it down. It can also be used to clarify a topic or gather specific details.

5. How can I create a simple subset question?

To create a simple subset question, start by identifying the larger group or topic you want to focus on. Then, think about what specific aspect or subcategory of that group you want to ask about. Finally, form your question to specifically ask about that smaller group or part.

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