Pamela A.

asked • 02/02/14

Are the sets equal?

{4,4,11,11,17}={4,11,17}

Pamela A.

I am getting toooo many different answers... I am taking contemporary math.... Not basic math. Hope that helps. I am not learning mean, median, and mode...
Report

02/02/14

Inactive Tutor

Pamela,
 
A set is a collection of distinct objects.  The collection {4,4,1,1,17} does not have distinct objects.  Therefore it's not a set.  You can look up the definition of a set in mathematics on the internet.  Here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_(mathematics) .     Two sets are equal if they have exactly the same elements.  That is, the set {11,4,17} is the same set as {4,11,17}.  Order is not important for a set.  A set cannot have two elements that are the same.  {4,4,1,1,17} is NOT a set.
 
 
Report

02/03/14

Inactive Tutor

Kenneth;
The Wikipedia article you cited all states that...
"Every element of a set must be unique; no two members may be identical. (A multiset is a generalized concept of a set that relaxes this criterion.) All set operations preserve this property.... Combining these two ideas into an example
{6, 11} = {11, 6} = {11, 6, 6, 11}"
(emphasis supplied)
Report

02/03/14

Inactive Tutor

A Multiset is the same concept as a Collection.  But the problem above did not say anything about a multiset. The problem is about sets. 
 
 
Report

02/03/14

Inactive Tutor

Multisets cannot be equal unless they have the same number of elements, so {6,11} would still NOT equal {11,6,6,11} even for Multisets. See http://www.proofwiki.org/wiki/Definition:Multiset which gives the definition of equality for Multisets.
 
 
 
Report

02/03/14

3 Answers By Expert Tutors

By:

Inactive Tutor answered • 02/02/14

Tutor
New to Wyzant

See tutors like this
See tutors like this
Are the sets equal?
{4,4,11,11,17}={4,11,17}
====================================
 
A set has DISTINCT objects (reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_(mathematics)).  So {4,4,1,1,17} is not a set.  It is a collection which does not have distinct objects.  Or you could say that the two objects are NOT equal because they are not the same kind of object - one is a collection and one is a set.
 
Therefore the question is not legitimate.
Upvote • 1 Downvote
More
Report

Inactive Tutor answered • 02/02/14

Tutor
New to Wyzant

See tutors like this
See tutors like this
Hello Pamela,
 
In order for two sets to be equal they must contain the same elements. An element is a unique value in this case. If a single value is repeated several times, it still only represents one element (the specific value). For example:
 
{a,a,b} = {a,b} = {b,a} = {b,b,b,a,a}
 
I hope that helps.
 
Tiffany
Upvote • 0 Downvote
More
Report

Pamela A.

So this means that it is not equal right? Cause thats what Im getting from the example...
Report

02/02/14

Inactive Tutor

Hi Pamela,
 
I would like to clarify the example. In the first set {a,a,b} there are 2 elements, a and b, it doesn't matter that a is there twice. In the second set {a,b} there are also 2 elements, a and b. The same is true for the 3rd and 4th set. They all have the same elements, a and b. That is the definition of equal sets, they must contain the same elements. So, in the example I have provided, all of the sets are equal because they contain the same elements, a and b. I hope that clears it up!
Report

02/02/14

Inactive Tutor answered • 02/02/14

Tutor
New to Wyzant

See tutors like this
See tutors like this
Hi Pamela;
{4,4,11,11,17}={4,11,17}
If we calculate mean, also known as average...
(47/5) does not equal (32/3).
If we calculate median, also known as middle value...
11=11
If we calculate mode, the number repeated most often...
(4 and 11) does not equal (4, 11 and 17).
 
This is why these sets are different.
 
Upvote • 0 Downvote
More
Report

Still looking for help? Get the right answer, fast.

Ask a question for free

Get a free answer to a quick problem.
Most questions answered within 4 hours.

OR

Find an Online Tutor Now

Choose an expert and meet online. No packages or subscriptions, pay only for the time you need.