Which of the following are sets? Justify your answer: (i) months of the year beginning with J, (ii) ten most talented writers of India, (iii) eleven best cricket batsmen of the world, (iv) all boys in your class, (v) natural numbers less than 100, (vi) novels written by Munshi Prem Chand, (vii) all even integers, (viii) questions in this chapter, (ix) most dangerous animals of the world.
Hint. A collection is a set only if membership can be decided without any dispute -- 'well-defined' rules out anything based on opinion or ranking.
(i), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii) are sets, since anyone checking would agree on exactly which objects qualify. (ii), (iii), (ix) are not sets, since 'most talented', 'best', and 'most dangerous' are matters of opinion -- different people would list different members.
✦ Working through each part gives: sets: (i),(iv),(v),(vi),(vii),(viii). Not sets: (ii),(iii),(ix), since they rely on subjective judgement.
