I have looked all over the web and can't find any elegant proofs for the commutative, associative and distributive laws of Sets:
Commutative Law
A∪B=B∪A, A∩B=B∩A
Associative Law
A∪(B∪C)=(A∪B)∪C, A∩(B∩C)=(A∩B)∩C
Distributive Law
A∩(B∪C)=(A∩B)∪(A∩C),A∪(B∩C)=(A∪B)∩(A∪C)
How would these be proved in an elegant way?
The question comes from Tom M Apostol Calculus Volume I book. He gives an example proof of the commutative law as follows.
Let X=A∪B, Y=B∪A. To prove that X=Y we prove that X⊆Y and Y⊆X. Suppose that x∈X. Then x is in at least one of A or B. Hence, x is in at least one of B or A; so x∈Y. Thus, every element of X is also in Y, so X⊆Y. Similary, we find that Y⊆X, so X=Y
He doesn't presuppose knowledge of truth tables. Can this proof be written in a more mathematical and concise way? How would I go about writing concise proofs for the other laws?
I understand the logic, but I am new to mathematical language.
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