What does vertical bars around a set mean?

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SUMMARY

The vertical bars surrounding a set notation, such as |A∪B|, represent the cardinality of the set, which is the number of elements contained within that set. In this context, A and B are both sets, and the expression |A∪B| specifically denotes the size of the union of sets A and B. This interpretation aligns with the general mathematical convention where vertical bars indicate the size or magnitude of a mathematical object, similar to how |v| indicates the magnitude of a vector.

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Joseph1739
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I'm trying to figure out what the vertical bars in |A∪B| mean given that A and B are both sets. I tried searching for it, and can't seem to find the meaning of it. Is it supposed to be absolute value of all the elements of the union of sets A and B?
 
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Putting bars on either side of something usually represents getting the "size" of that something. So, e.g., ## | \textbf{v} | ## is the magnitude of a vector. In this case the bars most likely mean the cardinality of the set. For a finite set, that's just the number of elements in the set.
 

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