Editing Element (mathematics) (section)

{{Short description|Any one of the distinct objects that make up a set in set theory}}
{{For|elements in category theory|Element (category theory)}}
In [[mathematics]], an '''element''' (or '''member''') of a [[Set (mathematics)|set]] is any one of the [[Equality (mathematics)|distinct]] [[Mathematical object|objects]] that belong to that set. For example, given a set called {{mvar|A}} containing the first four positive [[integer]]s (<math>A = \{1, 2, 3, 4\}</math>), one could say that "3 is an element of {{mvar|A}}", expressed notationally as <math>3 \in A </math>.