Explain the difference between sets and lists in Python.

In Python , a set is an un ordered collection of unique elements , while a list is a ordered collection of elements , which can contain duplicates . \n \n S ets are defined using cur ly bra ces ` {} ` and elements are separated by comm as . List s are defined using square brackets ` [] `. \n \n Here are some key differences between sets and lists in Python : \n \n 1 . Order : List s are ordered collections , while sets are un ordered collections . \n 2 . Dup licates : List s can contain duplicates , while sets cannot . \n 3 . Element order : List s preserve the order in which elements are inserted , while sets do not have any order . \n 4 . Search ing : S ets have a built - in ` in ` operator for membership if an element is in the set , while lists use the ` in ` operator as well , but it checks if the element is in the list . \n 5 . Size : The size of a set is the number of unique elements in the set , while the size of a list is the number of elements in the list . \n \n Here ' s an example to illustrate the difference between sets and lists : \n ``` python \n # Creating a set \n my _ set = { 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 } \n \n # Creating a list \n my _ list = [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ] \n \n # Check ing if an element is in the set \n print (" 1 is in the set ? ", 1 in my _ set ) \n \n # Check ing if an element is in the list \n print (" 1 is in the list ? ", 1 in my _ list ) \n ``` \n Output : \n ``` python \n 1 is in the set ? True \n 1 is in the list ? True \n ``` \n In this example , both ` 1 ` is in the set and list , but the order of the elements in the set is not guaranteed , while the order of the elements in the list is guaranteed . </s>