How Do You Prove Sets Have Cardinality Aleph-Nought?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around proving that two specific sets have cardinality aleph-nought, which pertains to set theory and the concept of infinite sets. The sets in question are (a) {1/(2^k) : k∈ℕ} and (b) {x∈ℤ : x >= -5}.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Conceptual clarification

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the need to establish a one-to-one correspondence between the elements of the sets and the positive integers to demonstrate their cardinality. There are attempts to clarify the definitions of the elements in each set, particularly regarding the notation used.

Discussion Status

Some participants express uncertainty about how to approach the proof, while others offer suggestions on how to begin by expanding the sets and identifying pairings with natural numbers. There is an acknowledgment of the difficulty in understanding the problem, but no consensus has been reached on a specific method.

Contextual Notes

One participant mentions issues with displaying certain symbols due to browser limitations, which may affect their understanding of the problem. Additionally, there is a reference to a previous thread regarding cardinality, indicating ongoing exploration of the topic.

dhillon
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URGENT HELP PLEASEEEE, a question on set theory

Homework Statement


the question is:

Prove that these sets have cardinality aleph-nought:(there is two 2 prove)

(a) {1/(2^k) : k∈ℕ}

(b) {x∈ℤ : x >= -5}


im not sure how to work this out, please help on this, i did ask on a previous thread how to prove cardinality of a statement, thanks for your help guys
 
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dhillon said:

Homework Statement


the question is:

Prove that these sets have cardinality aleph-nought:(there is two 2 prove)

(a) {1/(2^k) : k∈ℕ}

(b) {x∈ℤ : x >= -5}


im not sure how to work this out, please help on this, i did ask on a previous thread how to prove cardinality of a statement, thanks for your help guys
I'm using IE8, which doesn't display some symbols. For a, I'm guessing that it says that k is a positive integer. I have no idea what the two symbols after x are in the b part.

To show that the cardinality of a set is Aleph-nought, show that there is a one-to-one pairing between the elements in the set and the positive integers.
 


hey thanks for trying to help, I truthfully have no idea on how to do this,

part a) k is an element of natural number e.g 1,2,3,4...
part b) x is an element of integers e.g -3,-2,0,1,2,3...

if this has helped please let me know
 


dhillon said:
hey thanks for trying to help, I truthfully have no idea on how to do this,
Did you miss the second paragraph in my post?
dhillon said:
part a) k is an element of natural number e.g 1,2,3,4...
part b) x is an element of integers e.g -3,-2,0,1,2,3...
In part b, the set is {-5, -4, -3, ..., 0, 1, 2, 3, ...}
 


oh ok sorry i missed that, i'll try, thanks for the help, i was trying since morning but I am not sure that's the thing, i'll keep trying though, do you know how to work this out by any chance? because I am soo stuck :( , thank you
 


Yes, I know how to do them. Neither one requires much work. The first one is almost obvious.

For a, write the set in expanded form, starting with the first member and continuing for 5 or 6 members. Show that each member in this set can be associated with one of the numbers in the set {1, 2, 3, 4, ...} and be able to show the pairing for an arbitrary member of your first set.

It's very similar for the b part.
 

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