MHB Proving that a subset of a countable set is countable

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To prove that any subset of a countable set is either finite or countable, one can start by considering a subset V of a countable set S. If V is finite, the proof is straightforward since finite subsets of countably infinite sets exist. In the case where V is infinite, a bijection can be established by defining a mapping from the natural numbers to the elements of V, specifically by selecting the i-th smallest element of V. This demonstrates that any infinite subset of a countable set is also countable. The discussion emphasizes the importance of constructing a bijection to validate the countability of subsets.
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I am trying to prove that any subset of a countable set is either finite or countable.

I know that a set $$S$$ is countable if there exists a bijection that takes S to $$\Bbb{N}$$. My first thought was to consider the subset $$V$$ of $$S$$. If $$V$$ is finite we are done, since we can always construct a finite subset of a countably infinite set.
So I guess in the case where $$V$$ is infinite we want to prove that there is a bijection $$\beta: V\to\Bbb{N}$$. However, I am not sure how to do this.

I would really appreciate it if someone could help me with this, so I can feel more comfortable with these types of problems in the future!
 
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Mathmellow said:
I am trying to prove that any subset of a countable set is either finite or countable.

I know that a set $$S$$ is countable if there exists a bijection that takes S to $$\Bbb{N}$$. My first thought was to consider the subset $$V$$ of $$S$$. If $$V$$ is finite we are done, since we can always construct a finite subset of a countably infinite set.
So I guess in the case where $$V$$ is infinite we want to prove that there is a bijection $$\beta: V\to\Bbb{N}$$. However, I am not sure how to do this.

I would really appreciate it if someone could help me with this, so I can feel more comfortable with these types of problems in the future!

One just has to show that any infinite subset of $\mathbb N$ is in bijection with $\mathbb N$.

Let $A\subseteq \mathbb N$ be infinite. Define a map $f:\mathbb N\to A$ by declaring $f(i)$ to be the $i$-th smallest element of $A$. Then $f$ is a bijection.
 
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