Scribd
Upload
71 views

Problem Set 1 Solutions

This document contains solutions to 5 problems: 1) It proves that a set S with n elements has 2^n subsets through induction. 2) It proves the identities (A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ (B ∩ C) and (A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ B ∩ C using set theory. 3) It proves the identity A ∪ (B ∩ C) = (A ∪ B) ∩ (A ∪ C) using set containment properties. 4) It proves that if sets A and B are finite with the same number of elements, there exists a bijective function between them. 5)

Uploaded by

Mengyao Ma
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
71 views

Problem Set 1 Solutions

This document contains solutions to 5 problems: 1) It proves that a set S with n elements has 2^n subsets through induction. 2) It proves the identities (A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ (B ∩ C) and (A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ B ∩ C using set theory. 3) It proves the identity A ∪ (B ∩ C) = (A ∪ B) ∩ (A ∪ C) using set containment properties. 4) It proves that if sets A and B are finite with the same number of elements, there exists a bijective function between them. 5)

Uploaded by

Mengyao Ma
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

ECON 5100 Assignment 1 Solution

HKUST
September 9, 2022

Problem 1. S is a set that has n < ∞ elements. How many subsets does S have? Explain.

Solution. 2n .
By way of induction:
1. n = 0 : S = ∅, we only have 1 subset (20 = 1)
2. Assume it is correct for n = k. If n = k + 1, every subset in the new set can either be represented as S 0
or S 0 ∪ {an+1 }, where S 0 is a set of all previous elements and an+1 is a new element. So additional of an
element increases the number of subsets twice.

Problem 2. Prove that (A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ (B ∩ C) = A ∩ B ∩ C

Solution. First, we prove (A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ (B ∩ C)


Step 1:
Let us take the L.H.S, (A ∩ B) ∩ C
Let x ∈ (A ∩ B) ∩ C. If x ∈ (A ∩ B) ∩ C then x ∈(A and B) and x ∈ C
x ∈(A and B) and x ∈ C
x ∈(A and B) implies x ∈ A and x ∈ B
So, we have x ∈ A, x ∈ B and x ∈ C
x ∈ A and x ∈ (B and C)
x ∈ A and (B and C)
x ∈ A ∩ (B ∩ C)
x ∈ (A ∩ B) ∩ C => x ∈ A ∩ (B ∩ C)
(A ∩ B) ∩ C ⊂ A ∩ (B ∩ C) – (1)

Step 2: Let us take the R.H.S, (A ∩ B) ∩ C


Let x ∈ A ∩ (B ∩ C). If x ∈ A ∩ (B ∩ C) then x ∈ A and x ∈ (B and C)
x ∈ A and x ∈ (B and C)
x ∈ (B and C) implies x ∈ B and x ∈ C
So, we have x ∈ A, x ∈ B and x ∈ C
x ∈ (A and B) and x ∈ C
x ∈ (A and B) and C
x ∈ (A ∩ B) ∩ C
x ∈ A ∩ (B ∩ C) => x ∈ (A ∩ B) ∩ C
A ∩ (B ∩ C) ⊂ (A ∩ B) ∩ C— (2)

From equation (1) and (2) (A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ (B ∩ C)


Then, we prove (A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ B ∩ C
Step 1:
Let us take the R.H.S. A ∩ B ∩ C
Let x ∈ A ∩ B ∩ C, then x ∈ A and x ∈ B and x ∈ C
Then x ∈ (A and B) and x ∈ C
So x ∈ (A ∩ B) ∩ C
A ∩ B ∩ C ⊂ A ∩ (B ∩ C) – (3)

1
Step 2:
Let us take the L.H.S. (A ∩ B) ∩ C
Let x ∈ (A ∩ B) ∩ C, then x ∈ (A and B) and x ∈ C
This implies x ∈ A and x ∈ B and x ∈ C
So x ∈ A ∩ B ∩ C
A ∩ (B ∩ C) ⊂ A ∩ B ∩ C – (4)
From equation (3) and (4), we have (A ∩ B) ∩ C = A ∩ B ∩ C

Problem 3. Prove that A ∪ (B ∩ C) = (A ∪ B) ∩ (A ∪ C)

Solution. Since B ∩ C ⊆ B and B ∩ C ⊆ C, we have


A ∪ (B ∩ C) ⊆ A ∪ B
and
A ∪ (B ∩ C) ⊆ A ∪ C
This shows that A ∪ (B ∩ C) is contained in both A ∪ B and A ∪ C, so it is contained in their intersection:
A ∪ (B ∩ C) ⊆ (A ∪ B) ∩ (A ∪ C)
This proves containment in one direction.
For the opposite direction, suppose that x ∈ (A ∪ B) ∩ (A ∪ C). There are two possibilities: either x ∈ A or
x 6∈ A.
If x ∈ A then certainly x ∈ A ∪ (B ∩ C).
On the other hand, if x 6∈ A, then x must be in both B and C, since x ∈ (A ∪ B) ∩ (A ∪ C). Consequently,
x ∈ B ∩ C, and therefore x ∈ A ∪ (B ∩ C).
In both cases we have x ∈ A ∪ (B ∩ C). This proves the containment (A ∪ B) ∩ (A ∪ C) ⊆ A ∪ (B ∩ C)

Problem 4. A and B are both finite sets, and |A| = |B|. Prove that there exists a bijective mapping
f : A → B.

Solution. Since A and B are finite and |A| = |B|, there is a natural number n such that A and B both have
exactly n elements. We can index the elements in A as {a1 , ..., an } where n = |A|. Similarly, we can index
the elements in B as {b1 , ..., bn }. Consider the mapping f : A → B where f (ai ) = bi ∀i = 1, ..., n. f is
one-to-one because f (ai ) = bi 6= bj = f (aj ) if ai 6= aj . f is onto because for any bi ∈ B we have f (ai ) = bi .

Problem 5. Find a bijective mapping from N to Z, and explain why it is bijective.

Solution. If n is even, f (n) = − n2 ; if n is odd, f (n) = n+1


2 . f is clearly one-to-one. To show that it is onto,
pick any z ∈ Z. If z > 0 then z = f (2z − 1). If z ≤ 0 then z = f (−2z). Thus for any z ∈ Z there is some
n ∈ N where z = f (n).

You might also like