Mathematical Methods: Combinatorics

dr. Marieke Musegaas

General notations
The set of natural numbers is denoted by N, i.e., N = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, . . .}. (There is still an
ongoing dicussion whether 0 is a natural number or not. In this course we will assume that
0 is a natural number.) The set of the first n positive natural numbers, with n ∈ N and
n > 0, is denoted by Nn , i.e., Nn = {1, 2, . . . , n}. The set of integer numbers is denoted
by Z, i.e., Z = {. . . , −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .}. The set of real numbers is denoted by R.
The set of non-negative real numbers is denoted by R≥0 , i.e., R≥0 = {x ∈ R : x ≥ 0}.
Similarly, the set of positive real numbers is denoted by R>0 , i.e., R>0 = {x ∈ R : x > 0}.
Alternative notations for R≥0 and R>0 are R+ and R++ , respectively.
The factorial of a natural number n ∈ N is denoted by n!, i.e., n! = n · (n − 1) · . . . · 1.
Note that by convention 0! = 1.

Preliminaries on sets
The difference of two sets A and B is defined as

A \ B = {x ∈ A : x ∈
/ B}.

Example 1 (set difference). Consider the sets N6 = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} and A = {1, 2, 3, 5},
then N6 \ A = {4, 6}. If we define B = {2, 5}, then A \ B = {1, 3}. Moreover, if we define
C = {3, 4}, then A \ C = {1, 2, 5}. 4

The Cartesian product of two sets A and B, denoted by A × B, is defined as the set
consisting of all ordered pairs (a, b) with a ∈ A and b ∈ B, i.e.,

A × B = {(a, b) : a ∈ A and b ∈ B}.

Example 2. (Cartesian product) The standard deck of 52 cards can be written as the
Cartesian product of the sets A and B, where A = {♥, ♠, ♦, ♣} is the set of card suits
and B = {Ace, 2, 3, . . . , 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King} is the set of card ranks. Hence,

A × B = {(♥, Ace), (♥, 2), (♥, 3), ..., (♣, 9), (♣, 10), (♣, Jack), (♣, Queen), (♣, King)}. 4

Preliminaries on functions
A function f : A → B is defined by

• the domain A,

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 • the codomain B, and

• the relation f .

The set of all images is called the range of f on A and is denoted by Rf , i.e.,

Rf = {f (a) : a ∈ A}.

Example 3. The function f : X → Y , defined by

• X = {a, b, c, . . . , x, y, z},

• Y = N,

• f (a) = 1, f (b) = 2, f (c) = 3, . . . , f (x) = 24, f (y) = 25, f (z) = 26,

maps each character to its position in the alphabet. However, note that the function
g : X → Z, defined by

• X = {a, b, c, . . . , x, y, z},

• Z = N26 = {1, 2, 3, . . . , 24, 25, 26},

• g(a) = 1, g(b) = 2, g(c) = 3, . . . , g(x) = 24, g(y) = 25, g(z) = 26,

is a different function because the codomain is different.

Note that f and g have the same range, namely Rf = Rg = N26 . 4

A function f : A → B is injective, if and only if for all x, y ∈ A, if f (x) = f (y), then

x = y. Hence, an injective function never maps distinct elements of its domain to the
same element of its codomain. In other words, every element of the function’s codomain
is the image of at most one element of its domain. Figure 1 shows an example of an
injective function. Note that the function depicted in Figure 2 is not injective.

Figure 1: An injective function

Example 4 (injective function). The function f : X → Y , defined by

• X = Deck of cards = {♥, ♠, ♦, ♣} × {Ace, 2, 3, . . . , 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King},

• Y = N100 = {1, 2, 3, . . . , 98, 99, 100},

2
 Ace 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jack Queen King
♥ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
• ♠ 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
♦ 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
♣ 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40

is injective. 4

A function f : A → B is surjective, if and only if for all b ∈ B, there exist a ∈ A,

such that f (a) = b. Hence, every element of the function’s codomain is the image of at
least one element of its domain. That means the codomain and the range coincide, i.e.,
Rf = B. Figure 2 shows an example of a surjective function. Note that the function
depicted in Figure 1 is not surjective.

Figure 2: A surjective function

Example 5 (surjective function). The function f : X → Y , defined by

• X = Deck of cards = {♥, ♠, ♦, ♣} × {Ace, 2, 3, . . . , 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King},

• Y = {1, 2, 3, 4},

• f ((♥, Ace)) = . . . = f ((♥, King)) = 1, f ((♠, Ace)) = . . . = f ((♠, King)) = 2,

f ((♦, Ace)) = . . . = f ((♦, King)) = 3, f ((♣, Ace)) = . . . = f ((♣, King)) = 4,

is surjective (because the codmain and range coincide, i.e., Rf = {1, 2, 3, 4} = Y ) but not
injective. 4

A function f : A → B is bijective, if and only if it is both injective and surjective.

Hence, every element of the function’s codomain is the image of exactly one element of
its domain. Figure 3 shows an example of a bijective function. Note that the functions
depicted in Figure 1 and 2 are not bijective.

Example 6 (bijective function). The function f : X → Y , defined by

• X = Deck of cards = {♥, ♠, ♦, ♣} × {Ace, 2, 3, . . . , 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King},

• Y = N52 = {1, 2, 3 . . . , 50, 51, 52},

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 Figure 3: A bijective function

Ace 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jack Queen King

♥ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
• ♠ 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
♦ 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
♣ 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40
is bijective. 4
A bijective function is also called a bijection or a one-to-one correspondence. A bijec-
tion f : A → B admits an inverse function f −1 : B → A that is defined by f −1 (b) = a,
where a ∈ A is the unique element with f (a) = b. In order to show that f −1 is indeed the
inverse function of f , one needs to verify that

f (f −1 (b)) = b for all b ∈ B and f −1 (f (a)) = a for all a ∈ A.

Hence, an inverse function is a function that “reverses” another function. Figure 4 illus-
trates the inverse function of the bijection in Figure 3.

Figure 4: The inverse function of the bijection in Figure 3

Example 7 (inverse function). The inverse function of the bijective function g from
Example 3 is the function g −1 : Z → X defined by
• Z = {1, 2, 3, . . . , 24, 25, 26},

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 • X = {a, b, c, . . . , x, y, z},

• g −1 (1) = a, g −1 (2) = b, g −1 (3) = c, . . . , g −1 (24) = x, g −1 (25) = y, g −1 (26) = z.

Note that it is not difficult to see that g(g −1 (z)) = z for all z ∈ Z and g −1 (g(x)) = x for
all x ∈ X, so g −1 is indeed the inverse function of g. 4

What is combinatorics?
Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting. Counting is
determining the number of elements in a set. The number of elements in a set A equals
the number of ways to choose an element x ∈ A. The number of elements in a set A is
called the cardinality of A and is denoted by |A|.
Four fundamental rules in combinatorics are:

• Rule of sum: If A and B are finite, disjoint sets, then |A ∪ B| = |A| + |B|.

• Rule of product: If A and B are finite sets, then |A × B| = |A| · |B|.

• Rule of difference: If A and B are finite sets and B ⊆ A, then |A \ B| = |A| − |B|.

• One-to-one rule: Let A and B be finite sets. The number of elements in A and B
is equal (|A| = |B|) if and only if there is a one-to-one correspondence between A
and B.

The first two rules can be formulated more general:

• General rule of sum: If A1 , A2 , . . . , Ak are finite and pairwise disjoint sets, then
|A1 ∪ A2 ∪ . . . ∪ Ak | = |A1 | + |A2 | + . . . + |Ak |.

• General rule of product: If A1 , A2 , . . . , Ak are finite sets, then |A1 × A2 × . . . × Ak | =

|A1 | · |A2 | · . . . · |Ak |.

Example 8 (Rule of sum (source: Wikipedia)). A woman has decided to shop at one store
today, either in the north part of town or the south part of town. If she visits the north
part of town, she will shop at either a mall, a furniture store, or a jewelry store (3 ways).
If she visits the south part of town then she will shop at either a clothing store or a shoe
store (2 ways). If we denote A = {mall, furniture, jewelry} and B = {clothing, shoe},
then, using to the rule of sum, there are

|A ∪ B| = |A| + |B| = 3 + 2 = 5

possible shops the woman could end up shopping at today. 4

Example 9 (Rule of product (source: Wikipedia)). When you decide to order pizza,
you must first choose the type of crust: thin crust or deep dish (2 choices). Next,
you choose one topping: cheese, pepperoni, or sausage (3 choices). If we denote A =
{thin crust, deep dish} and B = {cheese, pepperoni, sausage}, then, using the rule of
product, there are
|A × B| = |A| · |B| = 2 · 3 = 6
possible combinations of ordering a pizza. 4

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Example 10 (One-to-one rule). Reconsider Example 3 and 7. Since we showed that
there is a one-to-one correspondence between the X = {a, b, c, . . . , x, y, z} and Z =
{1, 2, 3, . . . , 24, 25, 26}, we have formally proven that |X| = |Z|. 4
Let X be a finite set. We define the power set of X as the set containing all subsets
of X, i.e.,
P(X) = {A : A ⊆ X}.
Furthermore, for k ≥ 0, we define

P(X, k) = {A : A ⊆ X and |A| = k}.

Example 11 (power set). If S = {x, y, z}, then

n o
P(S) = ∅, {x}, {y}, {z}, {x, y}, {x, z}, {y, z}, {x, y, z} and
n o
P(S, 2) = {x, y}, {x, z}, {y, z} .

Note that |P(S)| = 8 and |P(S, 2)| = 3. 4

The four fundamental counting problems

We will consider the number of ways to choose k elements from a set of n elements, shortly
k from n. The resulting four fundamental counting problems can be classifed according
to
- whether repetition is allowed;
- whether the order is important.

k from n Repetition is not allowed Repetition is allowed

Order is important k-permutation k-permutation with
from n repetition from n
Order is not important k-combination k-combination with
from n repetition from n

k-permutation with repetition from n

Example 12. A password for a website should consist of 12 characters and should consist
of letters and digits only. Note the following two important observations:
- Repetition is allowed: aAABBbCcCAAA12 is a valid password.
- Order is important: ABCDEFGHIJKL 6= LKJIHGFEDCBA.
Note that choosing a password is equivalent to selecting 12 times (because one needs
12 characters) a number between 1 and 62 (because it should consists of letters and
digits only, i.e., one can choose only from {a, b, . . . , z, A, B, . . . , Z, 0, 1, . . . , 9}). Hence,
the number of different passwords equals

6212 = 3, 226, 266, 762, 397, 899, 821, 056 ≈ 3.3 · 1021 4

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Theorem 1. Selecting a k-permutation from n elements, with repetition, can be done in
nk ways.

Proof. Use in the general rule of product for every set Ai , with i ∈ {1, . . . , k}, the set with
n elements. Then, it immediately follows from the general rule of product that selecting
a k-permutation from n elements, with repetition, can be done in nk ways.

k-permutation from n
Example 13. In order to organize a student party a committee is needed consisting of a
chairman, a treasurer and a secretary. Note the following two important observations:

- Repetition is not allowed: a student cannot be both a chairman and a treasurer.

- Order is important: Alice is chairman, Bob is treasurer and Carol is secretary 6= Bob
is chairman, Alice is treasurer and Carol is secretary.

If there are 10 candidates, then for choosing the chairman, we can choose from 10 students.
Note that a student cannot be both a chairman and treasurer and thus the chairman
cannot be chosen as a treasurer anymore. Therefore, for choosing the treasurer, we can
choose from 9 students. Similarly, for choosing the secretary, we can choose from 8
students. Hence, the number of different committees that can be formed equals
10!
10 · 9 · 8 = = 720 4
(10 − 3)!

Theorem 2. Selecting a k-permutation from n elements, without repetition, can be done

in n! ways.
(n − k)!
Proof. We will again use the general rule of product. There are n ways to select one object
among n distinct objects to put it on the first position. If we have chosen the first element,
then we can choose among the remaining n − 1 elements for the second position. This
number is independent from the choice for the first position. Hence, there are n − 1 ways
to select one object among the remaining n − 1 objects to put it on the second position
and thus there are n(n − 1) ways to fill the first two positions. Similarly, for the third
position we can choose among the remaining n−2 objects. Hence, there are n(n−1)(n−2)
ways to fill the first three positions, etc. In conclusion, selecting a k-permutation from n
elements, without repetition, can be done in n(n − 1)(n − 2) . . . (n − k + 1) = n!
(n − k)!
ways.

k-combination from n
Example 14. Texas Hold’em is played with a standard deck containing 52 cards. Every
player gets two cards from the deck and then the game starts. Note the following two
important observations:

- Repetition is not allowed: You cannot have {(♠, Ace), (♠, Ace)}.

- Order is not important: {(♦, 4), (♣, Jack)} = {(♣, Jack), (♦, 4)}.

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The number of different hands equals
 
52 52!
= = 1326 4
2 2!(52 − 2)!

Note that the following three problems are equivalent with a k-combination from n:

1. Selecting k elements from a set with n elements without repetition and without
order.

2. Selecting a subset of size k from a set with n elements.

3. Selecting an element in the set P(Nn , k).

Theorem
  3. Selecting a k-combination from n elements, without repetition, can be done
n n!
in = ways.
k k!(n − k)!

Proof. The proof will be given in the lecture and can be found in the lecture slides.
   
n n
The numbers are called binomial coefficients. We pronounce as ‘n
k k
choose k’.

k-combination with repetition from n

Example 15. A grandmother wants to distribute 20 chocolates over 10 grandchildren.
Note the following two important observations:

- Repetition is allowed: a grandchild can get more than one chocolate.

- Order is not important: all chocolates are identical.

The number of different ways that the grandmother can distribute the chocolates over her
grandchildren equals
 
10 + 20 − 1 10 + 20 − 1
= = 10015005. 4
20 20!(10 − 1)!

Theorem
 4.Selecting a k-combination from n elements, with repetition, can be done in
n+k−1 (n + k − 1)!
= ways.
k k!(n − 1)!

Proof. Two different proofs will be given in the lecture and can be found in the lecture
slides.

Another fundamental counting problem

A k-permutation from n elements, with repetition of type t1 , t2 , . . . , tn , is a k-permutation
from n where, for each i ∈ {1, 2, . . . , n}, element i occurs exactly ti times. Note that we
actually consider a special case of a k-permutation with repetition from n. Moreover, we
always need t1 + t2 + . . . + tn = k.

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Example 16. Consider words of 10 characters with 3 zeroes, 3 ones, and 4 twos. For
example, 0221021102 is such a word and it is called a 10-permutation from 3 elements,
with repetition of type 3, 3, 4. The number of different words equals
 
10 10!
= = 4200. 4
3, 3, 4 3! · 3! · 4!
Theorem 5. Selecting
 a k-permutation
 from n elements, with repetition of type t1 , t2 , . . . , tn ,
k k!
can be done in = ways.
t1 , t2 , . . . , tn t1 ! · t2 ! · · · tn !
Proof. The proof will be given in the lecture and can be found in the lecture slides.
 
k
The numbers are called multinomial coefficients and are a general-
t1 , t2 , . . . , tn
ization of the binomial coefficients.

How to provide a combinatorial proof ?

A combinatorial proof can be a very useful tool in order to show that a certain equality
holds. In general, we need the following steps when applying combinatorics to show that
an equality holds:
0. Make a picture to understand the equality.
1. Write the left-hand side as the number of elements in a set.
2. Write the right-hand side as the number of elements in a set.
3. Show that the number of elements in both sets is equal by defining a one-to-one
relation.
We will illustrate in more detail, by means of two examples, how to provide a combinatorial
proof.
Example 17. For n, r, s, i ∈ N, it holds that
       
n n−r+i n − r − s + 2i n r+s−i s
= .
r−i s−i i r+s−i s i
We will prove this equality by means of a combintorial proof.
Step 0: In order to get some intuition about the equality, see the following picture. (Note
that this picture contains colors!)

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In this picture we have A ∩ B ∩ C = ∅ and F ⊆ E ⊆ D. (Note that making such a picture
is not mandatory, but it might help you quite a lot with writing the combinatorial proof.)
Step 1: Define the set X as follows

X = {(A, B, C) : A ⊆ Nn , |A| = r − i, B ⊆ Nn \ A, |B| = s − i, C ⊆ (Nn \ A) \ B, |C| = i}.

Note that any element (A, B, C) ∈ X can be obtained by first selecting a subset A, then
 to choose r − i elements
a subset B, and finally a subset C. For the subsetA, we have
n
among the n elements in Nn . This can be done in ways. Given A, we have to
r−i
select s − i elements among then − (r − i) 
= n − r + i elements in Nn \ A to form the
n−r+i
subset B. This can be done in ways. Given A and B, we have to select i
s−i
elements amongthe n − (r − i) −(s − i) = n − r − s + 2i elements in (Nn \ A) \ B. This
n − r − s + 2i
can be done in ways. This shows that
i
   
n n−r+i n − r − s + 2i
|X| = .
r−i s−i i

Step 2: Define the set Y as follows

Y = {(D, E, F ) : D ⊆ Nn , |D| = r + s − i, E ⊆ D, |E| = s, F ⊆ E, |F | = i}.

Note that any element (D, E, F ) ∈ Y can be obtained by first selecting a subset D, then
a subset E, and finally a subset F . For the subset   choose r + s − i elements
D, we have to
n
among the n elements in Nn . This can be done in ways. Given D, we have
r+s−i
to selects elements among
 the r + s − i elements in D to form the subset E. This can be
r+s−i
done in ways. Given E, we have to select i elements among the r + s − i
s  
r+s−i
elements in E. This can be done in ways. This shows that
i
   
n r+s−i s
|Y | = .
r+s−i s i

Step 3: Define now the function

f : X → Y with f ((A, B, C)) = (A ∪ B ∪ C, B ∪ C, C),

and its inverse

f −1 : Y → X with f −1 ((D, E, F )) = (D \ E, E \ F, F ).

In order to show that f −1 is indeed the inverse function of f , one needs to verify that

f −1 (f ((A, B, C))) = (A, B, C) for all (A, B, C) ∈ X and

f (f −1 ((D, E, F ))) = (D, E, F ) for all (D, E, F ) ∈ Y.

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For this, let (A, B, C) ∈ X. Then,

f −1 (f ((A, B, C))) = f −1 ((A ∪ B ∪ C, B ∪ C, C))

= ((A ∪ B ∪ C) \ (B ∪ C), (B ∪ C) \ C, C)
= (A, B, C) (because A, B and C are pairwise disjoint)

Similarly, let (D, E, F ) ∈ Y . Then,

f (f −1 ((D, E, F ))) = f ((D \ E, E \ F, F ))

= ((D \ E) ∪ (E \ F ) ∪ F, (E \ F ) ∪ F, F )
= ((D \ E) ∪ E, E, F ) (because F ⊆ E)
= (D, E, F ) (because E ⊆ D)

Hence, f −1 is indeed the inverse function of f . Therefore, by the one-to-one rule, it holds
that |X| = |Y | and thus also
       
n n−r+i n − r − s + 2i n r+s−i s
= .
r−i s−i i r+s−i s i
4

Example 18. For n, m ∈ N with m ≤ n, it holds that

n     
X n i n−1
m=n 2n−m
i m m−1
i=m

We will prove this equality by means of a combinatorial proof.

Step 0: This step is left as an exercise for the reader.
Step 1: Define for i ∈ N with m ≤ i ≤ n, the sets

Xi = {(A, B, x) : A ⊆ Nn , |A| = i, B ⊆ A, |B| = m, x ∈ B}.

Note that any element (A, B, x) ∈ Xi can be obtained by first selecting A ⊆ Nn , then
B ⊆ A, and finally x ∈ B. For A ⊆Nn  with |A| = i we choose i elements from a set with
n
n elements. This can be done in ways. For B ⊆ A with |B| = m we choose m
i  
i
elements from the set A with i elements. This can be done in ways. Finally, we
m
choose x ∈ B. This can be done in m ways. It follows that
  
n i
|Xi | = m.
i m

We now prove that Xi ∩ Xj = ∅ if i 6= j. Select a triple (A, B, x) ∈ Xi . It then holds

that |A| = i. If j 6= i, the equation |A| = j does not hold. This shows that (A, B, x) ∈/ Xj
if j 6= i. This shows that the sets Xi , for i ∈ N with m ≤ i ≤ n, are pairwise disjoint. We
can thus apply the sum rule, and find
n n   
X X n i
|Xm ∪ . . . ∪ Xn | = |Xm | + . . . + |Xn | = |Xi | = m.
i m
i=m i=m

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Step 2: Define the set Y as follows

Y = {(y, C, D) : C ⊆ Nn , |C| = m − 1, D ⊆ Nn \ C, y ∈ Nn \ (C ∪ D)}.

Note that any element (y, C, D) ∈ Y can be obtained by first selecting y ∈ Nn , then
C ⊆ Nn \ {y}, and finally D ⊆ (Nn \ {y}) \ C. For y ∈ Nn there are n options. For C we
choose
 m − 1 elements from a set with |Nn \ {y}| = n − 1 elements. This can be done in
n−1
ways. Finally, we choose a subset D of a set with |(Nn \ {y}) \ C| = n − m
m−1
elements. This can be done in 2n−m ways. It follows that
 
n−1
|Y | = n 2n−m .
m−1

Step 3: Define now the function

f : Xm ∪ . . . ∪ Xn → Y with f ((A, B, x)) = (x, B \ {x}, A \ B),

and its inverse

f −1 : Y → Xm ∪ . . . ∪ Xn with f −1 ((y, C, D)) = (C ∪ D ∪ {y}, C ∪ {y}, y).

In order to show that f −1 is indeed the inverse function of f , one needs to verify that

f −1 (f ((A, B, x))) = (A, B, x) for all (A, B, x) ∈ Xi with i ∈ N, m ≤ i ≤ n, and

f (f −1 ((y, C, D))) = (y, C, D) for all (y, C, D) ∈ Y.

For this, let (A, B, x) ∈ Xi with i ∈ N, m ≤ i ≤ n. Then,

f −1 (f ((A, B, x))) = f −1 ((x, B \ {x}, A \ B))

= ((B \ {x}) ∪ (A \ B) ∪ {x}, (B \ {x}) ∪ {x}, x)
= (B ∪ (A \ B), B, x) (because x ∈ B)
= (A, B, x) (because B ⊆ A)

Similarly, let (y, C, D) ∈ Y . Then,

f (f −1 ((y, C, D))) = f ((C ∪ D ∪ {y}, C ∪ {y}, y))

= (y, (C ∪ {y}) \ {y}, (C ∪ D ∪ {y}) \ (C ∪ {y}))
= (y, C, D) (because y, C and D are pairwise disjoint)

Hence, f −1 is indeed the inverse function of f . Therefore, by the one-to-one rule, it holds
that |Xm ∪ . . . ∪ Xn | = |Y | and thus also
n     
X n i n−1
m=n 2n−m . 4
i m m−1
i=m

12
Some famous combinatorial theorems
Below you can find some famous combinatorial theorems. The combinatorial proofs of
these theorems will be given in the lecture and can be found in the lecture slides. Note
that those theorems can also be proved ‘by formulas’. However, in this course we will
only focus on the corresponding combinatorial proofs.

Theorem 6 (Complementarity). For n, k ∈ N with k ≤ n, it holds that

   
n n
= .
k n−k

Theorem 7 (Pascal’s identity). For n, k ∈ N with 1 ≤ k ≤ n, it holds that

     
n+1 n n
= + .
k k k−1

Theorem 8 (Newton’s binomial theorem). For n ∈ N, x, y ∈ R, it holds that

n  
X n n
(x + y) = xk y n−k .
k
k=0

Newton’s binomial theorem has two interesting corollaries. Namely, if we set x = y = 1

in the binomial theorem, then
n   n  
n
X n n k n−k
X n
2 = (1 + 1) = 1 1 = .
k k
k=0 k=0

Moreover, since
 
n   Xn n
n
[ 
Sum rule 
X
= |P(Nn , k)| =  P(Nn , k) = |P(Nn )| ,

k  
k=0 k=0 k=0

we have |P(Nn )| = 2n . This means that it follows from Newton’s binomial theorem that
the number of subsets of Nn equals 2n . Similarly, if we set x = −1 and y = 1 in the
binomial theorem, then
n   n  
n
X n n k n−k
X
k n
0 = 0 = (−1 + 1) = (−1) 1 = (−1) .
k k
k=0 k=0

We can rewrite this as

n   n   n  
X
k n X n X n
0= (−1) = − .
k k k
k=0 k=0 k=0
k even k odd

This means that it follows from Newton’s binomial theorem that there are as many subsets
of Nn of even size as subsets of Nn of odd size.

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