1

Chapter 7

Cardinality

Counting a given collection of finitely many objects amounts to establishing, for

some natural number n, a one-to-one correspondence from the set
{1, 2, 3, 4, . . . , n} to the given set of objects. We then say that the set has n
objects, where the number n refers to our intuitive conception of the set
{1, 2, 3, . . . , n}. In the same way, we have our understanding of the size of the set
N = {1, 2, 3, . . . , }. Carrying out the same analogy, if we can exhibit a one-to-one
correspondence from the set N to a given set S, then we say S has N elements.
But we easily see that the set N and the set of all the perfect squares are in
one-to-one correspondence, and hence, by the above argument, the latter set has
N elements. But, the set of perfect squares is a proper subset of N!! A proper

subset of a set cannot have the same number of elements as the set itself. This
seemingly ridiculous conclusion forced Galileo to abandon this idea of counting
infinite sets.
In fact the above idea of counting infinite sets was not at fault. The paradox of
Galileo was not a problem. We just have to understand from a different point of
view infinite sets. The paradox was just a reflection of the characteristic property
of infinite sets. Infinite sets are very different from finite sets!

Definition (7.1.1)

Two given sets A and B are said to have the same

cardinality if there is a one-to-one correspondence between. In such case, we write

card A = card B.

Note

At this point, there is no meaning attached to the symbol card A. We

only write card A = card B to express what the above definition says.
Examples

1. Let O be the set of all odd natural numbers and Z be the set of all the integers.
Then card N = card O = card Z.
2. For real numbers a < b and c < d, the function f : [a, b] [c, d] given by
dc
f (x) =
(x a) + c
ba
is a one-to-one correspondence. (Verify this !) Hence card [a, b] = card [c, d].

Try to establish a one-to-one correspondence between (0, 1) and (0, 1]. Hence
show that card (0, 1) = card [0, 1].

Theorem (7.1.3)

Let A, B and C be sets. Then

1. A has the same cardinality as itself.

2. If A has the same cardinality as B, then B has the same cardinality as A
3. If A has the same cardinality as B and B has the same cardinality as C, then
A has the same cardinality as C.
This theorem follows from the fact that 1. the identity function IA is a one-to-one

correspondence, 2. the inverse of a one-to-one correspondence is also a one-to-one

correspondence, 3. the composition of two one-to-one correspondences is again a
one-to-one correspondence.
So if U is any collection of sets, then the relation has the same cardinality is an
equivalence relation on U .

Definition (7.1.4)

If there is a one-to-one function from A into B, then we say

that the cardinality of A is less than or equal to the cardinality of B, and we

denote this by card A card B.

Theorem (7.1.5) Let A, B and C be sets.

1. If A B, then card A card B.

2. If card A card B and card B card C, then card A card C.
3. If C A and B has the same cardinality as C, then card B card A.
This is proved by using similar technique as Theorem 7.1.3. For instance, in 2 the
hypothesis says that there exist one-to-one functions f : A B and g : B C.
Then g f : A C is also a one-to-one function. Hence card A card C.
Note

Be careful, if f : A B is a one-to-one function which is not surjective,

we cannot conclude that card B > card A. This can be illustrated by the earlier
example that A is the set of the perfect squares and B is the set of the natural

numbers.
Definition (7.1.7) Let A and B be sets. Then we say that card A < card B if
card A card B and it is not true that card A = card B. (We may write this as
card A 6= card B.) So card A < card B means there exists a one-to-one function
from A into B but there does not exist a bijective function between A and B.
(Distinguish this from the statement that there exists a function from A to B
which is one-to-one but not onto.)
In case the sets are finite, card A is a measure of the size of A, which is an
ordering for sets. Can we extend this to an ordering of sets, finite or infinite?
Let X be any set. Theorem 7.1.3 already shows that, on P(X), the relation

card A = card B is an equivalence relation. Hence P(X) is partitioned into

equivalence classes.
7.2

Infinite Sets

Definition (7.2.1)

A set A is said to be finite if A = or if there exists some

n N so that A can be put into one-to-one correspondence with {1, 2, 3, . . . , n}.

Definition (7.2.2) A set A is infinite if it is not finite.
Theorem (7.2.3) N is an infinite set.
Proof

by contradiction. Assume that f : N {1, 2, 3, . . . , k} is a one-to-one

correspondence. Consider f 1({1}), f 1({2}), . . . , f 1({k}). Since f is

one-to-one, each of these sets contains a single natural number. Let n be the sum
of these k (distinct) numbers. Then n does not belong to Dom(f ), since n is
distinct from each of these k numbers (this applies only to the case k > 1). This
shows that f is not a function, a clear contradiction. Hence N is not a finite set.
Theorem (7.2.5)

Let A be a set. The following statements about A are

equivalent.
(i) A is infinite.
(ii) A contains a sequence of distinct terms.
(iii) A can be put into one-to-one correspondence with a proper subset of itself.

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Proof

((i) (ii)). Since A is infinite, A is nonempty. We can choose

(arbitrarily) an element from A, called a1. The set A\{a1} is not empty, otherwise
A = {a1} which is a finite set (with only one element). Hence we can choose
again an element, a2, say, from this. Clearly a2 6= a1. Next consider A\{a1, a2}.
Again we see that it is nonempty and we can again choose from it an a3.
Inductively, after we have chosen k distinct elements from A, we find that the set
A\{a1, a2, a3, . . . , ak } is still nonempty and another element ak+1 can be chosen.
So, A contains the sequence a1, a2, a3, . . . of distinct terms.

((ii) (i)). We prove by contradiction. Let a1, a2, a3, . . . be the sequence with
distinct terms, where each term ai A. If A were finite then, for some natural
number k, there is a one-to-one correspondence f from A to {1, 2, 3, . . . , k}. For

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i = 1, 2, 3, . . . , let f 1(i) = ani . Let m > max{n1, n2, n3, . . . , nk }. Then am is

not equal to f 1(`) for any `, a clear contradiction. This proves the desired
implication.
((ii) (iii)). Let (a1, a2, a3, . . .) be the sequence of distinct terms and let
B = A\{a1, a2, a3, . . .}. Note that B is a subset of A but B may be empty. Note
also that A = B {a1, a2, a3, . . .}. Clearly there is a one-to-one correspondence
between {a1, a2, a3, . . .} and {a2, a3, a4, . . .}. Together with the identity function
IB , we get a one-to-one correspondence from A to A\{a1}, as desired.
((iii) (ii)). Let C be a proper subset of A and f : A C is a one-to-one
correspondence. Choose (arbitrarily) a1 from A\C. Denote a2 = f (a1). Clearly a2
is distinct from a1 since a2 C while a1 does not. Denote a3 = f (a2). Again we

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see that a3 is distinct from a2, otherwise, by their definition and since f is
one-to-one, a2 = a1, a contradiction. Also, a3 6= a1. Denote a4 = f (a3). Again a4
is distinct from the previously found a1, a2, a3, otherwise, since f is one-to-one, a3
would be equal to a previous a1 or a2. Continue this process, we find, step by step,
ak+1 = f (ak ) for k = 1, 2, 3, . . ., and these are all distinct terms from A. This
exhibits a sequence of distinct terms from A.
Applying the equivalence of (i) and (ii), we obtain the following.
Corollary (7.2.6)

A set is infinite if and only if it has an infinite subset.

Also we can see that N is the smallest infinite set, since any infinite set, according
to Theorem 7.2.5 (ii), contains a sequence of distinct terms, and such sequence is

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in one-to-one correspondence with N. So we have the following.

Corollary (7.2.7)
7.3

For any infinite set C, we have card N card C.

Countable Sets

Definition (7.3.1) Let A be a set. A is said to be denumerable or countably

infinite if A and N have the same cardinality. A is said to be countable if it it
finite or denumerable.
Examples

1. N is denumerable.

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2. The set of the perfect squares, the set of all the odd integers, the set of all those
integers that are divisible by 3 are all denumerable.

If A is a countably infinite set, then we can list the elements of A as a sequence of

distinct terms
A = {a1, a2, a3, . . .}.

Theorem (7.3.3)

Let C be a countable set and let B be any set. If

f : C B is a one-to-one correspondence, then B is countable.

Proof

If C is finite and non-empty, then there is a positive integer n and a

one-to-one correspondence g : {1, 2, 3, . . . , n} C. The composition

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f g : {1, 2, 3, . . . , n} B is also a one-to-one correspondence. This shows that

B is also finite. If C is countably infinite, we just change {1, 2, 3, . . . , n} to N.
This shows that B is also countably infinite.

Theorem (7.3.4)
Proof

Every subset of a countable set is countable.

Let A be a countable set and C be a subset of A. If A is finite, then by

Corollary 7.2.6, A has only finite subsets. If A is countably infinite, then A is a

sequence of distinct terms and C is either a finite set, or an infinite subsequence
of A and hence also countably infinite.

Theorem (7.3.5)

Let f : N X be a onto function. Then X is countable.

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Proof

For each x X, the set f 1({x}) is a nonempty subset of N. Let nx be

the least element of f 1({x}). Note that if x 6= y, then nx 6= ny . The subset

S = {nx : x X} of N is either finite or countably infinite, and the function
g : X S given by g(x) = nx is clearly a one-to-one correspondence. Hence X is
also either finite or countably infinite.
Theorem (7.3.6)
Exercise (7.3.9)

The set of rational numbers is countably infinite.

The union of two countable sets is countable.

The idea is as follows. Let A and B be two countable sets. Suppose first that A
and B are disjoint (that is A B = ), then, by writing
A = {a1, a2, a3, . . .}, B = {b1, b2, b3, . . .}, we have

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A B = {a1, b1, a2, b2, a3, b3, a4, . . .}, a sequence of distinct terms. If A and B
are not disjoint, we can let B1 = B\A, then B1 is a subset of B (and hence is
also countable) and A B = A B1 and A and B1 are disjoint.
More generally, we have the following.
Theorem (7.3.10)
Proof

Countable union of countable sets is countable.

First, Exercise 7.3.9 shows that finite union of countable sets is

countable.
Next, denumerable union of finite sets is denumerable. If A1, A2, A3, . . . , are finite
sets, then we can arrange the elements of their union in a sequence by first listing
all the terms of A1, then followed by the terms of A2 which has not appeared

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already, and then followed by the terms of A3 which has not yet appeared, and so
on.
Next, if we are given an infinite sequence of countable sets, the union of all those
sets which are finite gives rise to a finite or denumerable set (as shown in the
previous step). Therefore, it suffices to show that the union of the remaining
denumerable sets, if there exist some, is also denumerable.
Assume A1, A2, A3, . . . are denumerable sets, and assume for the time being that
they are mutually disjoint (that is Ai Aj = for i 6= j). Write the set Ai as the
sequence
Ai = {ai1, ai2, ai3, . . .}.

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Then

Ai = {a11, a12, a21, a13, a22, a31, a14, a23, a32, a41, a15, . . .}.

i=1

This shows that the union of the A0is is also denumerable.

In general, if A1, A2, A3, . . . , are not mutually disjoint, we can consider the sets
A1, A2\A1, A3\(A1 A2), A4\(A1 A2 A3), . . . ,
Ak \(A1 A2 A3 Ak1), . . . .
These sets are mutually disjoint and their union is just the union of the original
A0is.
This proves Theorem 7.3.10.

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Exercise (7.3.11) If A and B are countable sets, then A B is also a countable

set. For instance, the set of all finite sequences in the set S = {a, b} is a countable
set. (A finite sequence in S is a string (or word) of a0s and b0s.)
Definition (7.4.2)

A set that is not countable is said to be uncountable.

Theorem (7.4.3) Cantors diagonalization argument

The set of all the

real numbers between 0 and 1 is uncountable.

Proof

We prove that there exists no onto function from N to (0, 1).

Let f : N (0, 1) be any function. Denote each f (n) by its decimal expansion
f (n) = 0.a1na2na3n ,

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where each decimal digit ain {0, 1, 2, . . . , 9}. To avoid ambiguity, where there is
a choice, we take the terminating rather than the repeating expansion. For
instance we take 0.2000 rather than 0.19999 , which represents the same
real number. We see that the real number b = 0.b1b2b3 where bi = 2 if aii 6= 2
and bi = 3 if aii = 2, is not in the range of f . Note that b (0, 1) and b 6= f (n)
for any n. This is because the n-th decimal digit of b is distinct from that of f (n).
Thus f is not onto.

Corollary (7.4.4)

The set R of real numbers is uncountable.

Corollary (7.4.5)

For any real numbers a < b, (a, b), [a, b), (a, b] and [a, b] are

all uncountable.

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Corollary (7.4.6)

The set of irrational numbers is uncountable.

Theorem (7.4.8)

Generalized Cantor diagonalization argument

Let A be

a set. Then card A < card P(A).

Proof

Clearly, card A card P(A) since the function f : A P(A) given by

f (a) = {a} is obviously injective. We show that no function g : A P(A) can be

onto. Indeed, for any such function g, consider the subset J = {x A : x 6 g(x)}
of A. We cannot have J = g(y) for any y A. (Is y in J?)
Hence, for any set A, we have
card A < card P(A) < card P(P(A)) < .

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So there are larger and larger infinite sets.

Exercise (7.4.9) P(N) has the same cardinality as the set of all sequences of 0s
and 1s.
7.5

Comparing Cardinalities

Consider a given set X and let A be a subset of X.

Definition (7.5.1)

The cardinality of A P(X) is the equivalence class of all

subsets of X with the same cardinality, that is

card A = {B X : there is a one-to-one correspondence between A and B}.

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So card A = card B now means the equivalence class containing A is the same as
the equivalence class containing B, that is A and B have the same cardinality,
there is a one-to-one correspondence between A and B.

Definition (7.5.3)

We say that card A card B if there exists a one-to-one

function from A to B.
Now since card A and card B are equivalence classes, this definition requires
justification that it is well-defined, that is, if C card A and D card B, then
there also exists a one-to-one function from C to D. Indeed, there exist bijective
functions h : A C, k : B D and also a one-to-one function f : A B.
Then k f h1 is a one-to-one function from C to D. (Not difficult to verify.)

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The following theorem is now obvious.

Theorem (7.5.5)

The relation on the set of cardinalities of subsets of X

is reflexive and transitive.

Theorem (Schroeder-Bernstein) If card A card B and card B card A,
then card A = card B.
In other words, given two subsets A and B of X, if there exist one-to-one functions
f : A B and g : B A, then there exists a bijective function from A to B.
Sketch of proof

Step I

Define A0 = A and B0 = B; A1 = f (A0) and B1 = g(B0). For each n N,

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define
A2n = g(A2n1), A2n+1 = f (A2n),
B2n = f (B2n1), B2n+1 = g(B2n).

Step II Then,
A0 B1 A2 B3 A4 B5 A6
and
B0 A1 B2 A3 B4 A5 B6 .
This can be proved by mathematical induction on the two chains simultaneously.

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Step III Using Step II, it is not difficult to show that

\
i=0

A2i =

B2i+1 = (A, say),

i=0

and

\
i=0

B2i =

A2i+1 = (B, say).

i=0

tep IV
{A, (A0\B1), (B1\A2) (A2\B3), . . .}
is a partition of the set A. Similarly,
{B, (B0\A1), (A1\B2), (B2\A3), . . .}
is a partition of the set B.

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tep V We now use the above partition of A to define the following function h : A B.

f (x)
if x A2i\B2i+1 for some i N {0},

h(x) = g 1(x) if x B2i+1\A2i+2 for some i N {0},

f (x)
if x A.

tep VI Clearly h is a function from A into B.

tep VII The function h is one-to-one and onto. This step requires more justification.
Schroeder-Bernstein theorem is thus proved and is a partial order on the set of
cardinalities of subsets of X.

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Example

Let A = N = B. Let f : A B and g : B A be given by

f (n) = 3n, g(m) = 4m for n, m N. Then

A0 = N, A1 = 3N, A2 = 3 4N = 12N, A3 = 32 4N = 36N,
A4 = 32 42N = 144N, A5 = 33 42N = 432N, . . . ,
and
B0 = N, B1 = 4N, B2 = 3 4N = 12N, B3 = 42 3N = 48N,
B4 = 42 32N = 144N, B5 = 43 32N = 576N, . . . .
So,
A = B = .

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Since 69 A0\B1, by definition, h(69) = f (69) = 207. 8 B1\A2, hence

h(8) = g 1(8) = 2.
Exercise (7.5.7)

Use the Schroeder-Bernstein theorem to prove that if

A B C and card A = card C, then A, B and C all have the same cardinality.
Theorem (7.5.8)

Let A and B be subsets of X. Exactly one of the following

is true: (i) card A < card B, (ii) card A = card B, (iii) card A > card B. So
is a total ordering in the set of cardinalities of subsets of X.
7.6

The Continuum Hypothesis

We know that card N < card R. Problem 8 of Assignment 4 shows that P(N) and
R have the same cardinality.

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Question

Does there exist a subset S of R such that

card N < card S < card R?

The Continuum Hypothesis

There does not exist a set S such that

card N < card S < card R.

The Generalized Continuum Hypothesis

Given any infinite set A, there does

not exist a set B such that card A < card B < card P(A).
In 1938, the German logician Kurt Godel proved that the Continuum Hypothesis is
consistent with the standard axioms of set theory. Hence it cannot be proved to be
false.
In 1964, the American mathematician Paul J. Cohen proved that the negation of

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the Continuum Hypothesis is also consistent with the standard axioms of set
theory. Hence it cannot be proved to be true either. In other words, the
Continuum Hypothesis is independent of the other axioms of set theory.