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Week 1: Logic
Lecture 1, 8/21 (Sections 1.1 and 1.3)
Examples of theorems and proofs
Theorem (Pythagoras). Let !ABC be a right triangle, with legs of lengths a and b, and hypotenuse of
length c. Then a2 + b2 = c2 .
Proof. Proof by picture.
Theorem. For every positive integer n, the sum of the positive integers from 1 to n is
Proof. If n is even, add the numbers in pairs: 1 + n, 2 + (n − 1), 3 + (n − 2), and so on. Each sum is n + 1
and the number of pairs is n2 , so the sum of all the numbers is n(n+1)
If n is odd, pairing up the numbers as before leaves the middle number n+1
unpaired. There are n−1
pairs, so the sum of all the numbers is
Introduction to logic
• Proposition: a sentence that is either true or false, not both. For instance: “Horses are mammals”
or “1 + 2 = −7”. Ask for more examples!
• The truth value of a proposition is written as either T (true) or F (false).
• Propositional variables: We use letters like P and Q to represent arbitrary propositions. Their
truth values can vary because the propositions they represent vary.
• Draw truth tables for the following propositions as they are introduced.
• “Not”: Given a proposition P , we write ¬P (“not P ”) for the new proposition “It is not true that
P ”. For instance, “Horses are not mammals” or 1 + 2 #= −7. ¬P is true whenever P is false, and vice
• “And”: The proposition P ∧ Q (“P and Q”) is true when both P and Q are true, and false otherwise.
For example, “Horses are mammals and 1 + 2 = −7” is a false statement because 1 + 2 = −7 is false.
• “Or”: The proposition P ∨ Q (“P or Q”) is true when either P or Q (or both) are true and false when
both P and Q are false. Let me emphasize that the logical “or” is true even when both P and Q are
true. Unlike the logical “or”, we sometimes use “or” in everyday language to express a choice between
two options: “I will buy you a lollipop or I will buy you a Honeycrisp apple”, with the intention that
you can’t have both. But this is ambiguous, and it’s better to say “either ... or ...” if this is intended.
• “Implies”: The proposition P =⇒ Q (“P implies Q” or “if P , then Q”; sometimes denoted
“P → Q”) is true except in the case when P is true and Q is false. A father might say to his daughter:
“My dear, if you get an ‘A’ in astrophysics, then I will buy you a bicycle”. When has the father upheld
his word? If the daughter gets an ‘A’ and father buys the bike, then all is well. If the daughter fails
to get an ‘A’, then father need not buy a bike, though he might get it anyway as consolation. But if
the daughter gets the ‘A’ and father does not buy her the bicycle, then the daughter has a reason to
be upset, and we would say daddy has been dishonest.
• The converse of P =⇒ Q is Q =⇒ P . This is very different! Look at the truth tables.
• The contrapositive of P =⇒ Q is ¬Q =⇒ ¬P , and is equivalent to P
propositions have the same truth table!).
=⇒ Q (the two
• “If and only if ”: P ⇐⇒ Q (“P if and only if Q”, or “P iff Q”, or “P is equivalent to Q”) is true if
P and Q have the same truth value, and false otherwise. For instance P ⇐⇒ (P ∧ P ) is always true.
Think of the proposition “I will move to India if and only if you will move to India”. I am claiming
that we will either move together or not at all, and I will be wrong if one of us goes while the other
• De Morgan’s Laws, ¬(P ∧ Q) ⇐⇒ ¬P ∨ ¬Q and ¬(P ∨ Q) ⇐⇒ ¬P ∧ ¬Q are always true (prove
using truth tables).
Lecture 2, 8/23 (Sections 1.4 and 1.6)
Propositions involving variables
• A statement containing a variable, like “x is greater than 3”, is not a proposition since its truth value
depends on the value of the variable. The variable x is the subject of the predicate (property) “is
greater than 3”.
• A statement like “x > 3” is a propositional function, denoted P (x), which becomes a proposition
when you plug in a value for x, and then has a truth value.
• Note: I’ll say much more about functions in the next two weeks.
• Propositional functions can have many input variables, such as the statement “x = y + 3”, which we
could denote Q(x, y). (Think of values for x and y making the statement true, and values making it
• Another way to turn a statement involving variables into a proposition is to use quantifiers. For this
we need to specify what values of each variable are allowed, which we call its domain. For example,
two possible domains for x that would make the statement x > 3 make sense are Z and R.
• Universal quantifier: ∀x P (x) is the proposition that for all x in the domain, P (x) is true. For
instance, ∀x (x > 3) is true if the domain is integers ≥ 4, but false if it is integers ≥ 3 (we say 3 is a
counterexample since 3 > 3 is false).
• Existential quantifier: ∃x P (x) is the proposition that for at least one value of x in the domain,
P (x) is true. For instance, ∃x (x > 3) is true if the domain for x is all integers, but false if the domain
is only negative integers.
• A compound proposition is a sentence built out of propositional variables (like P and Q), logical
symbols (¬, ∧, ∨, =⇒ , ⇐⇒ ), and quantified propositional functions (like ∀x P (x) and ∃x Q(x)).
• An argument is a list of propositions, called premises, followed by one additional proposition, called
the conclusion. For instance,
! Premise 1: If you like tomatoes, you like pizza.
! Premise 2: You like tomatoes.
! Conclusion: You like pizza.
• An argument is valid provided that if the premises are true, then the conclusion is true. The above
argument is valid (if neither of the premises is false, then together they imply that you like pizza).
Note that by definition, any argument with a false premise is valid, and any argument with a true
conclusion is valid. The only way an argument can fail to be valid is if all the premises are true and
the conclusion is false.
• In logic, instead of studying studying specific arguments, one studies an abstract version. An argument form is a list of compound propositions, called premises, followed by one additional compound
proposition, called the conclusion. An argument form is valid provided that for any assignment of
truth values to the propositional variables that occur, if the premises are true then the conclusion is
true. The only way an argument form can be invalid is if there is an assignment of truth values to the
propositional variables such that the premises are true while the conclusion is false.
• To pass from an argument to an argument form, substitute a distinct propositional variable for each
distinct proposition that occurs in the argument. The argument form corresponding to the above
argument is the following:
! Premise 1: P =⇒ Q
! Premise 2: P
! Conclusion: Q.
This argument form is valid!
• If an argument form is valid, then any argument obtained by substituting propositions for the propositional variables is also valid!
• A silly valid argument:
! Premise 1: P
! Premise 2: ¬P
! Conclusion: Q.
As an argument, this could be: (ask class for two propositions). If the premises lead to a contradiction,
then the argument or argument form is guaranteed to be valid!
• Is the following argument form using the universal quantifier valid?
! Premise 1: ∀x P (x) =⇒ Q(x) , x in some domain.
! Premise 2: ¬Q(a), where a is a particular element in the domain.
! Conclusion: ¬P (a).
(Yes, it is. Prove using truth tables or contrapositive.)
Week 2: Proofs
Lecture 3, 8/28 (Sections 1.6 and 1.7)
Review of argument, validity. Recall that an argument or argument form is valid provided that if all the
premises are true, then the conclusion is true.
Rules of inference
• A formal proof is used to show an argument form is valid. One kind of proof is using a truth table,
but this can get very complicated when there are many propositional variables. A more useful method
of proof is to construct a chain of implications from the premises to the conclusion, using rules of
inference, which are tautologies (statements that are always true) of the form
{compound proposition} =⇒ {compound proposition}.
• Examples of rules of inference (p. 72 and 76), each of which can be thought of as a small valid argument:
(P ∧ Q) =⇒ P
P =⇒ (P ∨ Q)
(P ∨ Q) ∧ ¬P =⇒ Q
(P =⇒ Q) ∧ P =⇒ Q
(P =⇒ Q) =⇒ (¬Q =⇒ ¬P )
∀x P (x) =⇒ P (c), c any element of domain;
P (c) for arbitrary c =⇒ ∀x P (x)
P (c) for some element c =⇒ ∃x P (x).
∃x P (x) =⇒ P (c) for some element c
Think about what these are saying: most of them are obvious! Prove these for yourself using truth
tables. Then you can apply them whenever you like!
• With these rules of inference, we can prove the validity of slightly more complicated argument forms:
! Premise 1: P =⇒ Q
! Premise 2: ¬Q
! Conclusion: ¬P
Proof. By (5), premise 1 implies that ¬Q =⇒ ¬P . Combining this with premise 2, (4) implies
¬P .
! Premise 1: ∀x (P (x) =⇒ Q(x))
! Premise 2: ∃x P (x)
! Conclusion: ∃x Q(x)
Proof. By (8), premise 2 implies P (c) for some element c. By (6), premise 1 implies P (c) =⇒ Q(c).
By (4), P (c) and P (c) =⇒ Q(c) imply Q(c). Now we use (9) to conclude that ∃x Q(x).
Proofs in mathematics
• Mathematics begins with definitions and statements assumed to be true, called axioms or postulates. For example, the axioms of plane geometry.
• The starting point for this class: the integers, Z = {. . . , −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, . . . }, with the operations of
addition (+) and multiplication (·), and the real numbers R, with multiplication and addition. See
(A1-A6) for a discussion of the axioms.
• A theorem is a valid argument (premises and conclusion). A proof is used to demonstrate the
validity of a theorem. Starting with the premises of the theorem, one uses axioms and previously
proved theorems as rules of inference to reach the conclusion. As theorems accumulate, mathematics
grows ever lusher.
• Less important theorems are also called propositions, results, facts. A lemma is a theorem whose
main importance is that it is used in the proof of other theorems. A corollary is a theorem that
follows directly from another theorem.
Definition 1. An integer n is even if there exists an integer k such that n = 2k. An integer n is odd if
there exists an integer k such that n = 2k + 1. (Note that n is either even or odd, but not both; think about
how you would prove this! See Theorem 3 below.)
Let’s take a look at our first theorem!
Theorem 1. If n is an odd integer, then n2 is odd.
Is “n is an odd integer” a proposition? No! There is an implicit quantifier at work. In logical notation,
let P (n) be the propositional function “n is odd”, where the domain for n is Z. As an argument, the theorem
! No premises!
! Conclusion: ∀n P (n) =⇒ P (n2 ) .
We saw earlier that to prove a ∀n Q(n) claim, it suffices to show Q(n) for arbitrary n. So in terms of
mathematics, we suppress the quantifier, think of n as arbitrary but fixed (so that P (n) is a proposition!),
and the argument becomes
! Premise: No premises!
! Conclusion: P (n) =⇒ P (n2 ),
which is logically the same as the more typical
! Premise: P (n).
! Conclusion: P (n2 ).
How do we prove this argument is valid?
Lecture 4, 8/30 (more Section 1.7)
Outline for writing proofs
• Step 1: Before you attempt a proof, convince yourself that the theorem is correct! Checking easy
cases is often a good idea.
• Step 2: On scratch paper, write down the premises (“given”) at the top of the page, and the conclusion
(“want”) at the bottom of the page. Make sure you know what you want to show before you try to
show it!
• Step 3: Fill in the (both physical and logical) space between the “given” and “want”. Use definitions,
axioms (mainly arithmetic in our case), and previously proved theorems to deduce the “want” from
the “given”. This is an attempt at a direct proof: if you get stuck, try a proof by contraposition or
contradiction instead (I’ll define these terms below).
• Step 4: Once you have an outline of the proof on your scratch paper, convert it into precise, crisp
English sentences. Label it “proof”, draw your favorite symbol at the end, and you have yourself a
In the theorem above, our “given” is that n is odd, namely that there exists an integer k such that
n = 2k + 1. Our “want” is to show that n2 is odd, which means finding an integer j such that n2 = 2j + 1.
How do we find this j? We need some way to use our information about n to deduce something about n2 .
We have an equation for n, so square it! This gives us n2 = (2k + 1)2 = 4k 2 + 4k + 1 = 2(2k 2 + 2k) + 1. So
setting j = 2k 2 + 2k, which is an integer, we see that n2 = 2j + 1, so n2 is odd. So here is the theorem, with
its proof:
Proof. Since n is odd, there is an integer k such that n = 2k + 1. Then n2 = (2k + 1)2 = 4k 2 + 4k + 1 =
2(2k 2 + 2k) + 1. Since 2k 2 + 2k is an integer, n2 is odd by definition.
The preceding proof is called a direct proof. We started with the premise and deduced the conclusion.
Sometimes direct proofs are difficult:
Theorem 2. If n is an integer and n2 is odd, then n is odd.
Attempt at a direct proof: n2 is odd, so n2 = 2k + 1. Thus n = ± 2k + 1. Now what? Instead, use a
proof by contraposition, namely show the contrapositive is true (recall that an implication P =⇒ Q is
logically equivalent to its contrapositive ¬Q =⇒ ¬P ).
Proof. We prove the contrapositive, namely “if n is even, then n2 is even”. Since n is even, n = 2k for some
integer k. Then n2 = (2k)2 = 4k 2 = 2(2k 2 ), so n2 is even by definition.
Another useful type of proof is proof by contradiction. To prove an argument with premises P1 , P2
(or any number of premises) and conclusion Q, instead take P1 , P2 , ¬Q as premises, and try to prove that
they imply a contradiction, which is a proposition, say R, that is false. (Often the negation of Q can be
used to deduce the negation of one of the premises, so that the contradiction R is of the form P1 ∧ ¬P1 .)
What is the point of this? Suppose we have shown that the modified argument
! Premises: P1 , P2 , ¬Q
! Conclusion: R
is valid, where R is a false proposition. I claim that this implies that our original argument
! Premises: P1 , P2
! Conclusion: Q
is valid. For the only way an argument with a false conclusion can be valid is if one of the premises is false.
But if we assume P1 , P2 are true for the sake of our original argument, then the only way for the modified
argument to be valid is if ¬Q is false, namely Q is true.
To set up a proof by contradiction, take the negation of the conclusion, add it to the premises, and try
to derive something false (a contradiction).
Theorem 3. If n is an integer, then it is either even or odd (not both).
Proof. To see that every integer is even or odd, note that we can write the set of integers as {. . . , (−1) ·
2, (−1) · 2 + 1, 0 · 2, (0 · 2) + 1, 1 · 2, . . . }. To see that an integer n cannot be both even and odd, we use a
proof by contradiction. Assume for contradiction that n is even and odd. Since n is even, n = 2k for some
integer k. Since n is odd, n = 2j + 1 for some integer j. Then 2k = 2j + 1, so 2(k − j) = 1. Now there are
three possibilities for k − j:
(1) k − j ≥ 1. But then 2(k − j) ≥ 2, contradicting 2(k − j) = 1.
(2) k − j = 0. But then 2(k − j) = 0 #= 1.
(3) k − j ≤ −1. But then 2(k − j) ≤ −2, contradicting 2(k − j) = 1.
So it cannot be that 2(k − j) = 1. Thus our assumption, which led to the contradiction, must be false. So
n cannot be both even and odd.
Week 3: More Proofs; Sets and
Lecture 5, 9/04 (even more Section 1.7)
Next I will show you a famous proof by contradiction. The statement of the theorem requires a definition:
Definition 2. A real number r is rational if there exist integers a and b with b #= 0 such that r = a/b.
A real number that is not rational is called irrational. Rational numbers can be written in lowest terms,
meaning r = a/b and a, b have no common factors.
Theorem 4. 2 is irrational.
I don’t know where to start for a direct proof, and proof by contraposition makes no sense here. But
proof by contradiction works! This proof is more difficult than the other proofs in this section.
Proof. Suppose for contradiction that the claim is false, so that 2 is rational. Then 2 = ab , and we may
assume a and b are not both even (write the rational number in lowest terms). Squaring both sides gives
2 = ab2 , or 2b2 = a2 . So a2 is even, from which it follows that a is even (contrapositive of Theorem 3!). Then
a = 2k, so 2b2 = (2k)2 = 4k 2 . Dividing both sides by 2, we get b2 = 2k 2 , so b2 is even. But this implies b is
even, so we have shown that both a and b are even, which is a contradiction. Since assuming the claim was
false led to a contradiction, the claim must be true.
Proving equivalence. In math, we have many ways of saying the same thing. We can express the statement
P =⇒ Q as:
(i) “P implies Q”;
(ii) “if P , then Q”;
(iii) “Q if P ;
(iv) “P only if Q;
(v) “P is sufficient for Q”;
(vi) “Q is necessary for P ”.
For this reason, we can express P ⇐⇒ Q, which means P =⇒ Q and Q =⇒ P , as “P if and only if Q”
or sometimes “P is necessary and sufficient for Q”.
Theorem 5. An integer n is even if and only if n + 2 is even.
We need to prove “n is even if n + 2 is even” (this means “if n + 2 is even, then n is even”) and “n is
even only if n + 2 is even” (“if n is even, then n + 2 is even”).
Proof. If n is even, then n = 2k for some integer k. Then n + 2 = 2k + 2 = 2(k + 1), so n + 2 is even. On
the other hand, if n + 2 is even, then n + 2 = 2k for some integer k. Thus n = 2k − 2 = 2(k − 1), so n is
Lecture 6, 9/06 (Sections 2.1, 2.3)
Sets and functions
Definition 3. A set is an unordered collection of objects, called elements of the set. A set is said to
contain its elements. If A is a set, we write a ∈ A to denote that a is an element of A, and a ∈
/ A if a is not
an element of A.
To describe a set, either list all of its elements or state defining properties for an object to be in the set.
Some examples of sets are:
• The set with no elements, called the “empty set” and denoted ∅;
• {kiwi, dragon, shark, turtle, penguin};
• Z = {. . . , −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, . . . }, the set of integers;
• Z≥1 = {1, 2, 3, . . . } = {n ∈ Z | n ≥ 1}, the set of positive integers (sometimes called “natural
• Z≥0 = {0, 1, 2, . . . }, the set of non-negative integers (sometimes called “natural numbers”);
• R, the set of real numbers;
• (0, 1] = {x ∈ R | 0 < x ≤ 1};
Definition 4. Let A and B be sets. We say A is a subset of B (A ⊆ B) if every element of A is an element
of B. Two sets A and B are equal (A = B) if A and B have the exactly same elements. Note that A = B
if and only if both A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A. If two sets are not equal we write A #= B. We say A is a proper
subset of B (A ! B) if A is a subset of B and A #= B.
For example, the empty set is a subset of every set and a proper subset of every set other than itself.
The second set listed above is a subset of the set of all mythical and real animals that are not mammals.
We also have Z+ ! Z≥0 ! Z ! R and (0, 1] ! R.
Now for what may be the most important object in all of mathematics:
Definition 5. Let A and B be sets. A function (or map) f from A to B, written f : A → B or A
is an assignment of exactly one element of B to each element of A. If a ∈ A, we write f (a) = b or a 1→ b if
b is the unique element of B assigned by the function f to the a. We call A the domain of f and B the
codomain of f . If f (a) = b, then we say b is the image of a and a is a preimage of b. The set of all images
of f is called the image (or range) of f ; it is a subset of B.
To describe a function, either state explicitly which element of B is being assigned to each element of A,
or give a rule (or several rules) that specifies the assignment. Examples:
! {dolphin, cardamom, 99} given by giraffe 1→ 99, 10 1→ 99, cardamom 1→
• {giraffe, 10, cardamom}
dolphin. The image of f is {dolphin, 99}.
• Z
! Z given by n 1→ n2 . Or Z
! Z≥0 with the same rule.
We should think about the two functions in the last example above as different, so we define:
Definition 6. Two functions A
for all a ∈ A = C.
! B and C
! D are equal if A = C, B = D, and f (a) = g(a)
! B is injective (one-to-one) if f maps no two distinct elements of A
Definition 7. A function A
to the same element B. Expressed more confusingly, this means that f (a1 ) = f (a2 ) implies a1 = a2 for all
a1 , a2 ∈ A.
Week 4: More Sets and Functions
Lecture 7, 9/11 (Section 2.3)
! B is surjective (onto) if the image of f is the entire codomain B. This
Definition 8. A function A
means that for every b ∈ B there is an element a ∈ A such that f (a) = b .
! B is bijective if it is both injective and surjective. This means that f
Definition 9. A function A
establishes a perfect correspondence of the elements of A with the elements of B.
• For any set A, the identity function A
• The function Z
Definition 10. Given functions A
! A is the bijective map defined by a 1→ a for all a ∈ A.
! Z given by f (n) = n + 3.
• The exponential function R
! R>0 given by x 1→ 2x .
! B and B
! C , the composition of f and g is the function
! C given by (g ◦ f )(a) = g(f (a)).
• For any set A, idA ◦ idA = idA .
• Given Z
! Z defined by f (n) = n + 3 and Z
! Z defined by g(n) = 2n, Z
! Z is the
map (g ◦ f )(n) = g(f (n)) = g(n + 3) = 2(n + 3) = 2n + 6. Composing in the other order, Z
is the map (f ◦ g)(n) = f (g(n)) = f (2n) = 2n + 3. Note that f ◦ g #= g ◦ f !
f ◦g
! B and B g ! A be functions such that g ◦ f = idA and f ◦ g = idB . Then
Definition 11. Let A
we say f and g are inverse functions. We also say f is invertible and that f has g as an inverse, and
often denote that inverse by f −1 .
• The inverse of idA is idA .
• The inverse of the function Z
f −1 (n) = n − 3.
! Z given by f (n) = n + 3 is the function Z
• The inverse of the exponential function R
that maps x 1→ log2 x.
Theorem 6. A function A
f −1
! Z given by
! R>0 given by x 1→ 2x is the logarithm R>0
! B has an inverse if and only if it is bijective.
g −1
Proof. Suppose f has an inverse B
! A . We check that f is injective. Suppose f (a1 ) = f (a2 ). Then
a1 = idA (a1 ) = (g ◦ f )(a1 ) = g(f (a1 )) = g(f (a2 )) = (g ◦ f )(a2 ) = idA (a2 ) = a2 ,
so f is injective. To see that f is surjective, suppose b ∈ B. Then g(b) ∈ A and
f (g(b)) = (f ◦ g)(b) = idB (b) = b,
so f is surjective. Thus f is bijective.
! A to be the map that assigns to each element
Conversely, suppose f is bijective. Then define B
b ∈ B the unique element a ∈ A such that f (a) = b. Such an element a exists since f is surjective, and is
unique since f is injective. Now we use this definition of g to compute
(g ◦ f )(a) = g(f (a)) = a,
(f ◦ g)(b) = f (g(b)) = b.
Thus g ◦ f = idA and f ◦ g = idB , so g is the inverse of f .
Lecture 8, 9/13 (Section 2.2)
Here is an example of a proof involving an inverse function.
Theorem 7. The function R
! R given by f (x) = x3 is bijective.
Proof. We will construct a function that is the inverse of f . Since an invertible function must be bijective,
! R mapping x 1→ x1/3 , which is a function
this will prove that f is bijective. Consider the function R
since the cube root of any real number makes sense. We check the compositions. R
! R is the map
x 1→ (g ◦ f )(x) = g(f (x)) = g(x3 ) = (x3 )1/3 = x, so g ◦ f = idR . Similarly, R
(f ◦ g)(x) = f (g(x)) = f (x1/3 ) = (x1/3 )3 = x, so f ◦ g = idR .
f ◦g
! R is the map
Combining sets
Notation: from now on, I’ll make heavy use of the notation “:=” when I’m defining something.
Definition 12. Let A and B be sets. The union of A and B is the set A ∪ B := {x | x ∈ A or x ∈ B}.
The intersection of A and B is the set A ∩ B := {x | x ∈ A and x ∈ B}. A and B are called disjoint if
A ∩ B = ∅. The difference of A and B (or the complement of B in A) is the set A − B := {x ∈ A | x ∈
/ B}.
• Draw Venn diagrams.
• Let E be the even integers and O be the odd integers. Then E ∩ O = ∅, so E and O are disjoint.
E ∪ O = Z, Z − E = O, and E − Z = ∅.
We can take unions and intersections of an arbitrary number of sets.
Definition 13. $
Let A1 , A2 , . . . be sets. Then their union is i=1 Ai := {x | x ∈ Ai for some i} and their
intersection is i=1 Ai := {x | x ∈ Ai for all Ai }.
• Set
$∞ [a, b) := {x ∈ R | a ≤ x < b}. Then n=0 [n, n + 1) = [0, ∞) = R . On the other hand,
n=0 [n, ∞) = ∅.
• Set (a, b) := {x ∈ R | a < x < b}. Then n=1 ( n1 , ∞) = (0, ∞).
Definition 14. Let A and B be sets. The product of A and B is the set of ordered pairs A × B := {(a, b) |
a ∈ A, b ∈ B}.
Note: we could have defined a function from A to B to be a subset S of A × B such that each a ∈ A is
! B by f (a) = b would recover our original definition.
in exactly one pair (a, b) ∈ S. Defining A
Week 5: Infinity
Lecture 9, 9/18 (Section 2.5)
Comments on the quiz.
Hilbert’s hotel
David Hilbert was a great man, but perhaps an even greater hotelier. Hilbert owned a grand hotel with
infinitely many rooms, numbered by Z≥0 . One day, the hotel was full. A guest arrived, and was dismayed
to see there were no empty rooms. But lo and behold: the hotel staff simply asked each current resident to
shift one room up (in number), freeing room 0 for the new guest. Next, a crowd of 100 guests arrived, and
they too could be accommodated: everyone else shifted up 100 rooms. But then a horde of infinitely many
guests arrived, one for each element of Z≥0 . The hotel staff started to worry, but Hilbert just smiled as he
instructed each current resident to move to the room with twice their current room number, thereby freeing
up all the odd-numbered rooms. Then he put the first guest in room 1, the second in room 3, the third in
room 5, and so on, and all the guests received lodging!
Can Hilbert’s hotel accommodate any number of new guests? What if a crowd of guests arrives, one for
each rational number? How about one for each real number between 0 and 1? To find out, we develop the
theory of cardinality for distinguishing different sizes of infinity.
Definition 15. Let A be a set. If A has exactly n elements, for some positive integer n, then we say A is a
finite set and the cardinality of A (denoted |A|) is n. A set that is not finite is said to be infinite.
Example. If A and B are finite sets, then |A × B| = |A| · |B|. Also, |A ∪ B| = |A| + |B| − |A ∩ B|.
For infinite sets, cardinality is a relative measure, used to compare sizes of infinite sets:
Definition 16. Two sets A and B have the same cardinality (written |A| = |B|) if there is a bijective
function A
! B . If there is an injective function A
! B , then the cardinality of A is less than or
equal to the cardinality of B (we write |A| ≤ |B|). If |A| ≤ |B| and there is no bijective function A
then A has smaller cardinality than B (write |A| < |B|).
Using cardinality, we now establish two different sizes of infinity: the cardinality of Z≥0 , and bigger
Definition 17. An infinite set that has the same cardinality as Z≥0 is said to be countable. A set that is
not countable is uncountable.
Remark. A set A is countable if and only if it can be written as an infinite list. To see this, note that a
bijection Z≥0
! A gives a natural way to construct a list, namely A = {f (0), f (1), f (2), f (3), . . . }.
• Z≥0 = {0, 1, 2, . . . } is countable, with bijection Z≥0
! Z≥0 .
• Z≥1 = {1, 2, 3, . . . } is countable, with bijection Z≥0
• Z≥100 is countable, with bijection Z≥0
! Z≥1 given by f (n) = n + 1.
! Z≥100 given by f (n) = n + 100.
! E given
• The non-negative even integers E = {0, 2, 4, 6, . . . } are countable, with bijection Z≥0
by f (n) = 2n.
Note that the bijective functions in the last three examples correspond to the ways the staff in Hilbert’s
hotel made room for new guests. Each of these bijections is a bijection from Z≥0 onto a proper subset of
Z≥0 , which means every current resident of the hotel could be moved to a new room, while freeing up 1,
100, or infinitely (countably) many rooms for the new guests.
Theorem 8. Z is countable.
Proof. We can put the integers in a list {0, 1, −1, 2, −2, . . . }. This corresponds to the bijection Z
given by
2n − 1 if n > 0;
f (n) =
if n ≤ 0.
! Z≥0
Lecture 10, 9/20 (More section 2.5 and a little 2.4)
Theorem 9. If A and B are countable, then A ∪ B is countable.
Proof. Since A and B are countable, we can label their elements as A = {a0 , a1 , a2 , . . . } and B = {b0 , b1 , b2 , . . . }.
Then A ∪ B = {a0 , b0 , a1 , b2 , a2 , . . . }, so after eliminating redundant elements from the list, we see that A ∪ B
is countable.
This theorem gives us another proof that Z is countable. Namely, write Z = Z≥0 ∪ Z≤0 and note that
each of the sets in the union is countable.
Theorem 10. The set of rational numbers is countable.
Proof. Use the diagram on page 173 to argue that the positive rational numbers are countable. Adding zero
at the front of the list, we see that the non-negative rational numbers are countable. Similarly, the negative
rational numbers are countable. Thus by the previous theorem, the rational numbers are countable.
Theorem 11. If A1 , A2 , . . . are countable sets, then i=0 Ai is countable.
Proof. Since each Ai is countable, write Ai = {ai,0 , ai,1 , ai,2 , . . . }. Then use the same trick as for the rational
Are all infinite sets countable? No!
Theorem 12. The set of real numbers is uncountable.
Proof. Suppose for contradiction that R is countable. Then the open interval (0, 1) is also countable, so
we may write (0, 1) = {x1 , x2 , x3 , . . . }. Now write the decimal expansions of the xi and use Cantor’s
diagonalization trick (p. 173-4) to construct an element x ∈ (0, 1) that cannot be in the list. Contradiction.
This is an astonishing result: the rational numbers are dense on the real line (for any real number, there
are rational numbers arbitrarily close to it), yet there are far more (in the sense of cardinality) irrational
numbers! The quantity of real numbers is a larger infinity than the quantity of rational numbers!
Zeno’s paradox
Suppose you want to get up and leave the room. Zeno the Greek philosopher says you cannot! Not just that
you may not, but that you physically cannot! Here’s why. The door is some distance, say 2 meters, away.
You start walking and get halfway there, but you’re still 1 meter away. You keep going, but after another
2 meter, you’re still one 2 meter short of your target. After another 4 meter, you still have 4 meter to go.
And so on: each time you cross half the remaining distance you get closer and closer, but you never quite
reach the door!
We’ll see shortly how mathematics solves the paradox.
Sequences and series
Definition 18. A sequence is a function from a subset of Z (usually Z≥0 or Z>0 to a set S. We denote the
image of the integer n by an ∈ S (we can also use some other letter instead of a). We think of a sequence
as a list a0 , a1 , a2 , . . . of elements of S, and denote a sequence by {an }n≥0 , where we specify the domain by
the inequality subscript.
Note that a sequence is an ordered list, which may have repeated elements, two things that distinguish
it from a set.
Example. Consider the sequence {an }n≥1 , where an =
∈ Q. It begins with 1, 12 , 13 , . . . .
Definition 19. A geometric progression is a sequence of the form a, ar, ar2 , ar3 , . . . , arn , . . . , where the
initial term a and the ratio r are real numbers.
Definition 20. An arithmetic progression is a sequence of the form a, a + d, a + 2d, a + 3d, . . . , a + nd, . . . ,
where the initial term a and the difference d are real numbers.
Notation. Given a finite sequence {a1 , a2 , . . . , an }, we use summation notation j=1 aj to denote the
sum a1 + a2 + · · · + an .
Theorem 13. If r ∈ R, then the sum of the finite geometric series with initial term 1 and ratio r is
1−r n+1
if r #= 1;
r =
if r = 1.
Proof. The case when r = 1 is obvious. If r #= 1, note that
(1 − r)(1 + r + r2 + r3 ) = 1 − r + r − r2 + r2 − r3 + r3 − r4 = 1 − r4 .
Similarly, we see that
(1 − r)(1 + r + r2 + · · · + rn ) = 1 − rn+1 .
Now since r #= 1, we can divide both sides by 1 − r to get the formula.
Now we investigate when we can take the sum of an infinite geometric series with ratio r #= 1. We want
to take a limit
rj .
When is this limit finite? By the previous theorem, this limit is equal to
1 − rn+1
If |r| > 1, the term rn+1 blows up in the limit, so the limit is ±∞, which we don’t want. If r = −1, then
rn+1 oscillates between −1 and 1 depending on whether n + 1 is odd or even, so the limit doesn’t exist. Since
r #= 1 by assumption, the only remaining case is when |r| < 1, and in this case rn+1 goes to 0 as n goes to
∞! Thus:
Theorem 14. If r ∈ R and |r| < 1, then
rj =
Note that when r > 0, the infinitely many positive numbers have a finite sum! This is the key to Zeno’s
paradox. Suppose you move at a rate of 1 meter per second. Then it takes you 1 second to cross the first
meter that gets you halfway to the door, 12 second for the next 12 meter to the door, 14 second to cross the
next 14 meter, 18 second for the next 18 meter, and so on. Thus the total number of seconds it takes you to
get to the door is
1 = 1/2 = 2,
a finite number, which is certainly within your capabilities!