Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/ii/paper-1/16g/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ii Paper 1 16G Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Work with well-ordered cardinals, as usual with the axiom of choice. We first prove the infinite cardinal arithmetic identity . If a least infinite counterexample existed, order pairs of ordinals below first by their maximum coordinate, then lexicographically within each level. Every initial segment ending at lies inside . Its cardinal is less than , by the smaller-cardinal identity or finite counting. This well-order cannot have an element with predecessors, so its order type is at most the initial ordinal . Thus , contrary to its being a counterexample; the reverse injection is . HenceA sum of finitely many finite cardinals is finite, so is regular. A sum of fewer than smaller cardinals is a countable union of countable sets and has size at most , so is regular.
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