Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/ia/paper-4/6d/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ia Paper 4 6D b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Use the well-order of the natural numbers to list in increasing order. Define recursivelyThe remaining set is nonempty because is infinite and only a finite set has been removed. Each chosen value is larger than the preceding one, so is an injective function.
To prove it is a surjective function, fix . If were never selected, every selected minimum would be at most . This would put infinitely many distinct values into the finite set , a contradiction. HenceThe increasing enumeration of an infinite subset of natural numbers uses no arbitrary choice: each next element is the uniquely determined minimum.
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